If there's anything Stephen Alvarez knows how to do well, it's how to take a picture.
The National Geographic photojournalist has worked with the magazine since 1995 and during that time he's witnessed two shifts: an increase in the number of photographers and a decrease in camera size.
But for Alvarez, a good photographer isn't defined by the heft of their hardware. That much is clear from one of his recent assignments — taking magazine-quality photos of the Seven Wonders using nothing more than a smartphone.
According to him, the best camera is the one you have in your hand.
"A lot of photography is a matter of being in front of a picture when it happens and so the best camera in the world is the one you have in hand. For most of us, it’s going to be a telephone," he told the Huffington Post Canada during a stop in Toronto.
Alvarez says smartphones have changed the game for all photographers because there are more people taking photographs, which is nothing but a good thing because it boosts visual literacy.
"More people are participating in photography than ever before which means more people can recognize a good photo from a bad one and that’s an exciting time to be a photographer because it means you’ve got to raise your game."
So, how exactly does one take their travel photography to the next level? Well, for starters, Alvarez says you've got to leverage a smartphone's ability to take plenty of photos in different places.
"Shoot more. What most people do is they walk into a situation, take a picture, and then they look at it and walk away."
Instead, Alvarez suggests taking more photos where the camera isn't in front of your face, even when you're unsure of the conditions.
"Try everything. All phones have technical limitations but don’t be constrained by what you think a proper picture is. If you think there’s not enough light, go ahead and try it. Even if you think the light’s too bright, go ahead and try it. Even if you think it’s not pretty enough, try it."
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That said, if you're looking for the best travel photos, carefully consider how much light you have. Alvarez likens photographs to "little poems constructed entirely out of light" and the better quality of light you have, the better the outcome.
"The best light is early in the morning just after [the sun has] gone up and late in the evening when the sun goes down and – “the Golden Hour” – the sweet time to shoot and no matter what technology you’re using."
The idea of light as a photographer's friend isn't just important for traditional portraits or landscape shots, it's particularly vital when it comes to a growing kind of travel photos: food photography.
Lighting in restaurants can be tricky at times, particularly at night, so to help, try stabilizing the phone by bracing your arms on the table to create a less blurry photo. If your phone also allows you to toy with manual settings, Alvarez says to dial down the exposure since smartphones generally make photos too bright by default.
Beyond lighting and stability, another way to take food photos beyond the dish is to go into the kitchen and tell a story through a collection of pictures.
"I like getting people thinking about sequences of photographs. So, the market where it’s bought, the guy who’s making the food, the people who bring the food, that all enters into food photography – even the ambiance of the restaurant – think beyond the simple plate."
Finally, a key step to taking better travel photos is to spend more time looking at pretty photos.
"The best thing to do as a budding photographer is to find someone you like and try to emulate their style. And you’re not going to be able to, you’re going to fail. In failing to emulate someone’s work, you’ll work into a way of seeing it’s your own. That’s really what you want to do: get to the place where you’re seeing yourself and making pictures true to you," says Alvarez.
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