Each trip and every journey, doesn’t have to end, not when you can relive the moment through captured memories. So, whether taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Ireland to visit your ancestral home, taking a tour through Africa, or sun beaching in Miami, capturing each travel moment will enable you relive those beautiful moments you experienced.
If you are planning a take a trip, then read on to discover ways to capture each precious moment.
Table of Contents
1. Take Pictures
According to the American Psychological Association, taking pictures of moments helps you enjoy the moment more. Pictures are the mirror of a pleasant past. Taking pictures is the best and easiest way to capture your travels; with your smartphone or digital camera, you can take thousands of pictures during your journey.
To select a camera, it’s important to consider your needs as this will determine the type of camera to use. Are you planning to do some watersports or kayaking? Do you care about picture quality? The answer to these questions will help you decide the best camera to take on your trip.
Also, consider if you will take a lot of portrait photography, as the skills required differ from landscape pictures. Read more in the portrait photography guide.
2. Take Videos
If pictures are great, videos are even better! It helps you capture not just sight but also sound and movement. And since all smartphones have video cameras, you can conveniently capture that beautiful moment on the go. Although you might not want to capture the entire trip, one or two goofy videos wouldn’t hurt.
Quick Tips for Videoing with your Smartphone
Here are some easy tips that can help you get the best videos from your smartphone:
- Place the phone in landscape mode: By holding the phone in a horizontal position, you can capture more in the frame.
- Use the Sun: Since smartphones aren’t designed for professional videography, and low light often results in grainy videos, it’s best to find ways to get the best video you can. One such is by filming outdoors in the sunshine. But there might be times you may need to capture indoor moments, for this, consider well-lit areas with no shadows.
3. Keep a Travel Journal
A travel journal may be considered archaic, but there’s something classy and rich about writing in a diary while sipping tea on the patio. Journals are also places to document your feelings and thoughts that pictures and videos may not be able to capture fully.
You can include weather, names of places visited, and cost, which you can always reference in the future. And if you prefer to avoid penning down your feelings in a paper journal, there are digital options to consider. These include phone apps, digital notepads, and journals; these are easier to use and handier than leatherbound journals.
4. Buy Souvenirs
Seasoned collectors will tell you souvenirs are a great way to document and relieve your travel experience. It doesn’t have to be expensive; things as simple as foreign currency, business cards, tickets, and coasters can help you creatively document your experience.
Also, shadowboxes and scrapbooks are ways to infuse regular items to create long-lasting memories.
5. Develop a Photobook
Creating a photo book with all the pictures you have taken is not just fun but a great way to document your travel. A more fun and creative way is to turn these pictures into monuments such as a coffee table book. If you want an effortless way to make a stunning photobook, create with Mixbook. With hundreds of templates, you’re sure to create a travel book that speaks to you.
But if you like to do it digitally like many people do, there are apps to help you create the most beautiful photo books. These apps are easy to use; you can select from a range of templates of pictures and words and choose area-specific maps, among other features.
Both have advantages though; hard copy photo books make the best gifts to friends and family, while digital photobooks are handy and never get lost. You can begin by compiling all the pictures in your drive, then select your favorites.
Blog your Journey
If you have a thing for words and free internet access, then blogging is a great way to capture every event without overfilling your travel bag. Besides, it helps you reach and connect with like minds during your trip; knowing that these readers, friends, and family are waiting for your next post will help you document your experience more diligently and unluck the creative spirit in you.
Travel journals can go missing, and so can backpacks, but the blogs you post are forever safe and secure. Besides, who knows, your blog be the next internet sensation.
Travel in Groups/Pairs
Solo travel is refreshing and can help you focus on yourself, soak up the moment better, and reflect deeper. However, traveling with others and sharing their moments will help you remember them more. It gives you something to always talk about whenever you link up with the person or persons. Traveling with a loved one can also strengthen your bond with them.
Gather Free Maps
Maps are cheap, handy, and practical things you can gather as your travel. They are mostly free at hostels, inns, and hotels, so feel free to ask for one, even if it’s not on display.
These maps allow you to mark the places you visit and even write down your thoughts and feelings. Maps are keepsakes that ensure your travel memories don’t get lost.
Where to Now?
There are many ways to document your trip, and you will likely use a combination of the options above. But whatever method you choose, don’t forget to soak up the moment and enjoy your trip. Focus less on getting a social-media-perfect picture or writing the most captivating blog; rather, be invested in having a good time. Stop, look around you, breathe in the air, and take a mental picture; this way, you will never forget your trips.
Now that you know some unique ways to capture your travel, where are you heading next?
