Guest in residence: Laura Saur tells us how to take dreamy travel photos

The professional photographer shares posing tips, the camera she recommends, and which direction you should walk for incredible lighting

Photographer Laura Saur of LCS Studio.

This week, I’m featuring the talented

Laura Saur

(pronounced like “so”) — a photographer whose images have been published in the likes of Conde Nast Traveler and Bon Appetit. Whether on her IG or in her online print shop, Laura’s always sharing the dreamiest snaps of her frequent solo travels to far-flung destinations, from the Ligurian coast to colorful Cartagena.

A first generation Cambodian American and a Charleston resident, Laura also writes the newsletter I'M JUST A GIRL... on everything from her Khmer family dinner to recent style finds to lessons from a small business owner.

Laura’s shot of the Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Tremezzina, Lake Como, Italy.

Determined to dust off my mirrorless camera for Morocco, I turned to Laura for advice so that I might come home with more than a camera roll full of blurry tagine pics. True to form, Laura was in the midst of a Lake Como trip (girlfriend made summering in Italy look real good). Despite having linguine to eat and spritzes to drink, she made time to share her expert tips for better vacation pics with us. Hope you enjoy!

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Tell us… how do you scout out the best spots or best lighting to shoot in?

Walk open streets that have buildings going East to West — that way you have many lighting options to choose from and play with like direct lighting, back lighting, or side lighting for fun shadow play.

Lighting in the early morning is bright and cooler in temperature, midday lighting is warm, directly overhead and can be too harsh if you don’t know how to work with it, lastly late afternoon to golden hour is warm, even lighting. My personal favorite is warm evening light because it’s flattering for skin tones but also because I’m not a morning person. Haha.

Tip: If you’re using an iPhone to take photos of people, have the sun directly on them or to the side. Do not put the sun behind them — the iPhone camera isn’t great at handling backlighting as well as fancier cameras.

A little girl rowing an entire boat on her own from the bow. Kompong Luong Floating Village in Cambodia.

What kind of camera do you recommend for a non-professional photographer?

Get a light, small point-and-shoot like the Canon G7x Mark II or Mark III. If you want to use a DSLR or mirrorless camera, my favorite lens is a 35mm f/1.2. It’s a sweet spot lens that allows you to take both portraits and landscape photos.

I’ve also realized that I’m horrible at posing! What advice do you have for both posing your subjects and posing yourself? For framing a subject?

Use pockets when possible. Bend your elbows so there is a little space between your upper arms and body, shoulders down and back, lean a little more on your right or left side (whichever you prefer) so that the opposite leg is a little more extended. Have the photographer position you further to the left or to the right of the screen so you give the viewer some context (if you want) as to where your picture is being taken. AKA leave room in the frame to tell the story.

For an outfit photo, have the photographer compose your feet closer to the bottom of the frame in the camera vs putting you smack dab in the middle of the entire picture.

For a perfect pose: Hands in pockets, bent elbows, leaning to the right, shoulders down and back.

What bag do you typically carry your camera in? And what are your day-to-day essentials?

When I travel, I take my Fjällräven Kånkan backpack or my Longchamp backpack. Both are super easy to flatten or fold and carry in my checked luggage.

When I go out for the day, I pack a water bottle, my camera, extra camera battery, a lens cloth, external phone charger, phone, electrolytes, and a sunhat because it’s hard for me to spot or photograph a moment in it’s purest form when I have sunglasses on. I feel like sunglasses obstruct my view of taking in my surroundings in their true colors so I like to photograph from under a nice little sunhat!

“I brought my new little film camera with me to Italy and had so much fun playing around with it. An easy point & shoot Canon AE-1 Program. Takes out the guesswork and you just snap the pic and focus on the moment.”

What are some of your travel rituals?

1. I always pre-download podcast episodes, audiobooks, meditation music, classical music or high frequency playlists before flying.

2. I send my itinerary to a family member and a close friend so they know where I’m supposed to be and when.

3. I am big on pre-flight health so I make sure to do a Neil Med sinus rinse the night before flying. I bring chlorophyll drops, LMNT electrolytes to put into my water. Bone broth packets for during the flight (all you need to do is ask the flight attendant for a cup of hot water).

4. Compression socks, always!

5. I pre-purchase and pre-install an eSIM card using the AirAlo app. I recommend installing it at home before you travel while you’re on a stable WiFi connection. Screenshot the installation instructions and have them pulled up on your laptop or iPad so you can follow them to a T while installing the eSIM on your phone.

“Sea of Stripes” — one of my favorites from her print shop.

Every photo doesn’t have to be framed perfectly or have perfect lighting. Photography is about the moments you experience that mean something to you. Capture those moments, the little ones, the special ones, the grand ones, and don’t worry too much about composition. Snap away and photograph the moment that you can look back on and relive the feelings of.

Thank you, Laura! Love seeing life through your lens. (And mid-flight bone broth? Genius.)

For more, browse Laura’s gorgeous travel photography in her online print shop, or follow her at @lcs_studio.

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Images courtesy of LCS Studio.