Take Photos Through Hotel Room Windows

If you're lucky enough to be traveling (and travel is getting cheaper and cheaper lately because no one is doing it) and get a room with a good view, it's nice to capture a photo of that view. Shooting through hotel room windows is pretty straightforward but there are few things you can do to prevent unwanted reflections of the room. Here are some quick tips:

• Borrow some Windex from the maid and clean the window (trust me, they'll run into the room and do it for you once you ask!); smudges show up a lot, especially on tinted windows.
  

• Shut off the room lights so that they're not reflecting in the glass.

• Press the lens flat against the window if you can and this will also prevent reflections.

• If you can't hide room reflections, have a companion hold a black t-shirt or dark towel behind you to block reflections.

• If you're shooting at night, use a tripod or rest the camera on the back of a chair or on a table and use a self-timer to fire the shutter.

• Try to avoid shooting through dark-tinted windows.
  

You'll be surprised what nice shots you can get through a hotel room window if you take some time and keep a close eye on reflections and smudges. I shot the photo here from a window at the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas, looking at the New York, New York Hotel/Casino and the Strip beyond that. The shot has already been used in one of my books.