If you read any of my emails or follow me on social media, you might know that I just got back from a trip to France. My homeland. Well, not really...more like my spirit homeland. I was born in the U.S. Grew up in the U.S. But when I’m in France I feel at home. Am I fluent in French? Non. I can’t explain it...maybe I lived there in a previous life or something.

So it wasn’t unusual for me to want to travel to France. The unusual part of this trip was that I traveled solo. And it was my first solo travel experience.

neighborhood in Bordeaux France — “My neighborhood” in Bordeaux…near where I was staying

I saw in lots of Facebook groups that solo travel for women is empowering and rejuvenating...all of that stuff. And I did have those moments, for sure. But I also had moments of exasperation, frustration, fear, exhaustion. Luckily those moments were interspersed with the feelings of joy and empowerment.

One of the lessons I learned in my first solo trip was about my photography. When I’m with others I tend to be more brave about taking photos. By myself? I felt a little more self-conscious. Careful. Less bold in my photography.

Being by myself also gave me lots of time with my thoughts. Which is NOT always (or rarely is) a good thing. I have a lot of thoughts. Often they aren’t all that productive...or kind to myself. But I have learned how to better manage my thoughts, so that was super helpful on this trip.

After I got home and really had a chance to process my photos...my thoughts...my experiences (after the jet lag wore off) I boiled it all down to the 5 most important tidbits for travel photography that I wanted to share with you.

These are the things that because I was alone I had extra time to process...to weigh the importance of...to practice.

door in Bordeaux, France — I continue to be fascinated by the elegance of the French doors.

Camera settings help set the mood (but don’t let them stress you out)

I don’t mean you have to shoot in manual - I don’t when I travel. There are way too many factors to keep up with. But it does mean that as you are looking at a scene, or person, or event...that it’s important to envision what you want your photo to look like. What you want your viewer to experience later.

So if I’m at a market and want to capture the beautiful fish (how can fish even be beautiful??) then I need to think about depth of field and getting close. I mean closer than might be comfortable when it comes to fish…

And you start to think about the foreground, the background...how much you want to be in focus...what you want to be the star of your photo. And that’s when depth of field comes into play.

How do you adjust depth of field without thinking too much about it? Use the aperture priority mode on your camera.

And if you need a little more help with depth of field, I’ve got you covered with this blog post - Shallow Depth of Field...I Think I’m in Love.

fish at a market in Bordeaux, France — Shallow depth of field brings your attention right to the star of this photo (I would have no idea what to do with these, but I bet they are delicious in the right kitchen!)

Now on the other hand, if you want to have a little blurred motion in your photo that can portray energy or movement, then the shutter priority mode might be the best option.

Then you’ll experiment with some slower shutter speeds like 1/30th of a second and see what happens. Need a bit more information about shutter speed? Well of course you know I have a blog post for that - Shutter Speed Made Easy.

This version of the tram in Bordeaux shows some blurred motion which gives the feel of energy…movement.

Stop and think about what you’re creating

I know this isn’t always easy when you’re traveling. Sometimes I had to stop myself and say “hey let’s slow down, what are you racing off to?” I get a destination in mind, get out my map and go. And then I realize how much I’m missing. How much I’m not absorbing, experiencing, observing by moving too freaking fast.

So my advice? Slow the hell down. Walk a bit. Stand a bit. Sit a bit. As you’re walking, walk slower. Let all your senses kick in. Listen, see (I mean REALLY see), smell...feel the place you’re in. And then? Start creating photos.

If you slow down and FEEL what you’re experiencing, then your photos will reflect it.

As soon as I slowed down and even stopped and just stood on a narrow cobblestone street...I started to see things that I was missing. Like this green cafe with a red and white striped awning, and oh look there’s a bike zooming past.

Or the little dog wearing the cutest sweater ever. Or yet another door knocker that I had to stop and really take in for a little while. I mean where can I get a door knocker like that for my house?!

So much to see and hear and absorb!! But we miss most of it if we’re too worried about getting to the next spot.

Stop. Listen. Enjoy. And then create some cool freaking photos.

French cafe in Bordeaux — I was racing right past this corner when I stopped myself and stood still for a minute…or several. Good thing I did - how adorable is this cafe??!!

Be flexible when it comes to the light

There is only so much you can do in regards to light when you’re traveling. Somedays? Bright, sunny and lovely. Others? Rainy, cloudy, overcast.

And even on those bright sunny days, you end up with ridiculously bright (too bright even) parts of your photos and other parts that are dark and shadowy.

So here’s the thing. You can’t change the sun. Or wish it into existence. You can only work with the lighting you have, and adjust your camera accordingly. Oh and your expectations.

If you have a lot of contrast, then you create images where you’re exposing for the brightest area of your photo. Which means your photos will end up looking a tad dark. But that’s ok...nothing that can’t be fixed later.

Your camera is really smart. But it can only do so much when given super bright and super dark in the same scene. But you can help it a little by adjusting the whole image to be slightly darker than normal...and adjusting it later.

As far as those cloudy, overcast or rainy days. Embrace them as part of your story. Go with the moody vibe and create some photos that reflect that. Oh and it’s also a good time to get up in those details - since you don’t have a lot of contrast to worry about.

Need some more help when it comes to lighting? Yeah I’m not surprised - it’s a pretty tough topic. Well you’re in luck, because I’ll be offering a free workshop on that very topic. Click here to get on the waitlist and I’ll send you all the details as soon as I have them.

OK, moving on to the next most important thing…

Sometimes cloudy days are the perfect opportunity to focus on some of the little details that we otherwise miss, like this flower shop in Paris.

Don’t be too quick to judge what qualifies as a “good photo”

I think it’s really easy to look over your photos at the end of the day and think “that one’s not good”...”neither is that one”...”that one’s okay except for...”

I know because I have the same tendency. Here’s my advice: don’t do that.

You can go through and take a peek at your photos that day. But maybe wait a day or so...or ideally a week until you make the ‘does it make the cut’ decision.

And when you’re going through and deciding which ones stay and which ones go, think about it the same way you look at a house that you’re thinking about buying. Think about the potential...not the current state.

Because in that kind of tired looking rundown house, you can envision what a coat of paint would do...or some new light fixtures. It can be a whole new house!

And with a few adjustments, so can your photos.

So look at them with a ‘does it have potential’ eye, rather than an ‘is it perfect now’ eye. Because let’s face it, none of us are perfect without a little work. Right? You should see the mop of hair swirling around on MY head when I wake up in the morning...just sayin’.

bike in front of a boutique in Bordeaux, France

Back up. Back up. Back up.

You go through ALL of these steps to make some of the best photos that you love...that you’re proud of. And then you leave your memory card case in the hotel room. Or your camera gets stolen and the one memory card with ALL your photos was in it.

So always always have at least 2 copies of all your images. That means a memory card (I recommend multiple cards for a trip - use a new one at least once every few days and keep the ‘used’ one somewhere safe) AND either a portable hard drive or a laptop.

You might be thinking “she must have lost some images during this trip...that’s why she’s talking about this”... Well to put your mind at ease, no I didn’t lose any images. But I know people who have. AND I know how much I value my images once I get home.

So I don’t take the ‘back up plan’ lightly - and I don’t think you should either. It won’t seem important...until you lose all the images from that fabulous trip to Italy. Or Antarctica. Or Africa. Ooh I cringe at the thought.

If organizing your image files is something that makes you want to pull your hair out (you’re definitely not alone on this one….I should maybe start a support group) check out my blog post ‘Do You Know Where Your Files Are?’ to get you started.

So that about covers what I think are the 5 most important things about travel photo creation. And as you can see...most of them aren’t even about your camera.

Let me know in the comments...which of these do you struggle with...love...hate?? Come on, don’t deny me…I really want to know!