Scouting, Settings & Story

Scout fast, shoot faster. On arrival, spend five minutes walking the perimeter. Identify a main subject, a foreground anchor, and the direction of light. If you can, mark 2–3 vantage points to revisit when the light changes. This makes your shooting deliberate rather than frantic.

Settings that save shots: Start with aperture around f/8 for landscapes to keep layers sharp. For portraits and market detail, open to f/2.8–f/4 to separate the subject. Use shutter speed to control motion — 1/500+ for action, 1/30–1/2s for flowing water (tripod required). Raise ISO only when you need to maintain hand-holdable shutter speeds; modern cameras handle ISO 800–1600 well.

People make places human. Don’t shy away from portraits and candid shots — ask politely when safe. Waiting for a subject to enter a framed gap or a ray of light often produces the best results. When capturing strangers, have a small smile and a polite explanation ready; many will be flattered, some will politely decline.

“The best travel images are honest: small details layered into a sense of place.” — Team MN

A 1-Day Mini Itinerary (photo-first)

1. Sunrise viewpoint: arrive early, shoot wide + foreground details.
2. Morning market: 50mm or 85mm for portraits; 24–35mm for context.
3. Midday rest: edit a few selects, back them up to cloud/drive.
4. Golden hour shoot: silhouette shapes, bracket for highlights.
5. Night street lights: tripod, long exposures, and small apertures for starburst lights.

Packing checklist (carry-on friendly)

• Primary camera + 24–70mm (or 24–105mm) zoom
• Fast prime (35mm or 50mm)
• Lightweight travel tripod or gorillapod
• Extra battery, memory cards, microfiber cloth
• Small ND filter for long-exposure waves

Keep your workflow lean: cull in-camera selects at breaks, back up to two locations (cloud + drive), and batch-edit presets to maintain a coherent travel story across images.