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Taking Photos Of Trains

Taking photos of trains is dead simple. Point in the direction of the locomotive, press the shutter button and hope that you get your image in straight. The problem now becomes how do you take great photos. These are a lot harder to take and usually take years of practice, a good camera also helps. This short guide will hopefully enlighten you on how to take good pictures. I will show you a couple of do’s and don’ts. For more information a quick cool search usually brings up some great results.

General Rules

Although it has become harder in recent years due to “terrorism fears”, see this news article for more information, you really don’t have much to be worried about. All  you need to remember is some simple rules which I have developed myself, as well as this also use your brain and don’t be an idiot.

  • Don’t trespass. Don’t bother going some place you shouldn’t. The barriers are there for a reason so don’t climb over them.
  • Don’t use flash. Really annoying for every one, especially for the train driver. Turn it off.
  • Stand at the end of the platform. People are trying to board a train so if you are in there way, they would get really annoyed. Stay at the end of the platform where you are out of every ones way.
  • Try not to use a tripod. Similar to the previous argument, tripods are bulky and can get in the way, leave them at home unless you are using them at night or there is no one about.
  • Respect the Police. They are only doing there job. If you get hustled about say that you are doing nothing illegal and tell the truth. Although I can’t offer legal advice, if you are polite and tell them what you are doing you should be OK. You will probably only get hustle about if you are doing something wrong. If you look like a train spotter (which is obvious from a mile out) you would probably be OK. I also remember reading somewhere that they can’t take you camera or make you delete photos, although I am not too sure about this.
  • Respect everyone else. Don’t be annoying and respect everyone else, kind of goes without saying.
  • Ask for a platform ticket. If the station if barred off with barriers ask for a platform ticket from the booth or manager, say what you are doing. They will probably let you on the station. Alternatively go to a different station if you have the chance which doesn’t have a barrier. Although you usually have to ask to take pictures on a train station most wont mind if you are polite and look like a train spotter. If you are being stupid then they are well within your right to ask you to leave. For more information see this post and this great guide. For your rights as a photographer see this guide.
  • Finally Stand Well Back. One thousand tons of train moving at 100mph it will hurt if it hits you. Stand well back from the platform and don’t endanger the safety of others or yourself. This rule probably should be #1.

Photography Tips

Now that we have the safety speech over with lets get on to photography tips. The best method it to mess about and practice, i’m not a pro photographer. Here are some general tips which I have learnt.

  • It doesn’t matter if you take a bad photo. Unless you are using film, snap away until you get something you like.
  • Use a long lens. I will talk about camera equipment in a minute, but a long lens lets you zoom in but at the same time be a good distance away. Try and get one with vibration reduction.
  • Spend a day. Spend a whole day at a station and walking along the train line, the more time you invest the better the pictures will come out.
  • Good light. Unless you are going for an arty shot which is as hard as hell to achieve unless you are super talented.  Go on a sunny day where you can get full effect of the sun light bouncing off things, bonus tip don’t shoot into sunlight.
  • Alternative angles. Straight on shots of trains get a bit boring after a while, got for low down shots, up high, from a distance through the trees. Experiment.
  • Takes lots. Memory cards cost nothing. Have a couple of big cards handy and just holder the shutter release and take about 10-20. If you take a bad photo it doesn’t matter. If you only take one and its bad, you have missed a good shot. Amazon (USA Visitors go here) has a lot of memory cards which are really cheap.

Like I said I am not a pro photographer so I can’t really comment. That is usually best found on photography websites.

Photo Equipment

There is some “must have” photo equipment out there. Usually a good camera and lens is all that is needed. I recommend the following:

Nikon D40x

nikon-d40xOne of the best cameras out there. Although it has been superseded by the D60, this camera works like a charm. Its a good entry level DSLR that takes great photos. The added bonus of a kit lens makes it really worth while. You can get the Nikon D40X (USA visitors go here) for a reasonably good price. All of the pictures I take on this site are using a D40x. The images are sharp, clear and you can easily customize it to use all of the various settings such as aperture, shutter etc. For a starting camera this is a must.

Its priced around the £350 mark which is expensive, but it is a solid camera that will last you ages. As well as this it will also git any new lenses you buy since it uses the latest and greatest features in the Nikon range. Some also say that it has features built in that aren’t even utilised yet.

Canon EOS 1000D

canon-eos-1000dIf you are more of a canon man, no worries, the entry level Canon EOS 1000D (USA Visitors) is practically the same as the nikon version. Its a good entry level camera which you can use to start with. It also has the option of being able to do everything you want. If you want to go Canon and a first time user to DSLR this is the camera you should go with. Have a good look over the Internet and Amazon and see what you think.

The Canon is around the £400 mark so it is more expensive. There is always a divide between Canon and Nikon gear but both are just as good as each other. The only problem is once you buy one brand it becomes very expensive to move onto the other because of the cost.

Nikon 70-300mm Zoom Lens

41raqu7hkcl_sl500_aa280_I can only speak for this lens in particular since it is the only one I have in my collection. Most zoom lenses are expensive, since they contain a lot of glass. But this is cheap in comparison and is a good lens. You can focus in nice a tight, and it provides good quality images. The zoom is a little stick and takes a little bit of twisting to get it moving, but it stay zoomed in nice. Great for those shots in the distance and you don’t want a lot of background.  It also boosts Vibration reduction which is really useful for those panning shots and get everything in sharp focus,Nikon AF-S 70-300mm (USA Visitors) .

This lens costs about £330, there are various different flavours which don’t have the Vibration Reduction or some other nifty feature. I would go with the most expensive lens since it will last you years. They area really well built.

Conclusion

Hopefully you will have gained some useful tips reading this article. I will slowly add to it over the coming months as I come up with new ideas. If you have one of your own please drop me a comment, I would love to hear it.