Online photography classes for teenagers are great, but getting practical experience in the real world is the best way to improve! Got spring break coming up soon? It’s the perfect opportunity to hone your photography skills.
Spring break coming up? It’s a time for fun, partying, and catching a tan… But don’t leave your camera at home! You’ll look back on those pictures in years to come and remember them with fondness. But you may also remember them as some of the pics that helped you boost your skill!
Pack your camera in your bag and read this blog post before you head off. You’ll be well equipped to get the best photos of spring break ever… You might even become the designated photographer in your friend group!
The Best Camera Settings for Spring Break Photography
Chances are you’re going to be somewhere that’s sunny and bright. During the day, you can use the action setting or shutter speed priority setting (Tv mode). Set it to 1/1000, and you’ll be good to catch all the craziness on a dime!
If you want to capture something that’s moving pretty fast and you don’t want to miss it—think Andy doing a backflip off his surfboard, or something similar—you can try the Burst setting. This shoots multiple shots one after the other, so you’ll be pretty much guaranteed to catch the entire experience.
If you do want to catch some less bright and sunny pics, for example, if you happen to be around a bonfire in the darkness, you can play around with Av mode to find what works best for you and the situation.
The good news is if you’re using your mobile phone to capture all the fun, most of them also have a Burst setting, Modern phones tend to have pretty good settings too, so you should be able to set shutter speed priority quite easily.
How to Take Spectacular Spring Break Photos
Ready to capture visual memories of one of the best times of your life? Here’s how to make the most of your time with your friends and your camera!
Capture the Journey
Don’t forget to take pics of the trip! If you’re lucky enough to be taking a road trip with your buddies, capture your travels out the car window to remind you of the journey. To get creative, you can try things like:
- Framing the landscape with the car window.
- Using the car mirrors to catch reflections.
- Snap your buddies in the car!
If you’re headed to the airport, you can still take fun pics! The view out those tiny plane windows, your friend taking a nap, reflections in the shiny surfaces at the airport.
Get creative! Look for unique photo opportunities rather than the usual stuff. A reflection. A different angle. And don’t be afraid to waste a few photos trying new things. You can always delete them later!
Photograph the Place
It’s likely that you’re in a place that doesn’t look quite like home! Capture everything you can that’s different—these are things you’ll want to look back and remember with a smile.
Make sure you take photos of the views. But don’t just stop there—take some close-up pics of the plants, the flowers, your food, your drinks, snacks, your room, even the signs that you see along the way.
Each of these small things adds up to the full experience. Capture it all! Go wild… There’s no such thing as too many photos! If you want a quick guide on capturing photos on the go, check out our guide to street photography.
Get the People Involved
Of course, a huge part of spring break is the people. You’re making memories with your favorite friends, so they have to be in the pictures!
One of the most fun ways to get “people pictures” is to do self-portraits. You can use the self-timer on your camera or your phone and gather everyone together for a group photo. In some cases, you may need a tripod for this, unless you can find somewhere safe to stand the camera.
You can also grab some unplanned pics of your friends just doing their thing. Partying, swimming, sleeping, lounging around, enjoying their food or their drink… Wherever they are and whatever they’re doing, find a way to capture it.
Don’t Be Afraid to Get In the Action
Get up close and personal! Great photos are all about detail, so don’t be afraid to really get the camera in there. Close-up photos can share details about the experience that you may easily forget once you get home!
It may take some getting used to, but getting close to the action is a great way to take unique photos. Putting yourself in the middle of things gives the pics a unique perspective! When you look back on the pictures, they make you feel like you’re right in the middle of the memory again.
Find the Light
One thing you learn a lot about in any online photography classes for teenagers is how to use the light to your advantage. Don’t forget that when you’re taking spring break photos!
Look for sunrises, sunsets, disco lights… Whatever you can find! Silhouette is the opposite of detail, but it makes for a striking picture… Definitely social media-worthy!
Keep in mind that when shooting in lower-light scenarios, you may need to choose aperture priority mode to avoid blur, if there’s movement in the picture. But you can play around with the settings until you find something that works for you!
Beginners Photography Course for Teens: Prepping for Spring Break Photos!
Spring break is exactly the kind of carefree, fun, no-pressure occasion that’s ideal to practice taking great pics. Not only will you be working on developing an eye for amazing pictures, but you’ll have all those memories to look back on in years to come.
If you’d like to boost your knowledge, learn all the ins and outs of your camera, and hone your skills, then join one of our beginners photography courses for teens! Online photography classes for teenagers are an excellent way to go from photography hopeful to semi-pro in as short a time as possible.
