How To Travel The World Taking Photos
When I asked in a YouTube poll, what would be your dream lifestyle, the top answer was “travel the world taking photos”. After making this a reality, below I breakdown how you can do the same.
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Remote working vs pure photography
As an average guy that previously worked a normal 9-5 office job, the first step for me was to find a job that I could perform anywhere, from a laptop. Personally, I didn’t want the pressure and burden of relying on taking photos to pay for a travelling lifestyle. I was also worried that this would kill my passion for photography.
National Geographic photographers
What about getting a job with National Geographic? This always looks interesting from the magazines. Can you travel the world as a photographer and enjoy a comfortable life working for National Geographic? I asked AI about this as it’s not something I have experience with. Here is the response –
“National Geographic hires photographers on an assignment-to-assignment basis, typically for long-term projects. Photographers are paid for these assignments, but they must pitch story ideas or be selected by editors based on their specialized skills and existing work. It is a competitive and difficult path to pursue full-time, so many professional travel photographers combine National Geographic work with other forms of commercial work, brand partnerships, and selling their images to various agencies and publications”.
The minority
If we cover all genre of photography, there is likely only a very small number of photographers that are so successful with their images that they can fund their travel purely by taking pictures. High end wedding photographers cover weddings all over the world but how much downtime do they have to enjoy their destinations?
Assuming you are not already a superstar globe trotting photographer (I doubt you would be reading this if you are), let’s look at other options to make our dream the reality.
Job to funds my photography
An easier approach as I see it, is to keep photography as a passion and find a job that can be performed anywhere (worldwide). When travelling I could just pack my laptop and a camera and use both when I get to the destinations. Not all jobs are suited to a travel lifestyle so let’s talk about suitable jobs next.
Flexible working
To fully enjoy the travel lifestyle what we really need is flexible working hours. Having a regular 9-5 job where I’m tied to my desk all day restricts my ability to get out and about on a weekday. The ideal job would offer flexible working hours and enough downtime so I still have time to take photos.
Work-life balance
Some jobs offer flexible hours but if you’re required to work 60-70hrs weeks you won’t have much time for anything except sleep. I talk from experience as I did this when travelling as a Senior Auditor for a US company for 4 years. We were either travelling, working or sleeping and not much else during busy periods.
What if I was my own boss? That would make things easier, right? Let’s cover that.
Employed vs self employed
Working for someone else (aka. being employed) means you are always working on their clock. This isn’t all bad. The benefits of being employed by a company is you usual have some job security and a regular reliable income.
Taking the leap to becoming self employed gives you the benefit of flexible working hours but often this results in working more hours each week. In additional, you’ve now lost your job security (and often your reliable income) so that can lead to unwanted stress.
How hard do you work?
They say in a regular 9-5 job, most people give just enough effort to fill their contracted hours but rarely work at full capacity. When wages are fixed this gives little incentive to work harder or put in longer hours.
From my previous employment, when I work longer hours as a Financial Accountant I didn’t get extra pay. The incentive was therefore to work faster to make sure I could go home on time. In contrast, when I stacked tins on shelves in a supermarket as a holiday job during University, we got paid by the hour so I did as much overtime as possible (to earn more money). Would you be happy to work longer shifts?
Happy working more hours?
If you are self employed, you’ll likely work longer hours than a regular 9-5 job for two reasons. First, nobody else will do your tasks so you need to work until jobs are complete. Second, as this is your own business you are incentivised to work harder as that often results in more success (and income).
I can confirm that since being self employed, I now work more hours per week than at the peak of my Corporate Finance job. How is this possible? Hours soon add up as I work a 7 day week not Monday to Friday. For me, every day is the same and there is no clocking off at 5pm. From when I wake up until going to bed, most of my day is spent doing something related to my job (photography related – we’ll get to that) unless I’m eating or doing exercise.
Drawbacks of being self employed
Being self employed might sound great but it definitely isn’t for everyone. I remember workers at previous jobs that seemed happy to show up for their 9-5, do the same repetative task that needed little thought, give just enough effort, go home, watch Netflix, repeat. Great if you like to zone out but not ideal if you have ambition or want to run your own business.
Self-discipline
Once I became self employed, I found I needed self-discipline to both work hard and still have time to play. Working abroad often means new distractions which can result in a sudden productivity drop. Perhaps the beach is calling or for more social people, evening events that reduce the much needed sleep time. Learning to say no to some stuff is a must to get work completed but it’s worth it. The sun might be shining outside but some days I need to stay in to finish my work.
Monk mode
If I have multiple days of creating “new content” I must then schedule quiet days to convert this material into work (a YouTube video or blog post). If you’ve seen my travel schedule (shared in the newsletter), my months normally look like the following. Overseas trip to make new content (and try not to fall behind on admin), then back to the UK and activate “monk mode” for several days.
Monk mode for me is getting focused, blinkers on, in the zone. I see nothing, hear nothing and I’m 100% absorbed on my task. Days like this I might only walk 200 steps as I barely leave my room. I even stop eating. (Perhaps something for a future eBook – how I maintain my health and fitness so I have the energy to work hard and play hard).
Rinse and repeat
It’s then just a matter of rinse and repeat. Travel and create, return home and pump out new content. Pack my bags and off we go again. This brings me onto my job.
Travel the world taking photos
It’s worth pointing out that although I sometimes go further afield such as to the US, most of my frequent travel is within Europe. I’ve written about the travel aspect and the money aspect in my various ebooks. Let’s cover travel first.
Travel Guide for Photographers
After 500+ flights I thought it was time to write the book to help others with their travel. If you’ve read my latest ebook, a Travel Guide for Photographers, you’ll know that I’m normally overseas 2-3x each month. I could live overseas but currently I like having the UK as my base and flying from London each time.
The benefit of travel verses relocating is I get the flexibility to visit new cities and countries each month. The drawback of living in the UK vs Central Europe is everywhere is further away and I can’t just hop on a fast train to visit neighbouring countries.
The dream of living abroad
If you’re like me, you might have the dream of living abroad. I’ve often considered moving to Poland or Hungary for my model photography. Why? To have easy access to a higher percentage of people with better than average genetics. My simple goal in life is to photograph the most beautiful people in the world and to leave a legacy of such photos. That and to leave a Leica resource to inspire and educate future photographers to try Leica cameras.
Life as a model photographer
In my Model Photography Handbook ebook I talk about how I find models when travelling and every aspect of organising a photoshoot with a stranger, concept through to completion.
Taking photos of beautiful models sounds like the dream job but it’s not the best if you’re trying to earn money to pay the rent. As explained in the Model Photography Handbook, if you’re a new photographer wanting to photograph an experienced model, you’ll need to pay them not the other way around. Once you become more experienced you can start working with models on a collaborative basis (time for print as it used to be called). This means no money exchanges hands so it still doesn’t help pay the bills.
The reality is, for most photographers, unless you’re Peter Lindberg or Helmut Newton, you’ll likely need a job to fund your travel costs as a minimum. Knowing that, as a model photographer, how do I fund my trips? Let’s cover that next.
Making Money with Photography
As a former Chartered Accountant and Auditor, that quit his career to follow his passion for photography, I wrote the book to inspire others. If you’ve read my Make Money with Photography ebook, I break down step by step, how I walked away from a secure Corporate job with a regular income to try life as a YouTuber.
My goal was to not become another starving artist that would need to go back to finding a job a few months later. That said, to make sure I would only look forward I cancelled my ACCA accountancy letters (that I’d spend 8 years working so hard to attain). There was no going back. I think they call it burning your bridges but my love for finance had dwindled so I knew the only way was forward.
Starving artist
With 20+ years of finance experience I am fortunate to have a money mindset, even since a kid. After quitting my accountancy career, my plan was to try to diversify my income streams as fast as possible and avoid relying on taking photos to pay the rent.
The common problem for most artists is work often comes in waves. Some weeks might be really quiet and you might worry that you won’t earn enough to buy your groceries. Other months might be super busy where you’re working late nights to meet client deadlines.
Multiple income streams
By creating multiple income streams I’m not reliant on a single source for money. Let me list some real examples so it makes more sense. If someone asks me what my job is, I say I’m a YouTuber but in reality I wear lots of different hats. My income streams include –
- YouTube (Ad revenue)
- Patreon (Teaching remotely)
- Workshops (Teaching in person)
- Zoom (1:1 Coaching calls)
- Presets (Selling LR presets)
- eBooks (Documenting what I learn)
- Affiliates (Commission from links)
Income fluctuations
So how does this work in reality? YouTube and Patreon payouts fluctuate a little but I receive regular payments each month which are predictable. This gives me some peace of mind that I can afford to eat etc. Income from Lightroom presets, eBooks and affiliate links can vary a lot month to month but they help top up my monthly income.
In person workshops and Zoom calls are probably the closest to normal artist income. These are very much like buses where nothing one month and then really busy the next. When added together, the total income from all sources fund the travelling lifestyle as you see on YouTube. Trips, cameras etc.
Travel doesn’t need to be expensive
As my Travel Guide ebook explains, I fly to Poland for less than the cost of a train into London for the day. The book walks you through how I find great deals on flights and accommodation, where to look and things to consider. Yes I could stay at home and spend even less money but I think life is what you make it and travel creates lasting memories.
Enjoy the simple life
I must thank my parents for a great upbringing. As the eldest of four kids, we didn’t have a lot when growing up. My parents were both teachers but Mum was at home from when I was born until I went to University so 6 of us survived on a single income.
What I didn’t appreciate until years later is how happy I am with just the simple things in life (excluding cameras of course!) This means when I travel I don’t need 5 star hotels, fancy meals or door-to-door Uber rides. Give me an Aldi or Lidl (for cheap healthy food), public transport and some sunshine (and nature to run in) and I’m happy.
Travel inspires photography
By travelling, I get to enjoy new experiences, meet amazing people and create lasting memories. More importantly, as a photographer I feel inspired to take more photos.
As a model photographer I’m travelling to find new talent but equally just being on the road inspires me to take tourist photos of the cities I visit or the scenes I see. No matter what genre of photography you enjoy, you’ll likely enjoy it more if you include some travel.
Why travel?
When it comes to travel, I think you need to find something overseas that attracts you to want to visit that destination. My primary reason to travel is to find new faces to photograph. The second reason is when I fly in search of drier warmer weather during winter months.
Chapter 6 of the Travel Guide details my favourite and recommended destinations. Where I visit to take photos. As explained in the book, Eastern Europe is great for my model photography but during the winter the weather is similar to the UK. When i’m suffering from a lack of Vitamin D (aka. sunlight), I need to consider sunnier locations as my priority.
Remote working in Spain
At the time of drafting this article I’m sitting on a Ryanair plane returning from a week in Spain. I left the UK with the forecast of snow and freezing temperatures so it was the perfect time to escape. When departing from London I had been suffering from a cold for over two weeks (Rare for me). Warmth and sunlight was exactly what the body needed to get back to good health.
Average day in Spain
Most of trips are 4-5 days where I create as much content as possible and then fly home. Spain was a bit different. I wanted to experiment with remote working so I booked 8 days away and knew I would need to work some days like I do back in the UK, aka. Monk Mode.
With that mindset, what did my average day in Spain look like? Sunrise was after 7:00 so the plan for each day was roughly as follows (as the ideal day) –
- 7-11:00 Work on laptop
- 11-13:00 Pre-breakfast run + sea swim
- 13-14:00 Food + shower
- 14-17:00 Photoshoot with local model
- 17-22:00 Cook + work on laptop
Some days I had two models, other days no models. On my days “off’ (no models) I did my monk mode working combined with a run and a swim in the sea. If I had two shoots I worked less or perhaps missed my run. Overall it balanced out nicely across the week.
The two things I missed the most were my daily smoothies that I make at home and access to a gym. Those are my learning points to consider for future trips beyond 4-5 days.
Sunlight increases productivity
I’m not sure if you’re the same, but I’m much more productive when it’s bright and sunny outside. Bright warm-ish weather inspires me to be outside which in turn gives me more energy so when I’m back inside I can work longer without feeling tired. When consulting AI, the answer it gave was –
“Exposure to sunlight triggers the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that boosts mood and promotes feelings of calmness and focus. Low serotonin levels, often linked to reduced sun exposure, can lead to lethargy and lower motivation”.
New places fuel creativity
Another advantage of travel for me is being away from home somehow lets me focus on those tasks I’ve been meaning to do for ages. This is probably why authors or song writers lock themselves away in a cabin in the mountains (or similar) to finish their book or write their next album. It definitely works for me.
Job list
While in Spain, my productivity was sky high. I managed to complete the following tasks –
- Finish editing and post new YouTube video on lighting
- Edit the new Leica M2 vs M4 YouTube video (75%)
- Finish writing and post the Evolution of LR Presets blog
- Submit my Patreon photo books (x5 designs) for printing
- Create and order a custom ink stamp for the photo books
- Publish the Travel Guide for Photographers eBook
- Edit the Spain photo shoot images to send to models
Ideal travel plan
When I think of my ideally travel lifestyle, I’d live in warmer brighter countries in the darker winter months and then enjoy Eastern Europe and similar countries over the summer.
No country is perfect
From my experience so far, no country is perfect. Eastern Europe has the genetics I love to photograph but the weather is cold and darker like the UK during the winter.
Spain and similar countries have the out of season sunshine but not the genetics I like to photograph. For many of my “in search of sunlight” trips I don’t photograph anyone all week and I’m only there for sun and outdoor exercise (To feel inspired to exercise outside, whether running, cycling or swimming). When I did my Ironman triathlon events I flew to these countries specifically for my winter training and this is common for athletes.
Spain is changing
For my last few trips to mainland Spain I struggled to find models so I plan had no expectations. When revisiting the same destination this time I noticed a change. More Ukrainian people. I was doing my usual grocery shop in Lidl and I was like “oh, she looks good”. Ukrainian. Next aisle, “oh she looks good too”, Ukrainian. Things were suddenly looking promising in Spain!
Europe is getting prettier
When doing my usual Instagram search for pretty people ahead of my trip to Spain (read my Free eBook to get more details), I noticed that all the pretty faces I clicked on were Ukrainians living in Spain. These are just normal people with normal jobs and families but I still wrote to them offering free professional photos.
To my delight, some of the girls saw my Instagram messages and as a result I found a few new superstar models. Now I had good models and sunlight all in one place. Perfect!
Meet amazing humans
One of my favourite aspects of my photography is the human element. For model photography specifically, i’m basically approaching complete strangers trying to build a rapport so to be able to take their photograph. If I didn’t have a camera I would have nothing to offer these people so I would never be a situation beyond perhaps small talk while passing in the street. (Note, I don’t do that as i’m still struggle as an introvert outside of photography).
To paint the picture, two of the beautiful girls (ladies) I wrote to in Spain met me for photos. One girl enjoyed it so much that she met me twice more before I left. The second girl also came back for a second photoshoot and then met me again on my last day to drive me 45 minutes to the airport. These are two girls I’d never met yet after spending 7hrs with one and maybe 4hrs with the other we were now best friends and have already planned follow up shoots together for 2026. All because I had a camera and wrote that message to them on Instagram.
With model photography I have the pleasure of meeting some amazing human beings. So kind, thoughtful and often we don’t even speak the same language. Model photography and travel is worth doing for the social aspect alone.
Even if you don’t photograph models you’ll likely meet cool people on your travels which might result in lasting connections. I remember meeting a Romanian guy while cycling up Mount Teide some years back. We got chatting and rode the rest of the day together.
Finding your perfect country?
As I talk about in my Travel Guide eBook, if you’re planning to travel or work remotely it’s worth doing some research to find what each country has to offer. Possible criteria to consider could include –
Search criteria
- Costs (Flight costs + living costs)
- Food (How is the local cuisine?)
- Weather (What time of year is best)
- Culture (Local music, activities etc)
- History (Architecture, museums etc)
- Transport (Is it easy to get about?)
- Language (Do they speak English?)
Personally, I’m often travelling for the people but I appreciate the beauty of both quaint old towns and decaying industrial buildings alike. This brings me onto giving yourself a photography project. If you have a goal you have something to work towards and that helps give your photography some purpose.
Passion projects
As mentioned, my main long term focus is to capture a record of beautiful people through my eyes but I have other passion projects too.
After visiting the city of Gdansk, Poland for over a decade I noticed the speed it was being redeveloped. The former factory ruins I used to photograph models in are now fancy apartment blocks. The old industrial scenes I loved are slowly disappearing and being replaced with modern offices, food halls and Airbnb accommodation.
From that point on, I decided I needed to record the old Gdansk as I remembered it before it disappeared forever. Every time I visit Gdansk I’m documenting with my cameras, especially on film. I was there just this week, walking around in the freezing cold with my film cameras to get more photos for the book.
One day I’ll publish a hardback coffee table book but for now I just printed a small quantity of soft back photo book zines. (I ordered 15 copies when I did my recent photo book order for Patreon). Having a tangible print or book is so much nicer than looking at photos on a screen.
Photo books from my travels
Long time Patreon supporters will know that I every few years I publish a series of photobooks. These are limited run A5 B&W soft back books that Patreons can purchase. As I just published my Travel Guide ebook I decided to print two additional photobooks –
- Travel Memories
- Gdansk (2011-2025)
The Travel Memories photo book includes photos found in my Travel Guide eBook and more post card style photos from the places I visit. The Gdansk photo book is perhaps less broad appeal but it’s special to me. This is more gritty industrial scenes captured over the last 10+ years. Most photos in both books were shot on B&W film, especially with Leica cameras.
Feel inspired to travel
If you need some inspiration to travel perhaps consider my Patreon photo books. All A5 zine photo books will be signed and numbered before dispatch and available worldwide. I printed a limited run of 15-30 copies of each book design so grab one if you’re interested.
Wrap-up and what’s next
So to get back to the original topic of travel the world taking photos, let’s wrap this up by answering a few common questions and giving my final thoughts.
How I pack for travel?
As a frequent traveller I’ve had to learn to get super efficient with my packing. This is especially true for my regular 4-5 day trips where I only carry my 18L Wotancraft backpack. To understand how I pack my photography gear for travel and what I recommend, see chapter 3 of my Travel Guide for Photographers eBook.
Turning your side hustle into a job
If you’re eager to start working remotely and want to turn your side hustle into your main income stream read chapter 1 of my Make Money with Photography ebook. I break down the steps I took before quitting my day job. Chapter 4 then lists nine different income streams for photographers to get you started, and none require a social media audience.
Travel the world photographing models
Are you’re feeling inspired to go travel the world and start photographing beautiful models? I am living proof that it’s possible and I only found my voice in my 30s. (Pretty girls were this unapproachable alien species to me before I discovered photography).
If you love the concept of what I do but have no clue where to start I’ve got you covered. The 50 chapters of my Model Photography Handbook walk you through step by step and give you my blueprint formula that you can replicate. Everything from what I say to how I edit.
Want me to show you around?
If you’d like to meet me on my travels for a workshop day keep an eye on my monthly newsletter that shares my future travel plans. Equally, if you’d like me to visit your city for a workshop, again get in touch and maybe I can make it happen.
Don’t wait
There is no point waiting to get old and then having no energy to enjoy travelling. Even at 47 years old I do my best to stay young and active so to have stamina of a 20 year old. This helps maximise my enjoyment and productivity when travelling. Once you are self employed, you rely on this high energy to drive the business forward.
Want to be a YouTuber?
Life as a YouTuber is fantastic but it’s not for the faint hearted. If you plan to go full time with YouTube expect to work longer hours than your current job. You need to be sure that the topic of your channel is something you really enjoy as you won’t get paid until your channel takes off.
If I remember, well it took a year of making weekly videos before my YouTube channel became monetised. (See my Make Money with Photography ebook).
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Will remote working as a YouTuber make you rich?
When you see the likes of YouTuber MrBeast (Jimmy), you’ll probably assume that YouTube can make you rich. If you’re really good at the game like he is then it’s possible but it’s not the norm.
To give you some perspective, even with modest 45K+ YouTube subscribers, the pay per hour for making each new YouTube video is worse than my paperbound when I was age 16 (ignoring inflation). A did a video on this – Is YouTube worth the effort in 2025.
Next book?
I’ve promised a few times that I will write an eBook on Portrait Lighting. A few of you have also asked me to share my exercise and diet regimes too. How I stay so energised for my travels.
If I didn’t teach photography I would likely be a fitness and nutrition coach. After completing two full distance Ironman triathlon events (4km swim, 180km bike, 42km run) and multiple halves I am now very selective with my food. Once I passed 40 years old I learnt to refine my lifestyle further to retain the physique I enjoyed in my youth.
As I continue to study these topics I keep discovering new bio-hacks that I experiment with. (Although I worked in finance, my University degree was in science so I love this stuff). (It’s probably why I enjoy testing camera lenses so much.. the experimenting and learning!)
Positive mindset
Having high energy and a positive mindset is so beneficial as a model photographer (as I’ve documented on Patreon,) but also for travel and remote working. Perhaps my next eBook should cover health and nutrition and include some case studies from friends that I’ve helped along the way. (In my old office jobs I was “that guy” people would ask). Please use the poll below to tell me what books you want me to write next –
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New readers – Saver bundle
If you’re a new reader or you’ve not yet downloaded my existing eBooks yet you can now get all 3 eBooks as a single download. If you love reading to fast track your learning this bundle is for you.
Black Friday sale (Extended)
As this article is late going out I have extend the Black Friday eBook sale until midnight on the 15th of December 2025. Grab yourself an early Christmas preset and use code BFS5 at checkout.
Enjoy this article?
I appreciate that this wasn’t my usual camera gear focused blog post but I hope you still enjoyed it. To see me travelling overseas taking photos follow me on YouTube and for written posts just add your email to receive future articles. Have questions? Join me for a 1:1 zoom call and I’d be happy to help.
To support my work please consider joining Patreon and if you’d like to meet me face to face check out my Leica workshops. Hope to see you here again soon!
