Capturing the essence of the Galapagos Islands with your photos and videos keeps the memories going long after you’ve left the islands.

These photography tips from Galakiwi include some fun tricks to try, and some simple things to remember that will work for any level of photographer in the Galapagos Islands.

Show People in the Natural Environment

Whether it is you, your friends, your family, or new travel friends, try to remember to get photos of people, as well as the wildlife and landscapes of the Galapagos Islands.

Capture some Color

If you visit during the dry season, a lot of your photos may need some extra thought to add color, as vegetation will be mostly dry and brown. Combined with the dark colors of lava rocks, try to keep in mind about adding some blue skies, green leaves, or other colors into your photos for better contrast and variety. (Some serious photographers will opt to shoot some black and white photos when color is otherwise difficult to find!)

Get Low (or High) for a Better Perspective

When you get down to the level of the wildlife you’re taking photos of, it can give you a better view. This crab photo shows the legs and face of the crab better than if it was shot from “above”.

This tip works particularly well for lava lizards, iguanas, sea lions and tortoises.

Show the Action

Since Galakiwi tours tend to be active, with hiking, biking, kayaking and snorkeling, you will want to consider a waterproof / action camera, or at least finding a way to capture moments when you are “on the move”.

The biking photo above gives just a slightly different look than usual and helps capture feeling of biking in the Galapagos. It is not perfect in terms of color, contrast and clarity, but it conveys a feeling.

Have Fun with Selfies!

We aren’t saying to go crazy taking selfies everywhere, but when the wildlife in the Galapagos tend to be some of the best creatures in the world for allowing you to take a pose. Just remember to keep a safe distance from all animals and try to get creative with your shots.

Be Patient, Especially Underwater

It takes time to get “the shot”, even in the Galapagos Islands. This is perhaps most true when underwater snorkeling, swimming or diving.

We are the slowest thing in the water, yet most visitors to the Galapagos spend their time chasing after fish, sea lions, sharks, turtles and more.

Spend time just moving slow, or staying place, and let the wildlife come to you. With enough patience, you’ll get photos, or videos, of fish (or sea lions!) coming towards you, which makes for a much better photo.

Take Advantage of Sunrise, Sunset

Sunlight is key to so many great nature photos. a big advantage of taking a Galapagos land tour is that you don’t have to be on a cruise ship traveling between islands during sunrise and sunset times.

Take advantage of free time on a land tour in the Galapagos, where you an freely explore towns before breakfast, or setup a shot for sunset. You’re not on a tightly “fixed” schedule when you book a land tour with Galakiwi.

Learn and Anticipate Animal Movements

Once you’ve bene in the islands a couple of days, you’ll start to get a bit picky with your photos. You will start to learn where wildlife might walk to, swim to, or fly to next.

The dolphin photo above wasn’t purely by chance. Dolphins had been following a Galakiwi tour as they traveled by private boat to Floreana Island. After watching them jump many times, in the same general area, the photographer was able to get this shot as they had their camera “ready” for when they jumped next.

There are many other photo tips our amazing Galapagos guides like to share when you come to visit the islands with Galakiwi. See you soon!