The Family Road Trip - My Guidelines For Success

Confession: Not every family loves the idea of piling into the family truckster for a roadtrip for days on end, but my crew loves it. Last year we did a trip of about 7000 miles across the middle of the US through 3 National parks and everyone, teenage daughter included, has fond memories of that time.

Now as a photographer, I try, at least in my mind, to turn every family outing into the opportunity to make life altering landscapes, portraits, and action images but as any parent can attest, life usually has other plans. Still I persevere in attempting to find little moments of the trip to get some good stuff and I really try to involve my kids in the process if they’re interested. So, I don’t know if I’m 100% qualified to be giving other parents advice, but maybe there’s something in the words that follow that will help or resonate with you.

My first piece of advice is easy, don’t make your passion for making photos a beating for everyone around you. Let things happen in their own course and if you do need to direct people make sure it’s fast, easy, and in line with something they enjoy doing. The less you impose on your family, the more they’ll relax and be themselves, and if you take pics all the time they even get used to what you do and stop caring about being photographed. One quick word here, because I’ve seen this a lot, never post or show unflattering pictures of your kids, meaning don’t make your photos a reason they get teased, even by their siblings.

2 . Work with your spouse/partner to plan the trip in a way that gives you the time you need for the hero images you really want. Ideally, this would be planning around sunset and sunrise and/or giving you time at night for star-scapes if that’s your game. Usually this will mean being intentional with when dinner is planned, for example, in the summer we’ll eat at 6p and then go out for sunset but in the winter we’ll shoot first and eat after. Even though many of my favorite images from any trip wind up just being the snapshots we make when we’re all together I do love carving out those shoulder moments, late into the evening or early in the morning, to make an effort at something great.

3. Have a shot list. I used to be a guy who hated shot lists because I thought they’d kill creativity, but I find now that it can be the exact opposite. Plus, if you have a shot list it can remind you of images you really wanted to make that you might have forgotten. Once you have a list you can really get to work on the timeline for how to make it happen and/or what you might need to axe in the name of keeping everyone happy. Try Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Google Earth as a way to visit any space virtually and get some ideas on what you might encounter.

4. Realize that the best landscape and travel photographers are great at what they do, not only because of skill with a camera, but because they visit a place over and over again. There is a reason you see those incredible photos in the galleries around Grand Canyon National Park, the photographers that took them live in the area. On a prime weather day they can zip out to their favorite lookouts and make photos of incredible moments where lightning, rainbows, and snow happen. You’re there for 3 days and you have your family in tow, give yourself a break and know that if you do get something you love, that’s incredible.

5. If you’re traveling by car, by all means pack heavy, but also bring what you need to walk light. What I mean is that I’ll bring a myriad of stuff with me on a trip, multiple cameras and lenses, filters, and tripods but I’ve also got the small bag that allows me to get around for the day. I like my small bag to be a shoulder style, I want to be able to work out of it without having to put it down but YMMV. My current favorite smaller bag is the Think Tank Retrospective 10.

6. Keep a camera loaded/charged and ready to go with you in the car, at arms length at all times. Well not at all times, I concede to an 11 hour stretch of empty road… I’m looking at you Wyoming. I use the center console of my truck to hold a small bag with a camera, mid-range zoom, and telephoto zoom so I’m ready for anything we might run across. Last summer it was a 6a trip through Yellow Stone when we saw a beautiful scene with a buffalo/bison? in the misty morning light.

Bonus Tip 1: My kids love taking BTS photos and video. Give your kids the assignment of taking some record photos of your trip, you’ll be surprised by what they come away with.

Bonus Tip 2: Learn how to use both the interval timer/time lapse function and the wifi shooting of your camera, assuming it’s somewhat modern. By using the time lapse mode the camera can shoot for practically any length of time by taking an image every 3-4-5 seconds, for example. That way you can start the sequence, walk anywhere in the frame (even if that takes 10 minutes), and get images you otherwise could never make. The wifi is handy for family pics where you want to tell a joke or just ask for a smile and you need the timing to be perfect; you push the virtual button on your phone and the camera fires.