> 5 minute read

Days Out With Your Camera

Spend some quality time with your camera and get really creative with your picture making in places you’ve never been before.

Whether you’re walking in a national park, visiting a museum for the afternoon, or simply heading for the beach, a day out is a great opportunity to use your camera to get pictures of somewhere new. The best approach is to try and tell the story of your trip with your pictures. Produce something you can share with friends on social media and look back on to remind yourself of good times.

Like all stories, yours will need a beginning, a middle, and an end. You’ll need to set the scene, introduce characters, and look at the small details, too. Then edit your content down to tell the tale of your trip in a way that flows seamlessly.

© Seth K Hughes

© Seth K Hughes

© Seth K Hughes

Packing Your Bags

Before we do any actual photography, however, let’s have a think about the kit you need to take with you. It’s a fine balance between taking enough kit for all of the photo opportunities you’re going to see, while also not overloading yourself with too much to carry.

Zoom lenses are great for trips out, as they can cover off multiple focal lengths in a single package. A space-saving standard zoom like the XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS or XF16-80mmF4 R OIS WR is a good option. You can always take an extra telephoto zoom, too, like the popular XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS, which is perfect for pulling in more distant subjects.

Also take extra memory cards, a spare battery, and a micro USB lead if your X Series model supports in-camera charging. These items will all help keep you creating for longer.

Setting the Scene

Where does your story begin? A good scene-setting image instantly tells your audience not just where you are, but how it feels to be there, too. Is it warm or cold? Is it early in the morning or the middle of the day? A wide landscape image can do all of these things, but this isn’t the only way. If it’s an early start, how can you show this in a photo?

The Characters

Whether you’re on a trip by yourself or you have your whole family in tow, there is always a place for some human interest in your photo story. Without this, your pictures will just look like everyone else’s.

If you’re with friends or family, they will soon get used to you making pictures of them throughout the day, to the point that they’ll hardly notice. And if you are on your own, explore how to use your X Series camera to create some awesome selfies, using your smartphone as a remote control, for example.

© Alison Conklin

© Alison Conklin

You could also go for some spontaneous portraits of the people you meet on your day trip. A surfer coming out of the water at the beach, perhaps. Or the chef at a street cafe who has just cooked the most amazing lunch. Most people will be flattered to be asked to pose for a portrait and will be only too pleased to help.

The Details

The small details are just as important as the big picture. If you’re walking the streets, then this could be something you see outside a shop or restaurant, or maybe it’s your muddy boots at halfway through a countryside walk. It could even be a coffee and cake at an amazing cafe.

Don’t be afraid to get in close for these detail images and think about the angle. Can you make the image in an unusual or thought-provoking way by changing your position a little?

© Xing Liu

© Karen Hutton

© Jonathan Irish

The Edit

Back at home, you are likely to be staring at hundreds of pictures from your day out. Editing these down to a small number that tell a coherent story is a skill in itself and a process that can take some time. You can use software that lets you tag or rate images, such as Adobe Bridge or Lightroom, or you can do this just by moving images between ‘Keep’ and ‘Reject’ folders on your PC or Mac.

• Try starting with the whole set of images, then remove any obvious rejects – blurred accidents, portraits with eyes half closed etc.
• Next, take another pass through and tag those images you want to keep. Don’t be too selective at this stage – if in doubt, keep it in.
• Finally, make a third edit and be ruthless – if you find there are four images that show the same thing, pick just one to keep in. (If you really can’t make up your mind, ask a friend’s opinion.)

The Presentation

Once you’ve done, don’t just leave your images languishing on your computer – do something with them. Create an online photo story on social media or even a printed photo book that you can leave on your coffee table for when friends come visit.

Your Next Steps

• CHALLENGE See if you can summarise a day out in just ten photos. Post your photo story to social media with the hashtag #learnwithfujifilm. You can also submit your work here for a chance to be featured on our social media channels.