Top Instagrammer Melissa Patrice (@GirlEatWorld) Shares Her Travel And Photography Tips

If the name Melissa Patrice doesn't ring a bell, we bet you'll know her Instagram handle: @GirlEatWorld. Her beautifully curated feed of travel destinations and mouthwatering food are the perfect escape from a droll, rainy day. Among the places she's been to around the world are Ukraine, Botswana and Jordan, and she visits at least one new city/country every year. Inspired by her gorgeous photos, we sat down with the avid iPhone photographer to get her best tips for travel and photography.

Melissa’s key tips when travelling:

Research ahead of the location you're visiting

Instagram is a great tool for location scouting and for getting some ideas on photo angles. Although it's always good to visit the "most Instagrammable" places, sometimes the best places are the one you come across accidentally - so keep exploring!

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Practice Photo Composition

No matter what camera you use, you must master framing your photos. This is usually referred to as Photo Composition. Melissa suggests watching this quick video of composition tips by Steve McCurry, one of her favorite travel photojournalist. For iPhone users, there is a native support to compose your photos. She recommends to turn on your grids by going to Settings > Photos & Camera > Turn on Grid.

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Pay attention to natural light

Though sometimes it can’t be helped, Melissa doesn't like taking photos in the middle of the day when the sun is directly on top of you. This tends to cast harsh shadows and it doesn’t look very flattering on photos. Instead, She prefers to take pictures in the morning or a few hours before sunset, where the sky tend to be more beautiful, colorful and the natural light are softer and gold/warm-toned. She notes in the photography world, this time frame is often referred to as “Golden Hour“.

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Experiment with different angles

The other most important tip Melissa has is: Move around and change your angles! Sometimes you just have to experiment with a different viewpoint to get the best shot.