Best ‘Hello’ photos come with smiles, good advice

Taking photos is one of my favorite vacation activities. My family members are at their smile-iest, and I love documenting scenes that I’d never see in my daily life in Columbus. After all, it’s that thirst for something different that draws me (and so many people) to travel.

Likewise, seeing other people’s vacation photos is one of my favorite parts of my job. I’m the editor in charge of receiving “Hello, Columbus” submissions.

Seeing happy people in intriguing vacation spots always brightens my workday. (I add my favorites to the list of places I’d like to visit someday.)

I also choose which photos to run, but that’s one of my least-favorite parts of the job.

During the busiest months for travel, The Dispatch can receive 20 or more photo submissions each week, and we have room to print four. That means lots of photos of readers who toted The Dispatch along on vacation don’t make the paper, and I hate disappointing them.

Here’s my general approach to making these tough decisions:

First, I check that the shot is in focus, the file is big enough for the photo to reproduce well in the paper and nothing inappropriate is in the image. Most submitted photos meet these standards.

But I’m also looking for people’s faces that will print clearly; nothing ever looks as clear on newsprint as it does in a digital file or high-quality print. Shadowed faces are the biggest problem, but large groups also pose difficulties: The faces of those pictured turn out too small and we run out of room to list everyone’s names.

Second, I make sure the submissions follow all our requirements: The subjects have to be holding up a Dispatch Travel page (not the

front page of the A section), either in paper or tablet-computer form; everyone in the photo must be named, along with where they live; and there needs to be a piece of advice for other travelers.

The best advice offers specific details, such as interesting places to visit or tips about, say, admissions or crowded times. (See the photos with this column for some examples.)

My least-favorite advice is so vague that it can apply to many destinations: wear layers, take suntan lotion, talk to the locals. Such suggestions don't help other Dispatch readers much.

Third, I look for fun — people who look happy, for example, or vacation destinations that seem cool. I’m a bit of a sucker for kids and animals (but not dead ones).

I’m turned off if someone submits a group photo where a friend is making an extremely unflattering face. I know I'm embarrassed by awful photos of myself, and I'd hate to have them put out there for thousands of readers to see. I assume everyone feels that way.

My best advice: Make sure the photographer can clearly make out everyone’s faces, take several photos and SCOTLAND

Harold and Ada Gutridge of Lancaster visit Inveraray Castle in Inveraray, Scotland. Travelers who visit the town should be sure to try the Scottish “Cullen Skink” chowder, the couple says.

submit the very best one.

But "Hello, Columbus" photos are just an infinitesimal slice of the vacation photos we travelers take.

For the others, my philosophy is to take a gigantic number so something is bound to turn out. (I'm not a particularly talented photographer.)

When I asked a few of our many talented experts here at The Dispatch for tips, photographer Barbara Perenic said that, even though landscapes feel the most-natural to take, you also should try to get close to the ALBERTA

David and Deanna Brooks of Groveport stand at the end of the “Plains of Six Glaciers” hiking trail at Lake Louise in Alberta. If you plan to do any hiking in Banff or Jasper National Parks, start out early, they say. The trails get busy in the afternoon.

details that interest you, such as food or faces.

Photo Editor Karl Kuntz built on that, suggesting that you zoom with your feet, not your camera. “If you think you are close, get closer.”

He added: “Take photographs like you are telling a story. Think wide, medium and close-up photos.”

For portraits, Perenic said, make sure your subjects aren’t staring into the sun (or they’ll squint too much), and, if using an iPhone, tap the screen where a photo looks too dark. It will adjust.

Kuntz said to plan to be at the places you most care about photographing during the “golden hours” — early morning or an hour before sunset. That’s when the light will make your shots look their prettiest.

And, do your photo editing at night in your hotel room, he said. That way, you’re not expending precious camera or smartphone battery power during your adventuring.

Happy photographing.