It's In The Details - Guest Post by Michael Snell

Intro by Skip Cohen

I've worked with so many of the members of the Tamron staff over the years, but it wasn't until the SCU blog, that I had a chance to meet, either in person or in cyberspace, some of the finest artists in our industry. Meet travel photographer, Michael Snell.

Michael's based in Kansas, but a quick tour through his galleries and you'll soon realize how much time he spends outside his home state. Michael's work has appeared in National Geographic publications, Travel+Leisure, Moon Handbooks, Rough Guides, Away.com/Orbitz, Tamron publications, USA Today, Forbes.com, CNBC.com, Meredith books, AAA publications, Midwest Living, Kansas! Magazine and the Kansas Getaway Guide, Michigan Travel Ideas, and many other books, calendars, magazines and online resources.

What I enjoy the most about this post is Michael's reminder of how to build the story. It doesn't matter if you're a wedding or travel photographer - the true impact of your work will be in your ability to tell the story.

It's a short post, but packed with a giant thought, pay attention to the details. Check out Michael's galleries and you'll see some stunning images from all over the world! A big thanks to Michael for taking the time to do a blog post and to TamronUSA  for their never-ending focus on education!

I consider myself a travel photographer, but that says more about where I shoot than what I shoot. My subjects vary from people to landscapes, wildlife, food and architecture — basically anything you might expect to see in a travel magazine or guidebook. Travel images are intended to tell the story of a place and to create a desire in the viewer to learn more about the destination or to even want to visit for themselves.

Any good story is more than just an overview, however. Details are generally what really build the flavor and texture of a story. It’s true for a novel and it’s true for a photo essay. Whatever kind of photographer you are, when you are building a multi-image package — whether it be for a travel magazine or a wedding album — you can achieve greater depth by using both wide and tight compositions. And you don’t necessarily need to carry a lot of gear to do so. All of the images in this post were shot in Spain over the last two months with a single Tamron 18-270mm zoom lens to illustrate that point.

Wide shots are great for initially establishing where you are, and what your story is generally about. A broad, wide-angle scene overlooking a village and the surrounding countryside would fit this description. Next, come in tight for architectural details, portraits of locals, plates of food or a beautiful flower and you’ll begin to build on your story and add the details that draw the viewer in. If you are shooting for a publication, your art director will welcome these shots as well, as they will provide a wide variety of layout opportunities.

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