How to take great vacation photos

If my hotel were burning down and I could grab just one thing, it would be my digital camera with its memory card filled with photos.

Every year I ask myself whether it's worth the worry and expense of mixing photography with my travels. Then, after I see my images and relive my trip through them, the answer is always, "Yes!" Here are nine tips and lessons I've learned from the photographic school of hard knocks. 

Focus on skill, not fancy equipment

It helps to understand your equipment before you travel, but ultimately your most valuable tool is a sharp eye connected to a basic understanding of how your camera works. Work through the manual. Then make a point to be creative in your photo safari: Capture striking light, contrasting shades, repeating patterns, interesting textures, bold colors and intimate close-ups.

Look for a new slant on an old sight

Postcard-type shots are hard to resist, but boring. Everyone knows what the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben looks like. Find a different approach to sights that everyone has seen. Instead of showing the Leaning Tower lean, climb to its top and try a shot of the piazza below you. Shoot up at the snowy face of the Matterhorn . . . through the hind legs of a cow.

Capture the personal and intimate details of your trip

Show how you lived, whom you met and what made each day an adventure (a close-up of a picnic, your favorite taxi driver, the character you befriended at the launderette). Those moments -- your moments -- are the ones you'll want to remember.

Vary your perspective

Shoot close, far, low or high, during the day and at night. Don't fall into the rut of always centering a shot. Use foregrounds to add color, depth and interest to landscapes.

Maximize good lighting

Bright light at midday will wash out and deaden your pictures. Good photographers wait for the magic hours -- early morning and late afternoon -- when the sun is low and colors glow. I took some of my best photos ever of the gothic statues at Chartres Cathedral at sunset. The setting sun brought life to the expressions on their delicately carved faces, almost as though they were struggling to share the stories they've told eight centuries of pilgrims. Good lighting adds a valuable dimension to any scene. Portraits often look better in the soft light of a shadow.

Notice details

Eliminate distractions by zeroing in on your subject. Get so close that you show only one thing. Don't try to show all of something in one shot -- zoom in. People are the most interesting subjects. It takes nerve to walk up to someone and take his or her picture. But if you want some great shots, be nervy. (In any language, point at your camera and ask, "Photo?") Your subject probably be delighted. Many photographers take a second shot immediately after the first portrait to capture a looser, warmer subject. The famous war photographer Robert Capa once said, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough." My favorite portraits are so close that the entire head can't fit into the frame.

Buildings, in general, are not interesting

It doesn't matter if Karl Marx or Beethoven were born there, a house is as dead as its former resident. Experienced travel photographers take more people shots and fewer buildings or general landscapes.

Don't be afraid to handhold a slow shot in low light

At most museums, you aren't allowed to use a flash or tripod. But if you can lean against a wall, for instance, bipods like you become tripods. Use a self-timer, which clicks the shutter more smoothly than your finger can. Many new digital cameras use "image stabilization" to help in low-light situations.

Not every moment is a photo op

A video camera used to be a big, heavy lug-along. Now, thanks to pocket-size video cameras -- and the proliferation of video cameras built into smartphones -- shooting and sharing vacation clips is easier than ever.

But with cameras getting smaller and smaller, it's tempting to make your trip more photo/video-focused than experiential. Like a hunter on safari, you see everything as photographic prey -- to be captured, or missed. Aside from skewing your priorities, there's nothing that screams "tourist!" like a camera bouncing on your belly. Don't let it become a barrier between you and the people you've traveled so far to connect with. My advice is to be selective, and pull out your camera for special moments. The viewfinder that really matters is the one atop your shoulders.

A SNAPSHOT OF CAMERAS

Digital cameras make capturing still images and videos a snap. But price dictates the features you'll receive. Generally, the more expensive the camera, the more functions it performs and the more complex its operation. Here are a few suggestions to get more bang for your buck.

BUDGET CAMERA

CANON POWERSHOT ELPH 100 HS

WHAT This 12.1 megapixel camera has a four-times optical zoom lens, optical image stabilization, a 3-inch LCD display and HD video recording. It runs on a lithium-ion battery and comes with its own charger. Optional equipment includes a waterproof case that lets you take the camera up to 40 meters underwater. The HS in this ELPH's name stands for high sensitivity system, which assists in taking better pictures in lowlight conditions. Accompanying software includes PhotoStitch, which combines multiple photos into a single panoramic image. Expect to add an SD memory card (less than $10), since the camera comes without internal memory.

WHERE TO BUY Find it for $120 or less at P.C. Richard & Son, Target, Sears, Best Buy and amazon.com.

MODERATE CAMERA

PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-FZ150

WHAT This super-zoom camera has a 25-mm ultra wide-angle Leica lens and 24-times optical zoom. The 12.1-megapixel camera has Nano Surface Coating technology, which helps minimize light reflection that causes ghost and flare, and 3-D Photo mode. The FZ150 can take still images while simultaneously recording video. Its hand-shake correction system helps record stable video. It is equipped with a hot shoe to attach such optional accessories as a stereo microphone or external flash, and its LCD screen rotates like those on video cameras. If the price is too steep, the Lumix DMC-FZ47 looks almost identical and carries many of the same specs as its higher-priced counterpart.

WHERE TO BUY Get the Lumix DMC-FZ150 for $420 or less at Kmart and Brookstone. Purchase the Lumix DMC-FZ47 for $299 or less at abesofmaine.com, amazon.com and jr.com.

CELLPHONE CAMERA

APPLE IPHONE 4S

WHAT If a camera is just one gadget too many to carry, go for a cellphone with a great camera. The 4S' 8-megapixel sensor has 60 percent more pixels than its predecessor, producing more detailed photos. Other improvements include a new custom lens, a larger f/2.4 aperture for lowlight shots and a hybrid infrared filter for color accuracy. The Camera app launches whip fast, and shot-to-shot capability is twice as quick as before. Optional grid lines help line up shots, and with the new Photos app you can crop, rotate, enhance, remove red-eye and organize your photos into albums on your phone. The 4S also records video in full 1080p HD and has a new video-image stabilization feature.

WHERE TO BUY Priced from $199 (depending on amount of internal memory), with qualifying phone service plan at Apple stores or through AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. -- Ronnie Gill