Lexar Ambassador Tiffany Nguyen shares her top five tips to help ensure you capture great shots while traveling. You can see her Lexar Ambassador profile and some of her work here.
1. Pack Light!
I like to pack a minimal kit when I’m traveling. My go-to kit includes the Sony A1 and, depending on where I’m traveling, I’ll bring a variety of lenses such as the Sony 16-35mm f2.8 GM, the Sony 24-70 f2.8 GM II, the Sony 35mm f1.4 GM, and the Sony 70-20mm f2.8 GM II. My go-to memory card is the Lexar Professional CFexpress Type A Card GOLD Series because it’s super reliable and ultra-fast. I also always travel with my iPhone 15 Pro Max and DJI Mini 4 Pro. Having a low-profile camera bag that can fit all of my gear is also super-important when traveling. My current go-to camera bag is the DB Journey Ramverk 21L with the camera insert. It’s big enough for all of my camera gear but has a minimalist and sleek design.
2. Plan Ahead
When planning out an itinerary for a trip, I like to use Google Maps and Google Docs to pin and write down all of the spots I want to visit. I typically color-code each location based on priority so I can easily look at the map to see if I’m close to any locations I want to shoot. Whenever I’m traveling to a new place, I’m usually pressed for time and sometimes I only have a short window to shoot a location. It’s great to do a little bit of research ahead of time so you can determine the best time (sunrise or sunset) to shoot that location and have a better idea of what to expect. I usually go to a location with a general idea of the compositions I’m trying to capture, but I also like to explore different angles so I can go home with a variety of images to better tell a story.
3. Be Flexible
One thing I’ve learned from traveling that I’d like to share with others is that you should always go in with a solid plan for your trip but keep an open mind and go with the flow because sometimes the unplanned moments are some of the best!
4. Leverage all your Tools
Don’t forget your mobile phone can be an important tool too. Use it to help speed up your workflow. You can even transfer images to your phone directly via card reader and Type-C port! Oftentimes when I’m on the go, I’ll edit my images directly in Lightroom Mobile so I can share on social media live. Phones are so powerful these days that it makes my workflow a lot more fluid and makes it way easier to share with others.
5. Collaborate
Collaborate with others! Whenever I’m visiting a new place, I love connecting with other creators. They usually know the best spots to photograph and it’s always awesome to connect with others in the community and find inspiration in different creative styles.
