8 Tips To Take Better Travel Pictures | Valerie Jardin, Digital Photography School

Before you travel again, Blogger Jardin wants you to think about your what you remember most fondly on your last vacation: the famous landmarks you see pictured in all the postcards?

Or the colorful markets, the fresh pastries in the bakery window, the people sitting in the cafes, the street vendors and buskers, the smell of the streets after a morning rain?

To help you think "outside the postcard" on your next trip, she advises you to "create your own iconic images, your own stores and memories." And she provides eight great, useful tips and some sample photos. 

Here are the headings for her tips and some excerpts from them: 

1- Include signage in you pictures. The name and price of the fruits and vegetables at farmer’s market written in the local language ....
2- Include people in your frames. Try to feature local people rather than tourists. ...
3- Create a photo story with a handful of frames. Start by taking a wide shot of an antique market to set the stage, then shoot a few close-ups of items for sale ....
4- Avoid those boring family group shots in front of landmarks. Instead, take action shots of your kids eating the end of fresh baguette in France ....
5- Resist taking those traditional postcard shots. ... Shooting lots of architectural details will nicely compliment any traditional picture of those famous landmarks ....
6- Practice your food photography on location. ... Shoot the local cuisine. Then enjoy your meal!
7- Pick a theme or two each day. This will help keep you focused – no pun intended – and you won’t feel so overwhelmed by trying to capture it all in one day. ...
8- Be a gear minimalist when traveling. Carry just one camera and one lens because that perfect shot will inevitably happen while you are switching lens, and you’ll miss it. ...