Who doesn’t love travelling, visiting new places, and going on adventures? And who wouldn’t want to capture these memories and look back at them later?
If you are looking for photography inspiration during your journeys, this article is just for you! We have collected 30 of the most influential travel photographers from across Instagram.
Believe us, they are worth following! Their work and unique style might give you some ideas next time you are travelling.
What Is Travel Photography?
Simply put, travel photography is capturing adventures and locations that you visit during your journeys.
This photography niche involves so many different genres. A travel photographer has to have some knowledge of landscape, architecture, street and environmental photography as well.
Travel and adventure photography often involves storytelling and focuses on capturing special moments and atmospheres.
There are many different approaches to travel photography. You can focus on people, take self-portraits, emphasise landscapes, or dive into aerial photography. Mixing these approaches can result in a unique style, and over time can get you professional recognition as travel photographer.
30 Most Influential Travel Photographers to Follow
Let’s take a look at the work of these amazing travel photographers!
Frauke Hameister
This German photographer captures stunning landscapes and adventures, mostly in a location surrounded by mountains and cliffs. Frauki does an excellent job at visualising stories through her images. Her style revolves around cold colors and a foggy atmosphere. She mostly includes herself in her photos, giving her work an extra personal touch.
Robert King
From wildlife to landscapes and night photos, Robert King is exceptional in several areas of photography. But first and foremost, he travels around the world and captures the unique views in front of him. His passion for travelling shines through his photographs. His compositions are top-notch, often created with an extra touch of drone perspective.
Pedro Quintela
Pedro is a true visual artist. His photos look like as if they were paintings. He takes advantage of gorgeously colorful skies and landscapes all around the world. His way of using a central composition proves that this technique is definitely not as cliché as some think.
Adam Desjardins
Snowy mountains, exotic islands, vibrant cities… Nothing stops Adam when he arrives with his camera. He uses a unique perspective to capture his travelling adventures, mostly using a wide-angle lens to include all of his surroundings. He also likes to shoot from a birds eye view, often including himself in his travel photography.
Chris Henry
Chris is an American photographer, visiting places such as Norway, Iceland, Alaska, or Italy. He loves to shoot wildlife, getting unbelievably close to his models. For every country he visits, he uses a certain photography style, making each photo series unique and distinguishable. He also owns his own streetwear brand, where the designs are based on his photography.
Morten Munthe
Morten is a photographer from Norway, mainly taking photos of his own country’s treasures. He has a consistent style of dark, contrasty, and moody photographs. He likes to include people in his photos, turning the landscapes into lifestyle portraits. Not only that, but he also captures wildlife when he gets the chance.
Luke Stackpoole
This English photographer perfectly combines landscape and travel photography. Wherever he travels, he tries to take a photo of the hidden gems of the place. Tiny houses, forest trails, local animals are all common subjects of Luke’s photography. He generally prefers northern locations, such as Iceland, Scotland, or Greenland.
Marcel Siebert
Marcel does an excellent job at depicting what’s best in each season. He likes to include as much detail in his photos as possible, often using props that symbolise the current season (such as pumpkins during autumn). His images are like a fairytale: magical forest, breathtaking castles, and traditional villages are often his subjects.
Disa Wold
If someone is enjoying life to the fullest, it’s Disa. Wherever she goes, she embraces the opportunities that the place gives. From tenting to petting a reindeer or chilling in a hot tub, she knows how to bring the best out of each moment. And she captures these moments in an authentic and joyful way. Disa also has a portrait photography account, so check it out if you are interested in her work.
Monika Jeske
If you are looking for magic, you should definitely check out Monika’s photography. She takes advantage of spectacular skies to emphasise the beauty of locations such as Sicily or Jordan. Apart from these, she also takes everyday places, such as Prague’s old town, and gives an extra touch to them with her editing style.
Rach Stewart
Rach is a photographer from New Zealand, mainly taking photos of mountain landscapes. Her images are incredibly refined and thoughtfully composed. She plays with colors like a true artist. The smooth transition between shades of the blue hour and cotton candy clouds in her pictures are remarkable.
Furstset
Stijn loves creating dramatic images, often using silhouettes, sunsets, and flares to reach the desired atmosphere. He often uses a birds eye view to include as much of the scenery as possible. Capturing himself in his scenes is also a common part of his work. If you are looking for adventure photography at the most various locations, check out this account!
Nazariy Kryvosheyev
Nazariy uses his photography to capture the present moment while he is hiking and travelling through gorgeous places. You can often see a patch of sky, or a ray of sunlight, or a passing cloud giving his images an extra touch. He knows how to play with shadows and contrast to create his own style.
Roam The Planet
Unlike the other accounts in this list, @roamtheplanet is not an individual artist, but a photography community, built on a passion for adventure. It features images from a variety of travel photographers. You can use this account for inspiration, but you can also get featured by using the #roamtheplanet hashtag under your travel photographs.
Thrainn Kolbeinsson
Thrainn is an Icelandic photographer, travelling through his country. The sheer beauty of Iceland shines through his photographs, from glaciers to highlands and waterfalls. He captures details, such as close-ups of Icelandic horses or frozen grass, as well as landscapes. He often takes drone photos, showing the location from a unique perspective.
Gábor Nagy
Gábor is a Hungarian photographer with a passion for travelling and adventures. What makes his work special is that he often manages to reach a minimalistic style of landscapes, with only two or three elements in the picture. This makes his photographs simple yet breathtaking. One of his favourite locations to visit is Iceland, and he is good friends with Thrainn.
Peter McKinnon
Peter is one of Instagram’s most-followed travel photographers. This is no accident. He takes a unique approach to travelling, combining lifestyle self-portraits with adventure photos. He visits a wide variety of locations. You can find photos of huge cities in his account, as well as northern landscapes, or even Californian beaches.
Michael Kagerer
His photos radiate calmness, partly thanks to his editing technique, and partly because of his location choice. He prefers to visit places with minimal human habitation, exploring the wild and interacting with the animals around. Wherever he goes, he highlights the main characteristics of the area, whether it is moody forests, frozen mountains, or bare hills.
Giulio Groebert
Giulio is a German photographer, who loves travelling through Europe and sharing his journey through his photography. He uses a harmonic set of colors in his pictures, which creates a warm atmosphere that defines his style. Giulio proves that there are hidden gems everywhere. Looking at his pictures, the viewer gets an irresistible motivation to go out and discover some of the surrounding places.
Tom Juenemann
Tom is a German travel and outdoor photographer, often taking birds eye view photos. He loves visiting castles and traditional villages, creating fairytale-like images. His aim is to inspire his followers for travelling. He also cooperates with tourist offices and many brands, such as Vans, Sony or Adobe, to help them get a bigger audience.
Stuart Price
Stuart is a photographer who is experienced in many different areas. Apart from travel photos, he also does lifestyle, product, and portrait photography. He has pictures from England, Portugal, Greece, just to mention a few, and he is extremely skilled at using various compositional techniques. He is also the writer of our Intuitive Composition eBook!
Mandy Rosenfeld
If you are looking for inspiration for mountain landscape photography, definitely check out this account. From the Dolomites to Iceland, Mandy has a talent for capturing the cold, yet beautiful winter atmosphere through her photographs. She loves rocky surroundings, fog, and sunset peaking through the clouds.
Fabian Huebner
Speaking of cold and foggy photos, Fabian is definitely one of the leading travel photographers in that area. He embraces the mystical atmosphere of cloudy days while making use of the occasional sunsets. If you check out his account, be prepared that his dark and moody images will give you the chills.
Manuel Dietrich
From California to Germany and Norway, Manuel is passionate to capture his adventures. He loves having mountains and lakes in front of his camera. His composition technique is dynamic, he often creates a foreground by letting plants and stones into his frame. There is also a preset available so that his followers can reproduce the unique colour tones he’s using.
Marvin Kuhr
Marvin is yet another travel photographer who prefers to take a minimalistic approach. He doesn’t overcrowd his frame, as he visibly composes each subject of his while consciously using compositional rules. He mainly travels in Europe, but he also visited locations such as La Réunion or Canada.
Emmett Sparling
While the other photographers on this list mostly take photos of mountain sceneries, Emmett regularly visits exotic places and seashores. He has a vibrant and colorful style, often playing with different lighting conditions. He also ventures into underwater photography, taking portraits as well as wildlife photos.
Brayden Hall
Brayden’s seasonal photo series are outstanding. He visualises exactly what is the most appealing in each season. The colorful leaves of autumn or the sea adventures of summer are often the subjects of his photographs. How he utilises light can serve as an example for other photographers.
André Alexander
This German travel photographer takes pictures of landscapes as much as castles, villages and cities. He prefers to do photoshoots in sunset or sunrise, which adds to the dreamy atmosphere of his shots. Looking at André’s photos really makes you want to travel through Europe and visit some of the places he captures.
Dave Williams
Dave is an internationally recognised travel and wildlife photographer. He has been featured by sites and magazines such as Forbes or National Geographic. He makes use of gorgeous lighting and landscapes, while often choosing wild animals as his models. If you would like to see some gorgeous Aurora Borealis photos, definitely check out his account!
Lennart Pagel
Lennart takes pictures of cities and villages just as much as of nature. He loves using a bird’s eye view when capturing his adventures all around the world. Whether it is landmarks or natural creations, he is capable of capturing the essence of each location.
