Can Photography and Vacations Really Coexist?

It’s hard to leave the camera at home. But when you travel with family or friends, photography isn’t always the point. So can it still find a place?

Most of my travel revolves around family. These trips have a different purpose than a photography-focused outing—they’re about spending time together and having shared experiences. Still, my love of photography comes with me on those trips. I know I’m not alone in this, either. What does it look like in practice to bring your gear along when traveling with friends or family?

The Challenges

Any time you’re traveling with others, the trip establishes its own rhythm. There will be shared meals, sightseeing, tours, or planned activities. If you’re traveling with younger kids, some more structure or routine will likely also dictate the shape of each day. Generally, you’ll want to be present for all of the activities, not operating on a separate schedule or showing up exhausted because you’re trying to cram in a lot of photography on top of it. You did go on this trip with these people for a reason, after all!

As a result, it’s easy for photography to either quietly vanish from the trip or to create friction by pulling too hard in its own direction. But there’s a third path. It just takes some intention—and a willingness to adapt. What follows are three broad approaches that photographers often take, depending on their priorities and the kind of trip they’re on.

Approaches to Consider

There are three broad ways that photography tends to show up on vacations like these. Each interacts differently with the natural rhythm of a shared trip. Let’s take a look at them.

Unplug and Recharge

This approach is all about stepping away. You might bring a camera or choose to just use your phone for when inspiration strikes. But the goal isn’t to chase great photos—it’s to take a mental break. It’s an opportunity to step away from feeling like you have to be creative. You might make a few images of your family or friends to remember the trip by, but that’s it.

This minimalist mindset lets photography fade into the background. You’re not looking for good light or scouting compositions. You’re simply there, with the people you came with.

Sometimes, unplugging from photography while also unplugging from the rest of your routine can be genuinely refreshing. Without the usual pressure to produce something meaningful, this kind of trip can quietly refill your creative energy. When you come back, you might find yourself more excited to shoot than you were before you left.

Casual Shooting

Casual shooting isn’t necessarily about packing light. You might bring your full kit along, or at least a significant portion of it. What sets this approach apart is more the mindset: photography plays a secondary role, moving in and out of the trip’s rhythm without disrupting it.

You might head out for a quick shoot before breakfast on a morning or two to a location you had your eye on. Or if you see a compelling subject or some light while out sightseeing with your travel partners, you make a quick photo. When out and about, maybe you settle for your first instinct on composition instead of spending the time to refine every detail.

This approach allows photography to stay present, without it becoming the organizing principle of the trip. It creates room to respond to what you see while keeping the pressure low. And because you’re not committed to specific shoot times or locations, it’s flexible—you can adapt as the days unfold. It’s a way to stay creatively engaged without letting the photography dominate.

This can give your creativity a jolt in a different way than the first approach. In this one, you might be energized by the freedom of having few or no plans driving your photography. Maybe you feel more free to experiment. Or maybe you get back to your roots, shooting a little more like you did when you first started.

Dedicated Photograph

Even when photography isn’t the stated purpose of the trip, some people lean into it as much as possible. In this approach, photography gets a prominent place in the schedule—or at least yours! That might mean getting up and out for sunrise every day, staying out late for sunset, taking advantage of blue hour, staying up for astrophotography, or negotiating time during the day to stop and work a scene while others take a break or adjust plans.

Photographers who take this approach are often considered to have made the most of the locations they visit, creatively speaking. They’ll come home with a strong collection of images and often enjoy the high-output nature of the experience. But it’s also demanding. It usually means less rest and less flexibility with the group’s schedule. Photographers choosing this option may be left needing time to recover—both creatively and otherwise—once they get home. For some, it’s worth it, and they would regret adopting any other approach.

Tips and Suggestions

Before you head off on your vacation, it helps to be thoughtful about what you want photography’s role to be and choose the best approach for you. Personally, I tend to lean toward Casual Shooting when I travel with family. The time and money that go into those trips make it unlikely I’ll return to the same place anytime soon, so I want to enjoy it from both a personal and photographic perspective.

Here are a few things that can help you make the most of your photography during a vacation:

• Let the shape of the trip come first. Begin by understanding what you and your travel companions are looking to get out of the trip. There’s likely a reason you decided on this particular part of the world: Is it to experience a different culture? Enjoy good food or drinks? Relax on a beach? Get into some great hiking or other active pursuits? Making sure you know what everyone else is hoping for will help you choose a photographic approach that respects both them and you.

• Start to understand the day-to-day. See how the various travel plans are coming together. Appreciating when you might be where will allow you to think about photos you might like to make or locations you’d like to shoot that could readily fit into that rhythm. For casual shooting, don’t drop these straight into the schedule. Having some ideas in mind makes it easier to act if an opportunity comes up, and viewing them as looser goals will also free up your headspace to remain flexible during the trip. Or, if you want to take the dedicated approach, this is the time to form plans that take into account any specific timings you may need to accommodate for your photography.

• Build the anticipation, but don’t cling to it. Looking forward to a trip—daydreaming about the photos you might make—is one of the happiest parts of travel. It’s part of what motivates us within photography. But once you're there, it helps to shift your focus from the imagined outcomes to the actual process of photographing. Inevitably, things won’t work out exactly how you hoped they would. In those moments, it’s good to acknowledge your expectations, then let them go and photograph what’s in front of you.

• Take breaks from the camera. No matter your photographic approach, make a point of spending time away from your gear. Unfortunately, photography can easily separate us from experiencing the moment, undermining our ability to fully enjoy and connect with it. Don’t return home with only memories of looking at your camera, making decisions about your settings, or of the struggles to achieve your desired compositions. Take pleasure in the people you’re traveling with and the places you’re visiting.

• Divorce yourself from the results—for now. Editing is a key part of the creative process, but it tethers you to a screen. If you’re anything like me, you may also tune out anyone or anything else that’s going on around you. That can be more disruptive to your experience of the trip than carrying a camera around during the day. Processing the images can wait until you’re home, with one slight exception: do yourself a favor and back up your photos regularly throughout the trip.

Photography doesn’t need to disappear when the trip isn’t about it. With a little planning—and the right mindset—it can ride alongside the main purpose of the trip, adding meaning without taking over.

What kind of vacation photographer are you—Unplugged, Casual, or All-In?