10 top travel photography tips and tricks

Spanish influencer and photographer Diana Millos began travelling to attend music festivals and concerts. It ignited in her a love of adventure, which quickly blossomed into a full-time career as a professional travel photographer and blogger with more than 140K followers on Instagram.

Here, Diana, whose latest ventures include trips to Cuba and Spain, shares her top 10 travel photography tips for shooting stunning images when exploring new locations.

1. Research your destination
2. Pack a dedicated camera that won't weigh you down
3. Choose lenses to suit your needs
4. Be an early riser
5. Return to your favourite locations throughout the day
6. Use the Canon Camera Connect app
7. Shoot video as well as stills
8. Work the angles for photos with a difference
9. Reveal more with wide-angle and macro lenses
10. Experiment in low light and at night

"I find that planning ahead is absolutely essential in travel photography," says Diana. "Once I know where I'm going, I start researching places of interest online, using social media, blogs and Pinterest.

"I look for locations that inspire me, so I have a good idea of where I want to go and how I'm going to get there. That gives me a framework to plan my photos but, once I've arrived, I look for different angles and perspectives that I haven't seen online, so I can be creative and try to bring something original and unique to my images."

"I really love the Canon EOS R10," enthuses Diana. "It's simply perfect for travel photography and all-day shooting because it's so small and lightweight. It fits easily in a camera bag the size of a handbag, even with an extra lens or two, yet it's powerful and the image quality is impeccable. I also really like being able to preview the brightness, contrast and colour in the EVF, so I know how the photo will turn out."

If you’re new to photography but looking for a reliable entry-level EOS R System camera to capture picture-perfect memories on your next adventure, the Canon EOS R100 is small enough to slip in a bag yet capable of capturing both high quality stills and video right when it happens.

If you'd prefer a full-frame camera that gives outstanding image quality even in extreme low light, and the option of a shallower depth of field when using the same focal length, the compact and lightweight Canon EOS RP is a great travelling companion.

For those who prefer a compact camera, the fixed lens PowerShot G7 X Mark III packs a powerful zoom range, as well as 4K video and superb 20.1MP photos.

"If I'm out shooting from dawn to dusk, I don't want to be carrying a heavy bag of kit, so I try to keep additional lenses to a minimum," says Diana.

Travel-friendly lenses for the Canon EOS R10 include the RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM which has a particularly compact, retractable design and weighs just 130g. For a more expansive zoom range, the RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS STM enables you to adapt instantly to almost any shooting scenario without needing an extra lens.

The great thing about Canon's EOS R System cameras is that you can use full-frame compatible lenses on APS-C format bodies and vice versa. For example, the Canon RF 35mm F1.8 IS MACRO IS STM gives the same field of view on the EOS R10 as using a 56mm lens on a full-frame camera such as the EOS RP. Likewise, if you wanted to take advantage of their size and portability you could pair the Canon RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM and RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS STM lenses with the EOS RP, but the image will be cropped.

The Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM is another great travel option for either the EOS R10 or the EOS RP. Top zoom choices include the lightweight Canon RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM and the RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM telephoto lens, which is very compact for a lens with such a powerful reach.

"Tourist spots get busy, even very early in the day," says Diana. "I get up really early to beat the crowds so I can capture scenes without people, or sometimes with just a single person to add interest. You also get the bonus of beautiful lighting at sunrise, which makes it my absolute favourite time to shoot."

Often referred to as the 'golden hour', the sun is low in the sky during the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, casting a golden glow that can add real magic to travel photos. Diana always shoots RAW files, so she can fine-tune white balance and exposure to enhance colour rendition, highlights and shadows when she comes to edit her shots in imaging software such as Canon's Digital Photo Professional.

"Although I love to shoot at sunrise, I think it's important to revisit great locations at other times of the day," advises Diana. "Bustling scenes can also make great travel photos, capturing the culture and mood of a place. Areas of shadows and light, and how the sun illuminates a scene, change fundamentally as the day progresses."

Remember that the sun moves across the sky so if, for example, landmarks and buildings you want to shoot are in shadow in the morning, it might be worth returning in the afternoon when the light has changed.

"My favourite travel photography technique is to look for symmetry within scenes, with clean, tidy lines that create bold shapes," explains Diana. "I also like to put myself in the picture, so I always carry a tripod and set up the camera before walking into the frame."

The Canon Camera Connect app enables you to control the camera from your phone and make any adjustments remotely. You can also preview the image and adjust the autofocus while you're in the frame.

"Video is featuring more and more on social media, so it's important for me to shoot video as well as stills," says Diana. "I tend to capture lots of short clips of different locations, so that I can edit them together and make a video that gives an overall flavour of a place. I always use my camera's maximum quality setting for video, so I have the most latitude when editing."

The Canon EOS R10 is great for this, with options for 4K 60p, 4K 30p with 6K oversampling and high-quality Full HD at 120p, which Diana loves for creating slow-motion sequences.

If you want to keep your subscribers and followers up to date with your travels, then Canon PowerShot V10 is an all-in-one pocket-sized solution for your next trip. Designed for vlogging, you can create 4K UHD video on the go, with the option to add creative filters and smoothing effects as you go.

"When you're shooting famous landmarks and locations, it can be hard to make your shots stand out. I always look for unusual angles that give a different perspective," says Diana. "Shooting from low down near ground level or from high up can be a huge advantage, and it's easy to do with a vari-angle screen. For gaining even more height, I put my camera on my tripod and use it as a pole, so I can hold it high above my head and still preview the shot on the rear screen. It's great when you need to shoot over the heads of people in a crowd, or even over fences and walls."

"Travel images cover everything from wild landscapes to grand architectural interiors. For shooting both, I like using a wide-angle lens," says Diana.

If you’re looking to go wide and capture the energy of the streets you explore, while keeping your kit bag light, then the slim pancake design of the Canon RF 28mm F2.8 STM is an ideal option. A fast f/2.8 aperture takes you from day to night, and helps your subjects stand out.

The Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM gives you ultra-wide viewing angles and can be used on the Canon EOS R10 with a Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R. For the full-frame EOS RP or EOS R6, the Canon RF 16mm F2.8 STM is perfect, featuring a bright f/2.8 aperture that enables quick shutter speeds even in low light. This lens also has a minimum focusing distance of just 13cm, allowing you to get up close to your subjects, maximising every beautiful detail while still fitting lots into the frame.

A macro lens such as the Canon RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM is also ideal for capturing detail, providing greater magnification than a standard lens to bring even the tiniest elements to life. This lens features a bright maximum aperture to allow for perfectly exposed shots, as well as a 5-stop Image Stabilizer to keep everything sharp when shooting handheld.

"Just after the sun goes down, or before it rises in the morning, you get the 'blue hour'. I love the cool colours the light creates and the deep blue of the sky," says Diana. "It gives a completely different look to cityscapes so it's another way to create unique images. Even late at night, there are still brightly lit scenes to be shot. The most important thing is to enjoy the experience and have fun."

Looking for inspiration for your next trip? Check out these hidden spots.

Written by Matthew Richards