Solo travel photography: 11 tips you have to know

Take unforgettable memories even when travelling solo with these solo travel photography tips

Solo travel is amazing. Freedom, personal development, meeting new people… However, there is nothing worse than being at a long-dreamt destination, asking someone for a photo, and getting a crooked horizon, a blurry photo, or a terribly composed image. It’s been a while since I started travelling alone, and I found myself in many situations like the one described above.

Yet, this did not stop me from getting great photos from my trips. If you want to know how I did it, these are my top 11 solo travel photography tips!

Solo travel photography FAQs

What gear do I need to take solo travel photos?

This is a really common question when it comes to solo travel photography, and to be honest, most of the tips in this guide are not gear-specific.

The main thing you’ll need to take solo travel photos is either patience or a good eye when selecting people to ask for photos. As you’ll see, unlike some of the other solo travel photography tips, I don’t focus only on the gear, but also on ways to ask and find the right people to take photos of you.

What is the best camera for solo travel photography?

You don’t need a specific camera to take solo travel photos. However, and this is one of the tips in this article, the simpler the camera, the easier it will be to find people willing to take photos of you.

This will also depend on what your goal is. If you want just photos to keep as a nice memory, your smartphone is more than enough. For more complex setups, if you don’t ask people, you’ll need a tripod and a way to delay the shot.

Do I need a tripod for good solo travel photos?

No, but it is useful. A tripod is mostly needed when you want to take solo travel photos in remote areas. However, if you don’t have one, you can use things around you to help you take photos of yourself, from laying your camera on a rock to using your backpack as an improvised tripod.

Solo travel photography tips: social skills

This guide is divided into 3 main sections: the first one is about the people, the social skills needed to ask for photos, and specific tips on how to ask the right people. The second one is about the gear. Although it is not that relevant for simple memory photos, if you want to take specific shots, you will need some specific gear. The final part is about other relevant solo travel photography tips. Let’s start with the “social” solo travel photography tips!

Ask the right people

In the same way you should never queue behind a family with children at an airport, you also need to be careful when asking others to take photos of you. This is the first, and maybe most important, solo travel photography tip. Choose wisely, and you’ll get the photos you are after.

What I will mention below is based on experience. It can be that someone who doesn’t match the points below takes amazing photos, or vice versa.

People to ask for solo travel photos

• People with cameras: while it’s true that some people get cameras that they don’t even know how to use, if someone carries a camera, at least they are interested in getting good shots.
• People with tripods: this is a favourite of mine. I usually indicate patience and dedication. Both increase your chances of getting a good photo.
• Solo travellers: people who travel solo are the best ones to ask for memory photos. Not only do you get the chance to interact with like-minded people, but they are also usually in search for a photo.
• Locals: Unless they are in a rush, I really like asking locals for photos. They know the place, and it’s also a great way to interact with people who are not tourists.
• Specific groups of people: hear me out. If you find a group of friends from South Korea, ask them for a photo. It sounds a bit weird, but they really care and they will really try to get a great photo. It doesn’t really matter the gender, go for it.

People NOT to ask for solo travel photos

• Honeymoon couples: you will be the least of their priority. When I say honeymoon couples, I don’t mean only those on a honeymoon. Some people are going on a date night, and the last thing they want is someone to disturb them.
• Tourist groups: they will be in a rush, with their guide speaking through their headphones. You’ll get an “I’m busy” photo, and this is not what I am looking for.
• Elderly people: this is a hit or miss. They can be very tech-savvy, but chances are that they are not. In this case, they usually try to do their best, but if you want a specific angle, it can be a bit trickier. Also, at least in Europe and Asia, some older people don’t speak English, which can make communication a bit challenging.
• Busy people: I have a full list of what busy people are. But if you see someone who is in a rush, or with their face saying: “I really don’t want to interact with you”, don’t ask them for a photo.

As a rule of thumb for this first solo travel photography tip: do you imagine this person taking great Instagram photos for their friends/partner? If the answer is yes, ask them for a photo!

Give clear instructions on what you want

This is the second of the solo travel photography tips. Picture this: you already selected someone, approach them, and then… what? You ask them for a photo?

Be specific, and give clear instructions on what you want. Some of the basic ones are:

• Vertical or horizontal? Many people will instantly go for the horizontal view, but if you want your photo for social media, you might want to specify you want the vertical version.
• Which Zoom? 0.5x, 1x, 3x? Do you want the person to choose? Be specific, and tell them the exact settings you want. In fact, you can even give them the phone with the right settings. If shooting with a camera, it’s even more important to specify the settings.
• What composition? Following up on the previous point. For great solo travel photos, you will need to specify where you will be and what you want the photo to look like. Show them in the visor or screen, so they can see what you are aiming to get.
• How many photos? Some people take 10, others 1. If you want variety, ask them for a few. This way, you’ll get some to choose from, and you’ll avoid the feared blinking photo.

As a photographer, I am used to being asked to take photos when others see me out there. But if you don’t give instructions, then you can get photos that don’t look like what you had in mind. Oh, and please don’t say “it seems you know about photography, do your thing”.

This is one of the basic solo travel photography tips that almost no one applies, and it’s the one that will have the greatest impact on your photos. But the next one is equally important.

Review the photos, and be honest

After you ask someone to take a photo of you, sometimes they say: Check it! Do it. Really. It’s your moment to see if something doesn’t look right and ask them for another photo.

Basic things like cutting your feet, or a crooked photo, or someone out of the frame… these are basic things that are very easy to solve. Ask for another photo, and if the first person has already left, show someone else the shot you don’t like and tell them why and what you are after. It’s going back to the previous step, but with even more information.

Make solo travel friends

I am a huge solo travel fan. I am writing a solo travel photography tips guide. But solo travel doesn’t mean being alone at all times. Meeting people when travelling is super easy, especially if you stay in places where solo travellers stay. Hostels, tourist attractions, bars,… There are many ways to make friends along the way.

They don’t need to stay with you forever; they can stay for a day or two, or an hour or two. Use this time to get photos.

Ask for a solo travel photo exchange

Not looking for travel friends? Then, look for other solo travellers, and ask them if they want a photo. As simple as it sounds, you take a photo of someone else, and then you also get the question: Do you want a photo?

You are not alone in looking for memories when travelling. People will appreciate you approaching them, and who knows, you might make a friend or have an interesting conversation with someone from another part of the world.

Solo travel photography tips: gear

This second part of the solo travel photography tips guide is on gear tips. Some of them can be combined with the ones above, but here it’s more about you getting the photos you want without anyone’s assistance. Let’s see the best gear solo travel photography tips!

Prepare your gear

Just as in the social tips, be prepared. Before taking a photo, study the scene, check the composition, settings,… take some sample photos, check if you like them, and then you’ll be ready to take the photo.

Taking good solo travel photos usually requires understanding how your camera or smartphone works. Learn about the settings of your camera. For example, how to set up the timer so that it waits for a few seconds to take a photo.

Bonus tip: if you are somewhere where other people are around, use them to check your composition. This way, it will be easier to see where you want to go and to double-check if your settings are the correct ones.

Use a tripod

Your best friend for solo travel photography is a tripod. There are some situations where it is impossible to ask for a photo. If you hike somewhere remote, you won’t have people everywhere to ask. But even in cities, if it’s early in the morning, or in a less common area, it can be that you need to take the photo by yourself.

Also, this is also the way to ensure that you get the exact photo you want, with the perfect composition.

These are a few tips on how to take great solo travel photos with a tripod:

• Make sure you have time to reach the position where you want to be. Most cameras and phones have a 10-second timer that can be activated. However, if you want to go further, check the remote apps specific to your device.
• If using a DSLR/mirrorless camera, use the intervalometer to get more than one photo. More on this below.
• Do not leave your camera on a tripod in windy situations near cliffs/water. This is essential. Make sure that the tripod is sturdy and that the weather conditions are not risky. No photo is worth losing your camera.

How to choose the best tripod for solo travel photography?

The best tripod is the one that you can carry without being too heavy or too bulky. For a landscape photographer, this will mean something enormous. For someone like me, who travels light, I try to carry a very small tripod, only for specific situations.

If you take photos with your smartphone, even greater news. There are some very small and handy tripods that can be very useful in many situations. However, bear in mind that the lighter the tripod, the more you need to worry about windy weather conditions.

Drone it

Many of the great solo travel photos you see online are taken with drones. The days when having a drone was something unreal are gone. Nowadays, drones are very affordable and easy to fly. Small enough to be hand luggage, and perfect for great photos and videos.

They can be a great addition to your gear, and a unique way to get great solo travel photos. However, make sure to respect the local drone laws. With more drones, more restrictive laws have appeared. Make sure to comply with them.

Besides that, do not hesitate, and take unique photos from a different point of view.

Take more than one photo

I already mentioned this in the first section of solo travel photography tips. However, here it’s for a different reason. When asking someone to take a photo of you, you want multiple photos to have variety.

When you are shooting with a tripod, you want multiple photos to get that perfect shot. It has more to do with composition than with how your face looks.

A very handy tip is to use the intervalometer in your camera. An intervalometer will make your camera take a photo every X seconds. With this, you can try multiple compositions in one single shooting. This is especially useful if you have to move quite a bit to get to the spot where you want to be in the composition.

Solo travel photography tips: other

The final group of tips on this solo travel photography tips guide is not about the gear of the people. These two are basic tips, but they can make your experience taking photos when you travel alone much more enjoyable (and stress-free).

Master the selfies

The art of taking selfies. To date, selfies are still underrated. In most situations, unless you want a full-body shot, a selfie can be a perfect memory of your trip. Moreover, thanks to the always-increasing quality of smartphone cameras, they can be printed and used as any other photo (taken with a smartphone).

In the past, there was a lot of backlash against selfies, but it seems that now it’s gotten quite more “peaceful”. If you are travelling alone, use these tips to improve the quality of your selfies!

• Find the favourite side of your face: everyone has a better profile. Take a few practice shots, and find the angle that you like best.
• Don’t take photos from below. They will distort your face. Instead, place the camera in line with your eyes or slightly higher. Your face will look leaner and more realistic.
• Face the sun: if the sun is on your back, the photo will be burnt and you will be in the shadows. If it’s very sunny, close your eyes a couple of seconds before opening them and taking the photo.
• Take some distance from the object. If you want to have a main sight in your photo, walking away from it will make it easier to have it visible in the frame.
• Be careful with the distortion: not only when taking photos from below, but if you are too close to one of the edges of the screen, your face can look weird. Try to place your face always at the centre of the image (or close to it).

Don’t delete your solo travel photos

The last of the solo travel photography tips is not to delete your photos. Sometimes, when we take a selfie or someone takes a photo of us and we don’t like it, we delete it. If they took 10 and we keep only one, that’s fine, but don’t delete that one photo that you don’t really like.

This is a terrible mistake that I learned with time. Nowadays, if I look at an old photo of a trip, one that I did not like because of how I looked, I no longer see the flaws. I might look different, or have a weird facial expression, but all I remember is the moment, and having that photo is priceless.

Of course, it might not be an Instagram-worthy photo (by some standards). However, remember that what really matters when travelling is memories, and they are what we try to capture.

These have been are 11 best solo travel photography tips. Do you have any other useful solo travel photography tips? Share them in the comments section! Make sure to follow me on Instagram (@aniolvisuals) for more travel photography vibes.