5 Tips to Plan an EPIC Photography Road Trip!

How to plan and pack for a photography road trip

In this tutorial, Becki and Chris share how they organize and plan a photography road trip to take photos and film a mini documentary as well.

It takes a lot of planning and scheduling to make a road trip happen, so follow these tips to plan a successful road trip!

Tips to plan an awesome photography road trip!

There are many apps and scheduling systems you can use to keep track of your road trip organization. The one mentioned in this tutorial is Milanote.

Plan a Photography Road Trip Tip #1: Plan your schedule ahead of time based on your road trip goals!

It’s important to schedule the plan for your road trip, where you are going, how long you will be there, etc. 

It’s also important to schedule the shoots you want to do at each location so that you plan enough time to get the photos or video you need.

To figure out your road trip goals, ask these questions:

1. Where do you want to go?
2. What do you want to see?
3. Is there anything specific you want to shoot?

Then outline a rough schedule of where you go and how much time you will spend in each place. Try to not pack too much into the schedule and limit it to two main activities per day. 

Also make sure you account for driving time!

Plan a Photography Road Trip Tip #2: Keep your information organized

Adventure photography or awesome travel photography trips are fun but take a lot of organizing!

If you’re road tripping for over a week and changing airbnbs or hotels every night or two, it’s important to keep all of that information in a place you can easily find it.

You might need to pull up that information quickly to find an address or to see if you’ve booked something for every night.

It will be helpful to keep all of your bookings for accomodation in one place, be that an email folder or links in your notes app. 

Plan a Photography Road Trip Tip #3: Make packing lists

While you are planning your trip and your daily activities, it’s a good idea to start your packing lists alongside that. That way, you make sure you remember key items, such as raincoats or poncho, if you’ve booked a boat tour for example. 

Make a note of the weather forecast where you will be headed and pack accordingly.

International travel requires another list for the required documents,, so make sure you plan for that too.

Other handy items could include a camp stove for coffee making on the go.

Check things off as you are packing to stay super organized!

Plan a Photography Road Trip Tip #4: Do a digital location scout

Use a combination of Google maps street view and instagram to get an idea of what the locations you are shooting at look like from the ground. 

Keep photos of locations for reference and pulling up when you’re on location.

This is especially important if you’re planning to video document the trip. Planning out the time and location specifics will save you a lot of time!

Plan a Photography Road Trip Tip #5: Create a Gear Checklist

This is different to packing list, as that consists of clothes, accessories, and food.

During the planning portion of locations and shoots, break down what items you will need for each. You might need a specific lens or tripod or weather protection for gear and it’s helpful to create that list as you plan.

Make sure to charge your batteries ahead of time and bring all of the charging cables for all of the tech you’re bringing. 

If you plan to do editing and file management, you will also need to think about other gear. Such as a laptop, card reader, hard drive, etc.

Get organized and plan the most epic photography road trip using these tips!

Easy to apply and you will be thankful you followed them. These tips will get you organized and ready to have a fun packed road trip.

Want to improve your photography? Check out this full photography upskill guide!

Which of these helpful tips will you apply to your next EPIC road trip?

Comment Below!