The Masterclasses 2023: 10 practical tips to help you succeed as a travel photographer

04.10.2023 - 16:11 / nationalgeographic.com

In September 2023, The Masterclasses by National Geographic Traveller (UK) returned with a brand-new series of expert-led online sessions for aspiring travel writers and travel photographers.  

Each hour-long session saw an expert panel of National Geographic Traveller contributors focus on a different aspect of the modern travel photographer’s toolkit, with the likes of Teagen Cunnife, Matt Dutile and Holly-Marie Cato sharing practical advice on everything from picking the right gear to photographing animals in their natural habitats. 

These 10 pieces of advice can help you improve your travel photography, from building your portfolio to using your gear optimally and connecting with your subjects.

“Do your research and get familiar with your own equipment before you travel…Get ahead of the game, pre-visualise and make a plan. When I go to a place that I’m not familiar with, I can start recycling and adapting those ideas to suit the environment.” — Renato Granieri, The art of wildlife photography in travel

“There’s never ever enough time on a shoot. Mostly, though, we only have a day or two, or sometimes just a few hours, to capture animals for a story. Regardless of the weather conditions, I’ll head out and see what surprises me. Getting out and seeing what’s happening around you is the only way to guarantee you’re going to get images. Don’t talk yourself out of shooting just because the weather isn’t perfect.” — Teagen Cunnife, The art of wildlife photography in travel

“Choose experienced safari guards — they know where the animals will be and can predict behaviour. When you’re choosing a safari operator, pay specific attention to what’s written about the guides on the websites and look for places that have mentioned that their guides are highly awarded or extensively trained. There’s a really big difference between a guide and a guide with photographic knowledge; communicating to a guide who understands composition and lighting is so much easier.” — Teagen Cunnife, The art of wildlife photography in travel

“I bring a little Fuji Instax camera with me. And that’s for when I’m going into more remote regions so that I can not only ask for a photo but give one back as well. For me, I’ve found that this opens doors to getting people to sit for portraits. Because, if you’re always just showing up and you’re this guy with this big camera coming up in front of them, there’s a little bit of shyness and reticence. But if you can sit with them and open up a little bit of a dialogue, even if you can’t exchange in the same language, that’s a really great way to get them involved.” — Matt Dutile, Picking the perfect kit for your assignment 

"I always dress to blend in. For example, what I’m wearing to photograph