Episode 95: Five Mindful Tips for Capturing Travel Content

Ever found yourself with thousands of travel photos but no idea what to do with them? You're not alone. The tension between experiencing a place and documenting it has become a universal travel dilemma.

In this episode, I share my tried-and-tested system for creating beautiful, intentional travel content without sacrificing presence and enjoyment. As someone who previously felt chained to my camera during trips, I've developed a framework that allows me to capture memories while still fully experiencing the magic around me.

Through five practical strategies—advanced planning, thorough research, intentional packing, pre-trip content mapping, and the crucial "capture and move on" approach—I demonstrate how you can document your journey without watching your entire vacation through a screen. You'll learn how tools like Trello and TripIt can revolutionize your travel organization, why matching your outfits to destinations creates more cohesive content, and how a pre-planned shot list frees you to be present in the moment.

Whether you're creating content for social media or simply preserving personal memories, these techniques will transform how you approach travel photography and videography. The goal isn't perfection but intention—allowing documentation to enhance rather than replace your experiences.

Ready to put down your phone and actually see the world in front of you? Connect with me for personalized social media consulting to further refine your travel content strategy. Your memories deserve to be both lived and preserved.

If you enjoyed this episode of the One Girl Travel Podcast, then I invite you to follow me on Instagram. That's where all the fun is happening! @ONE_GIRL_TRAVEL

Follow me here: https://www.instagram.com/one_girl_travel/

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to One Girl Travel Podcast
• 1:24 The Content Capture Dilemma
• 3:07 Tip 1: Plan Your Itinerary
• 4:52 Tip 2: Research Your Destination
• 6:51 Tip 3: Pack Intentionally
• 10:18 Tip 4: Plan Content Before Traveling
• 16:27 Tip 5: Capture Then Be Present
• 19:58 Closing and Contact Information

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the One Girl Travel Podcast, episode number 95.

Speaker 2: 0:05

Welcome to the One Girl Travel Podcast, your passport to the world of solo travel with certified life and travel coach, alessia Tenebruso. Join Alessia as she shares her own journey of self-discovery through solo travel, while also focusing on topics such as life coaching insights and travel tips along the way. Now here's your host, alessia Tenebruso.

Speaker 1: 0:31

Hello, my friends, and welcome to episode 95 of the One Girl Travel Podcast. We are almost in August. It is a day away when you are listening to this or when the episode is released, and I can't believe how fast the time is going. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, like time just seems to go by so quickly and I'm really trying to just slow down and enjoy the summer months and this time of year because it feels like such a short window. But when you look at life, like life goes by pretty fast and you do have to make an effort to slow down and appreciate it and really just take in those small moments around you and be present. And this actually leads into what I want to talk to you about today, which is capturing content when you're traveling, because I know so many of you if you are anything like me, you go on a trip and your phone or your camera is in your hand the whole trip. You are snapping photos of everything. You want to make sure that you're getting everything in photos, videos, whatever. And then you go home and you look at your photo album and there's thousands of pictures there and you don't know what to do with it, like there's so many pictures there and now it's like, okay, what do I do with all these, especially if you want to create content with all those photos, and it can feel so overwhelming that you just don't do anything with them, that they just live in your phone never to see the light of day, and that's really what I want to avoid when I am traveling. Now, I used to be like that. I used to just constantly take photos, take pictures of everything, and just it feels like be on my phone the entire time or just focused on capturing content the entire trip, and that is not the purpose of travel. Travel is about experiences and, yes, snap a few photos while you're around, while you're seeing things, but don't let that consume your vacation or your travels. So today we're going to talk about how to be mindful and how to be present and, most importantly, how to be intentional when it comes to capturing content when you're traveling. So let's get into it. My first tip for you is to plan in advance. I want you to write out your itinerary and plan it somewhere.

Speaker 1: 3:18

I personally love Trello. Trello is a free app. You can use it on your phone or I recommend using it on your computer, but it's just a great way of visualizing and mapping out your travel plans. I use it for my work also. I use it for content creation. I use Trello for pretty much everything, but especially when it comes to traveling. So I like to make sure I go day by day and I put all of my activities and things I have planned and where I'm staying, and all of that into a Trello board.

Speaker 1: 3:56

There's also this great app. It's also free. It's called TripIt, and TripIt is amazing. It's such a great way of uploading all of your itineraries, all of your confirmation emails, and just keep everything organized. And what it does is it maps out your trip and plans it so you can see day by day what you're doing, because that's really the most important thing. Even if you don't want to have a very planned schedule, you still know your flights, your hotels, any activities you might have booked, dinner reservations, whatever it is. It is so helpful just to put it somewhere where you can see it and where it's top of mind, because that's going to help you when it comes to planning your content.

Speaker 1: 4:52

The second tip I have for you is to research the place that you're traveling to, and I know this might sound like common sense. Yes, of course, you're going to do your research on the place that you're traveling to, but what about? Are you researching the content that you want to capture when you're traveling, if you know that you are going on I'll use me for an example to Disneyland Paris. Right, I know I was going to Disneyland Paris, but I wanted to make sure that I captured content intentionally while I was there so that way I can be fully present when I was at the park and I can enjoy myself and not stress over making sure I got all the content and I took pictures of everything. So what I did was I did my research and I looked up the Disneyland Paris park and I saw different things that I wanted to make sure I captured. And I do this with every single activity I book and place I go to.

Speaker 1: 5:57

If I know I'm going to be walking around in a city and that they have something very unique in that city that I want to feature in my content, I make sure to make a note of it. And that way I know, okay, I'm going to make sure I go there and take a picture of it. Or that way I know, okay, I'm gonna make sure I go there and take a picture of it or take a video and then put my phone away and then appreciate it and really be in the moment, because that's the biggest thing. Like I hate seeing people just constantly on their phone when they're traveling, like that's not the point of taking a trip. You're not experiencing things through the lens of your camera. You experience it with your eyes, your heart, your ears, you know like. Take it all in fully and then let the photo and video be a reflection of that, not the main event.

Speaker 1: 6:42

My third tip for you for capturing content when you're traveling is to really plan your packing accordingly. So when I'm creating content, I am mindful of colors and textures and patterns and what goes with what, and complementary colors. That's me. That's me Like. That's something that I, as you know, a creative. Really, I put an emphasis on that because I want to make sure that you know I pop with the scenery or I'm, you know, matching a certain vibe of the area I'm in and it does come across well in your content when you are intentional about what you're wearing in the photos. So I don't pack last minute. I don't pack where I'm just throwing random things in. I pack with intention and you're probably going to hear me say the word intention many more times after this but I pack based on the things I'm doing and where I want to capture my content.

Speaker 1: 7:51

So, for example, in Scotland I did a tour, a full day tour of several castles and I looked up each one of those castles to see like the vibe of that castle, what's the energy it's giving, what colors are there Like, what does the architecture look like, what does the landscape look like, and then what's going to complement that location. So for every castle I went to, I changed my dress and you do not have to do this. This is something that I like to do. You do not have to do this, but there's ways of being mindful of it while being very simple with your clothes. But I knew that I wanted, like, a bright pink dress for a castle that had some like pink flowers in front of it and had more gray tones in front of it and had more gray tones. I wore a red dress when I went to a darker castle that gave off more of that like rustic feel.

Speaker 1: 8:54

There's so many ways that you can just match your clothing and the colors of your clothing, with the locations that you're visiting, and that way, one, you don't have to worry about what you're wearing that day because you already mapped it out in your planning. And, two, you know that it's going to look amazing with that location, so that way, you really don't have to stress about it when you're taking photos. Like, you know it's going to look good because you're ready. Put it together in your mind, and this really makes planning my outfits so much easier. And I'm gonna have to show you my Trello board one day. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it, but I have to show you this Trello board Because when I went to France, I put together this incredible Trello board and I literally had every single outfit for every single activity mapped out. I had images of it ready to go and I knew every day okay, like this is the outfit I'm wearing for this activity. And it all made sense. It all matched the activity, it matched what I was trying to achieve with the visuals, with my content, and it really just made everything so much easier. You do that work in the beginning of the trip and it just pays off during the trip.

Speaker 1: 10:18

My next tip for you is to plan your content before you leave for your trip. Now, you do not need to know exactly the content that you're going to be creating, but it's helpful to have some ideas and references of what you want to create, especially for transition videos, where you have to capture certain phases of your trip and maybe you're clapping your hands or snapping your fingers. That's something you have to remember to do, and if you don't have it written down somewhere or some sort of reminder that that's what you're doing, you're most likely going to forget and that's not going to happen. So when you see these creators where they're transitioning from one area to another, to another and they're having this great flow to their videos, that's because they put in the work to plan and they're being intentional and they know their shot lists of what they need to capture in order to make that piece of content happen. So what I like to do is I like to scroll on social media and find some videos that inspire me, and I'll save a link to those videos and I'll put it in my Trello board that way I can reference it, and then I'll write up an idea for myself. Like I want to make sure I'm getting me walking in the airport, me getting on the plane, then maybe like snap my fingers and then I'm, you know, at a tropical destination and then I'm walking on the beach, like whatever it is. Those are things that you should plan out in advance to make sure that you're capturing the content.

Speaker 1: 11:58

Now, I know this is not for everybody. Maybe you do not have a social media for a brand, but this is also really helpful when it comes to your personal photos and videos as well, to make sure that you are in the photos and videos. How many times especially I'm talking to the mothers out there how many times are you taking pictures and videos of your family and then you come home from the trip and you realize you're not in any of them? That kills me and that's why it is my mission Every time I am traveling. If I see a mother taking a photo or anybody a father taking a picture, I don't care who it is. If I see somebody trying to take a picture of the rest of their family and they're not in it, I will always offer to take their photo. Or if I see people trying to take selfies, I will always offer to take the photo, because I know how important it is to be in the photo together to have that memory. So even if you don't have a brand on social media, these tips will still help you make you know, getting your own personal content together and making it so much easier when you're traveling as a group, a family or solo, and making it so much easier when you're traveling as a group, a family or solo.

Speaker 1: 13:13

So back to planning your content before you go on your trip. Like I said, scroll on social media, get some inspiration and then write out your ideas. So I, especially when I am working on a trip and I need to make sure I have my shot list together. I know that I want to get you know a recap of that activity. I want to get a talking head video explaining that activity. I want to put together a transition of the full day to do a recap. There's so many things that you can think of beforehand and you need to plan in advance so you get those shots. So that way I go about my day. I am present throughout my day and I'm getting those shots. In between, I am not traveling for the content. The content happens while I'm traveling. And if you're wondering why, I am talking about creating content. Most of you already know I am a content creator.

Speaker 1: 14:19

I have used social media as a way of organically marketing my brand, one Girl Travel, since I had the idea to even start the brand, and that was 2019, september 2019. Since the moment I declared it, I started working on my social media and building it up, and social media is just such a great way to organically market your brand, your products, whatever it is, to a community. And you build that community by showing up online and sharing bits of your life with your community. And when you are traveling, you want to share that right. People are interested in what you're doing, and I'm sure you're seeing beautiful places and you're doing and I'm sure you're seeing beautiful places and you're doing really fun things, and I want you to actually enjoy those things and not stress about creating the content. So that's why implementing these five steps is going to help you really stay present and just get what you need to get while enjoying yourself.

Speaker 1: 15:30

And if you feel like you have tons of content, you know how to create the content, but you don't know how to implement. You don't know how to create the content and put together reels and carousels and all of that I'd be happy to support you. I am a social media consultant, where I work with my clients to really help them create their social media presence online and bring visibility to their brands. I teach them how to create content, how to build their websites, how to identify their target audience and to do everything that they want to do online. So I would be happy to support you on your social media journey and help you show up confidently and learn what to do with all of that content that is living in your phone.

Speaker 1: 16:21

So now let's get to my final tip, and you've heard me say this throughout the episode. So my final tip is to capture the content and then move on. So I I strongly am against just being on your phone and trying to get photos the whole time. I've seen it happen where people are just so consumed with trying to get the perfect photo and they don't want to miss anything when they're actually missing it, when you're even. I'll give you the example of like a concert. If you are sitting there filming a full concert in its entirety, you're missing the concert. If you're watching that concert through your phone lens, what are you doing? You're not actually there. In that case, you shouldn't be watching life happen through your phone screen. Put the phone down and experience the magic around you, and then take your phone out, take the picture, take the video and put it away.

Speaker 1: 17:25

And the only way you can do that is by following the other four tips that I recommended, because you do have to plan, you have to research, you have to be intentional. It's all a part of the process. If you want to make this easier and simplified, don't stress yourself out trying to think that, like, you're going to miss something because, like, like I said, if your face is in your phone, you're missing out everything, you're missing out on the company of other people, you're missing out on opportunities and you're missing the moment. So I implore you to research before you travel, plan before you travel, find inspiration of the content you want to create and then also take time unpacking accordingly, because this is all going to make everything so much easier and I know it's a it seems like a lot of work in the beginning and it is.

Speaker 1: 18:29

I honestly love the prep when it comes to content for travel.

Speaker 1: 18:35

I love thinking about all the places I'm going to see and mapping out my itinerary based on, like, really interesting places and things I want to share with my community. That gets me so excited and I'm currently doing that now because I have two trips coming up and I cannot wait to share that content with you. So I'm already planning that and I just went to France was it in May? And I'm still using my Trello board from France to create content for you now, because I captured everything I needed to capture when I was in France, while still being 100% present, and now I know exactly the content that all that, the fit, the videos and the photos were meant for, and I'm still creating it and it just it's so helpful.

Speaker 1: 19:30

So I'm very excited for you to try out these five steps and let me know how it works out for you, or tag me in your content or, if you have any questions, feel free to send me an email, a dm. I am always here. You can set up a discovery call with me if you want to learn more about my social media consulting, and I would love to support you on your content creation journey. So I hope you have a wonderful day and I will see you next week. Bye.

Speaker 2: 19:58

Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of the one girl travel podcast. If you're enjoying the show, please feel free to rate, subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can find out more about your host on our website, onegirltravelcom, or follow her on Instagram, facebook, pinterest and TikTok. Thanks again for tuning in and we'll catch you in the next episode.