4 Tips for Taking Better Family Vacation Pictures

One of the best things about family trips? The memories you collect and the moments you capture with vacation pictures. One of the worst things about taking these pictures? Experiencing your trip behind the lens of a camera.

How do you ensure that you come away with beautiful photos yet still enjoy your adventure? Read on for surefire tips to guarantee you get scrapbook-worthy vacation pictures every time.

1. Recognize the Right Moments

How would you like to know exactly which photos to take versus when to sit back and enjoy the trip? Becoming pickier about the moments you choose to capture will free you up to enjoy your vacation. But learning how to recognize these moments can be tricky.

An easy fix? Visualize vacation photos like the illustrations in a child’s picture book. A picture book’s illustrations selectively represent important parts of the overall storyline.

They don’t exhaustively document every second of the narrative. But they do provide context and reinforce colorful, memorable details. They highlight momentous events in the story’s timeline or plot. Which vacation pictures do you need to illustrate your next family vacation picture book?

2. The Big Picture

When you come to a new destination, stop and look around. Find a good vantage point to take some full-view vacation pictures. These large shots will provide you with an overall sense of place. They represent the background or setting for your “picture book.”

What’s more, large shots are easy to grab while you’re waiting in line or have a few moments of downtime during a bathroom or snack break. Besides large, contextual photos, you’ll want to focus on select details that highlight the events or “plot” of your story.

3. Celebrate the Little Things

Oftentimes, we get back from a family trip with a huge volume of “big picture” or scenic photos. But what about the little, day-to-day details? What about what you actually did?

These are the types of details that you want to document in your celebration of the little things. As you’re thinking about which vacation details to capture, remember the story you’re trying to tell. Which details best symbolize that story? Which ones excited the richest emotions? Which vacation pictures evoke the memories you’ll discuss for a lifetime?

A favorite breakfast, the view from your hotel room, a brightly colored artisanal display, a favorite travel guide, candid moments with your kids?  Don’t try to capture everything… just focus on the special moments that feel important. These little shots are the ones you’ll cherish most.

4. Plan for Few Posed Shots

If there’s one thing more exhausting than experiencing a vacation from behind a camera lens, it’s forcing your family to pose in photos all day, every day. Kids reach a point of non-cooperation when they’re either too tired or too distracted for another photo shoot. And fake smiles aren’t really what you’re going for, right?

So, plan your posed vacation pictures ahead of time. Limit yourself to no more than three or four posed family photo shoots per day. These should commemorate major anchor points in your trip: landmarks, welcome signs, destination arrivals…

The rest of the time, snap candid action shots. You’ll capture the authentic spirit of your family vacation while allowing kids to enjoy the experience. And make sure that you’re in those family photos! There’s nothing worse than getting home to realize you’re behind the lens in all your family photos.

Better Vacation Pictures

Did you find any of these tips helpful? Anything you’d like to add? Let us know in the comments below.

At Our Whole Village, raising globally-minded children is our passion. We create meaningful adventures designed for families who want to create lasting memories while making a difference.

We’re here to help you and your family experience the world, its peoples, and its cultures. Contact us today to learn more about the unforgettable experiences that we handcraft to introduce kids to the world and create good global citizens.