Photography hints shared

In Tuscany, are you more interested in city scenes, or hill scenes? That can change where you choose to visit. You can get some lovely scenery if you go on hikes around cities as well. If you are thinking of doing night, obviously a tripod helps tremendously. I'm living over here until Christmas and wasn't able to take one, but I did still take three of my lenses. My 50mm f/1.8 will help at night for some low lighting situations. I have a kit lens and a telephoto lens as well. I would bring two or three max. Also a hint: If you are trying to worry about weight/size of your carry-on, you could always use your camera bag or backpack as your personal item, and store your purse in your carry-on suitcase.

And up before dawn. You can get some lovely people-less shots then, and the early light can be intriguing. Definitely tripod. Shots across the river, with reflections - lots of opportunities along the Arno.

A couple of extra things: 1) invest in a circular polarizing filter. You will not be able to take all of your shots in perfect morning or evening light, but the polarizer can can really dial in the blues of the sky. Filters are small, (relatively) cheap, and can really extend your photography. 2) a good collapsible tripod or monopod is worth its weight in gold, especially for low light shots (and there will be many).

our family took a digital photography course this summer and the number 1 tip my husband took away from this course was the same that Ted shared: -> use a polarization filter

number 2: -> shoot in raw format As long as you shoot in raw you can do a lot of work at home with your software cleaning up your pictures and adjust them to create your perfect memory. With one exception: make sure your focus is right where you want it in the first place. That is the one item that is very difficult to adjust later on. Raw needs more memory but that is so cheap these days so invest in a couple more cards if necessary.

Had not planned my polarizer for November, but now on mylist. I may have to sacrifice my tripod due to weight. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I always shoot RAW and JPEG combined even though it requires more storage space. I try to do primary camera gear in backpack with purse... But my lowlight lenses are heavier than kits, plus I will have a 3lb laptop and IPad that also go in backpack. Most would say leave the laptop... But I have to work on the trip, and i don't go anywhere without IPad. I plan to climb all towers for city views. Any suggestions for Acqueducts in Tuscany? Where was your killer shot? Did you drive or take train/bus to a location, that as a photo bug, you would not have missed? I've been to Siena, Volterra, San Gimin.. And got wonderful fall photos, an probably will not go back unless its to Siena (great fog shots). Best time of day for Pisa tower?
My best Florence shot of Ponte Vecchio was from a window in Uffizi followed by a reflection pix of Duomo (reflection in a rain puddle). I take my camera everywhere... But am respectful of not using it where it is prohibited (I almost put my thumb on two lenses of users shooting the cistine chapel, which is prohibited photo...my guide said that Italians thumb the lens of inappropriate photographers. I assumed they could not hear or read the English/Italian requests to not photograph ceiling).

Mary, When I was there in June, I took: 12-24mm -- for those tight windy streets and environmental portraits 24-105mm -- good "walkabout" and landscape lens 70-300mm -- Long reach zoom
Flash & diffuser -- for portraits I carried this, plus 2 bodies, batteries and associated chargers etc. in a roll-on. Be careful not to draw attention to the weight of your carry-on :-) I'd advise taking the lenses you want as they will make all the difference. Unlike the other folks, I'd skip the tripod, especially since you want to do it all with a carry-on. I find it is often too cumbersome for a day spent moving around to different locations in Tuscany, and especially in the cities. I took a monopod (packed in checked-on baggage), and then didn't use it much. With just carry-on, I'd leave both at home. Take a bean bag (or just the bag, and buy some beans to fill it in Tuscany). With fast glass and today's digital sensor technology you can hand-hold most of the time, or use the bean bag to brace the camera against something solid in low light. It's likely to be rainy in November, but I expect you'll get some great landscape shots in the Crete south of Siena. They fields will be tilled and you should get good contrast between the brown color of the earth and the stone farmhouses and white roads. Also dramatic skies. Siena is perhaps my favorite city in Tuscany to photograph. Take that wide-angle to the Campo! San Gimignano is also photogenic any time of the year.

To answer your follow-on question re: transport, we have always rented a car. It's just so much easier to ensure you get to where you want to be, at the time you want to be there. E.g. there's no bus service that will get you from your base to Siena Cathedral at 5.30am for sunrise. If you need to get out into the countryside for sunrise/sunset, car really is the only option if you have a fixed base. Can I ask why you want to do only carry-on? A checked bag might make it easier for you to take what you need. Mathew

My theory is to travel as light as possible. I only take two Nikon cameras with one lens each. When I go out for the day I take one camera and it has an 18-125 zoom lens. No tripod, no extra lenses. A lot of extra stuff just inhibits my creativity, and while I am worrying about the equipment I am not able to concentrate on the subject I want to photograph. For me, keep it simple. (I am a professional photographer and have traveled with so much stuff I could hardly carry it) With each trip I try to take less. On a most recent trip I challenged myself to go out without my camera (I was in Prague) and only took images with my iphone. I just sold that image to a company that distributes my art and it will be printed to 16x24 final size. Yes, you need equipment that works, but it is not the camera, it is the photographer. Concentrate more on studying composition, subject matter, inspiration and your work will improve dramatically. Unless I think I am having trouble with exposure I do not shoot Raw for my travel images, I use jpeg fine and enlarge then to 24x36 all the time. I always have a car so I can photograph when and where I need to. I have done the train when necessary, but wanted to jump off as I passed the most glorious sights and knew if I had a car I would have been able to capture those scenes the way I wanted to.

In addition to a circular polarizer, I would also take a neutral density or graduated ND filter. I personally would take a small(ish) tripod but I like to do HDR so it's helpful for that. (If you haven't experimented with HDR this might be the opportunity to do so). When you're in Milan, if the weather is nice, you might head to Lake Como for a day or two. My favorite picture from our last trip is of the town of Varenna from the ferry boat (bright buildings, a church tower & the little harbor). It's very picturesque. In Tuscany, you might also consider visiting Pienza & Montepulciano. We got some nice shots in both places. We also loved Orvieto (in Umbria) which would make a nice day trip from Tuscany. The facade of the Duomo is absolute.y gorgeous when the sun illuminates it. There is a tower there with nice views as well. Wherever you go, you'll no doubt have tons of photographic opportunites. It's funny that you mentioned the picture you took in Florence of the Ponte Vecchio from inside the Uffizi. I took the same shot & it was my favorite view of the bridge but when I got home I realized that there was a big smudge on the window in the Uffizi...I've always wished I could go back & take that shot again!

Mine aren't technical answers like the others but are some practical/planning considerations. Have a theme or two in mind. Nuns for example or maybe gargoyles. I have a few really good nun pictures but wish I had done more. I think it will make an interesting group of photos. The other theme I did was my wife in front of every H&M clothing store we saw. her friends at work get a kick out of it. My other tip doesn't really lend itself to a non point and shoot camera but....Have the camera ready and don't be shy to pull it out. Some of our favorite memories were without pictures because I always thought about it after the fact. I'll try and focus more on being in the moment with my camera the next time I travel. I'm also eyeballing a new canon S95...point and shoot that shoots in RAW and has a really large sensor.

Sheron, those are the situations when it can help to have the photo in raw and than use your software at home to get rid of that smudge.

I'm an amateur as well, and I found a very light weight (11 oz) collapsible tripod that will hold up to 3 lbs and have a remote shutter release that I will be bringing on my upcoming trip to Paris for nighttime photography (I love the lit up fountains of Europe). I will let you know if it is worth the trouble.

@Sheron... do not give up on your image with the fingerprint. If you do not have photoshop or do not know anyone who can retouch it for you there are any number of digital artists who can fix that for you in no time. You can search someone on line or go to a local digital photo printing lab. It will probably be a simple matter of some cloning. @Richard... great idea to have some themes going. When I teach photo workshops that is one of the things we have students do... rather than just wander around and try to duplicate postcards of 'must see' sights it gives you a new way to look at things. And, I love the H&M series... you could publish it for those of us who love that store. I also have one of a nun that I took in Rome that I love, but they can be elusive so if that is a theme it keeps you on your toes...camera ready!

Thanks for all of the suggestions. About the theme approach did you go/start with multiple themes? I fear that if I picked something like Nun's that I would shoot few pictures, whereas if I picked a couple of themes, it would increase my focus. I love the idea of gargoyles. Anybody ever bring something (ie, a doll/toy) that they place in the scenes?

I go lighter in Europe each trip. (I've worked professionally and hauled loads of gear.) For 3 weeks in Umbria in Oct I plan to take only fast, light primes - 24, 50, Maybe an 85 or 105, and my iPhone. No tripod, no heavy telephotos. Makes me more creative and frees me to really enjoy my surroundings. And my tiny Powershot is always in my pocket. Can occasionally get something amazing when I don't need to draw attention!