How To Write Better & Take Better Photos As A Travel Blogger

By Lloyd C | Updated December 30th, 2010

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female photographer

We’ve compiled our favorite products & services to help improve your travels for 2018.
All are created by professional travelers specifically for intrepid travelers. What’s more, these guys are Masters of travel. So rather than trawling Google aimlessly, you’ll be learning directly from experts.
We’ve compiled our favorite products & services to help improve your travels for 2018. All are created by professional travelers specifically for intrepid travelers. Here’s some info on ways to write better and take better photos as a travel blogger.

Note: (There are no affiliate links here. We have affiliate agreements but left them out to show we’re genuine about these recommendations.)

Chris Guillebeau’s Frequent Flyer Master

Frequent flyer programs are like card games: they’re designed to look as attractive as possible while hiding heavily stacked odds. If everyone won, the airline/casino would go broke. But if people realized the odds were so skewed, they wouldn’t play. That’s why airlines (and casinos) must be masters of manipulation.

However, in both cases, a handful of players learn how to beat the house at its own game. They become masters of unraveling and decoding the manipulation. The rest of us believe we’re winning too, but really we’re just funding the masters. So, how do you master the art of frequent flyer programs?

Well, you need to learn from another master. And that’s where Chris G’s Frequent Flyer eBook comes in. He’s on a mission to visit every country on the planet, and in the process, he’s mastered the strategy of Frequent Flyer Programs. I purchased the eBook earlier in 2016 and saved $1600 on my first flight. And savings like that help you travel much further and for longer.

ThePlanet D’s Photography Tour

female photographer taking photos with digital camera

Travel and photography go hand-in-hand, just like Brussels and sprouts.
You’d think then, that us long-term travelers are photography experts. Unfortunately, we’re not. Why? Because photography is clicking a button like a brain surgery is slice and dice. In each case, there’s art and science involved, and without studying both, well, the results don’t look so good.

I’m not suggesting we travel bloggers don’t have great photos, because we do. But my great photos are mostly thanks to lady luck. Sure, I can tell if a photo is under-exposed or over-exposed, but that’s not nearly enough to turn a butcher into a brain surgeon. So how do we make the transition from traveler-with-camera to travel photographer?
Learn from an expert of course. And what better classroom than Rajasthan, India.

The guys from The Planet D are leading photography tours through India in 2016. I can’t imagine a better way to learn travel photography. And I’d be there in a heartbeat if I hadn’t already committed to another trip, coincidentally also in India.

Want a sample? Check out this comparison of Dave’s and NatGeo’s photos.

Matador’s Travel Writing Course

travel writing course

Lauren started the Matador writing course earlier this year, and I’ve become a permanent attachment looking over her shoulder. Before the course, I thought I had a pretty good command of English, you know since I’ve spent most of my life reading and writing. But just like photography, ‘years spent’ doesn’t necessarily correlate with ‘lessons learned’.

I guess I always thought I was good at writing. But once I started with the Matador course, I realized it had structure and style and nuance like everything else. And that’s what I liked most about the course: it added some science into the mix (and I really do love science).

If you’re a travel writer without formal qualifications, I highly recommend the Matador course. Even better than a formal education, you get peer-reviewed by beginners all the way to Matador experts. That alone is priceless because few other people will provide such detailed, honest and constructive feedback. And not just about your content, but about your structure and style too. Also, they teach you the ins and outs of selling your work to media outlets.