This post may contain affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase (at no extra cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
You see amazing photos on Instagram or travel sites and are blown away by their beauty. Then you realize something…there are no people in them! How did they get a photo of that popular attraction or iconic structure without anyone else in it? Here are our top tips and tricks on how to get great shots minus the people; because sometimes you just don’t want any distractions.
Off Season & Shoulder Season – If you want fewer people to deal with at the places you visit, one of the best things you can do to help your cause is to travel in the off-season or shoulder season. I know that not everyone shares my wife’s affinity for rain, cold, and overcast weather. However, aside from the weather Jandie enjoys, the real reason we tend to travel to Europe in November or March is because there are far less crowds, and that makes us happier than any warm weather or sunshine can.
Patience is Key – More often than not, you just need to be willing to wait for that right moment. Think about the shot you’re wanting to get, be ready, and wait. You may only have to wait a minute or two. I’ve waited for over 60 minutes to get a single photo. It’s time well spent if you end up with the perfect image you had in mind.
Don’t Follow the Crowds – So many people just blindly follow the masses. If I feel like there’s simply too many people to get the shot I want, I’ll just go to where the people aren’t. Look for angles or perspectives that other people haven’t thought of. Don’t be afraid to blaze your own trail. Fair warning; when you do this, other tourists may follow your lead and you’ll quickly lose your opportunity. You’ve been warned.
Long Exposure – Long exposure shots are great for a variety of reasons and situations. This is a method that doesn’t necessarily remove people altogether, but it does make them far less distracting. In fact, it can even add visual interest to your image. You’ll need a tripod for this one. Make sure the shutter speed is slow enough to get plenty of motion blur. The blur will draw the viewer’s attention more on your main subject. You can take this a step further and lengthen your shutter speed to the point where people will virtually disappear altogether. You’ll most likely need an ND filter to do this (Neutral Density Filter). There’s a way to “cheat” this on your iphone by taking images with the “live photo” mode turned on. We’ll plan on doing a short tutorial on how to do this in a future post.
Digital Removal – I’d be a rich man if I had a dollar for every time a customer told me, “You can just photoshop that out, right?” The truth is, yes, more often than not unwanted people or items can be digitally removed from an image using the clone stamp tool. However, this shouldn’t be your first resort. It takes skill and time. Some questions to ask yourself before using this method are…1. Is the time you’re spending in photoshop greater than the time it would have taken to just wait for the people to leave? 2. Can you tell that people have been removed? Better yet, have a family member or friend look at your work and see if they notice anything. If it’s noticeable, then it would probably be better left undone.
Photo Stacking – This is another option and it is also the most time-consuming. You’ll need a tripod for this one. Compose your shot and then take anywhere from 4-10 shots pausing between each of them anywhere from 5-10 seconds. Then you’ll use Photoshop to combine these images and what you can do is have the software get rid of anything in the photos that is not consistent. In other words if a person is walking and is in one shot on the right and on the left in another shot, it will remove that person automatically. What’s it’s effectively doing is keeping various portions of the different images and combining them all into one. This is very effective, but again, it takes more time when shooting as well as on the back end.
Give these a try the next time you find yourself wanting to get that perfect image sans people. As always, be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think or if you have any of your own ideas on how to achieve great results.
