When we are traveling, we often focus on the landscapes and the cities we are going through. Search for monuments, sunrises or sunsets, and other waterfalls.
All this occupies an essential place in the photographic quest and almost eclipses the photos of the trip itself.

But to tell a journey, it is essential to take contextual elements that allow the spectators to understand how the trip was articulated. Here are some tips for taking photos while traveling by train.

1. How to take photos in a small space?

Use the most compact photo material possible.

First of all, it is essential to start from the beginning. In a train, space is reduced, and your neighbors are usually less than one meter away from you. If you go too fast with a big camera, you risk upsetting the people around you.

Personally, I use telemetry cameras that have the advantage of being smaller in size and more discreet. In digital, I usually use a Fujifilm X-pro 1 with a wifi SD card. This makes it possible to recover the photos a little faster and to share them with the people who have agreed to have their pictures taken.

Make yourself accepted by your neighbors and do some tracking before taking pictures

Before you take out your camera and go head-to-head while strafing everything in your path, it may be worthwhile to take a break. Taking the time and watching what is happening around you is always very informative. You will see the photos on the train is always very fun.

Focus on wide-angle lenses to take pictures by train

If you want to take pictures of actions or subjects, you will have to use a wide-angle lens. That is to say, to a goal of less than 24 mm (full format 24×36 mm), for information purposes, the focal length of the lens that you find on your cell phone is the equivalent of 28 mm.

If you do not have a wide-angle, you can use the pan function of your phone or a camera like Go Pro.

If you do not have a suitable lens, it does not matter; it’s even a photographic exercise that will make you progress. Concentrate on the vanishing lines of the car or details. And especially think more about the photos you would like to make.

2. The composition of the image

We have seen this in the previous paragraph. Usually, on a train, spaces are often tiny. It is, therefore, useless to try to fight in the framing to exclude this or that element that you do not like.

By integrating annoying elements, you keep an acceptable frame. By refusing, for example, to incorporate a person’s back, you will change the angle. The light is not the same, and especially you will end up with a large ceiling or floor, too important.

For example, when you take a picture of the landscape when you are on the train, do not hesitate to integrate the amount from the window. This contextual element will allow the person looking at the photo to understand why the landscape is slightly fuzzy. But also to accept more easily irregularities due to dirty windows or a reflection on the glass.

3. The angle of your photo report

This point is essential, and this should always precede a photographic process. What is your goal? What message do you want to convey?

The landscapes

If you want to photograph landscapes, you will have to vary the angles and the composition to have a selection of photos the least annoying possible. On trains that run fast, you do not have to try to take a picture of a specific subject. You will need to focus on the light, the sky, and the colors of the landscape. Links between people If your favorite item is the portrait, then it is essential to take a train ticket in second or sometimes third class. Generally, first-class travelers do not wish to be disturbed. And that is why they are willing to pay a lot more money. The tranquility at a price and then we find the sanitized atmosphere of large hotels where people rarely communicate with each other. It’s always lovely to photograph sanitized and ultra-design places, as long as you decide. But when one travels a lot and is confronted with loneliness, it may be sometimes helpful to turn away for a moment from these silent and often empty places.

But when you travel a lot, and you face loneliness, it may sometimes be appropriate to turn away for a moment from these silent and sanitized places unless you want to do personal branding and post on Instagram.

Life on a train

If you want to tell your trip by train, it may be interesting to think of a few sequences before getting on the train. Read, stay informed, and when you get there, you will become much more productive, and your photos will make more sense. Feel free to focus on valuable, unusual items or things that no one takes the time to observe. This can be a cup on a table, a door handle, or an alarm signal.

Photo credits: Yann