A Few Travel Photography Tips, Look For Examples Of This In The Upcoming Puerto Vallarta Photos

• Sunrise, sunset--you'll get the richest colors, most drama and fewest ugly shadows on people's faces.  If you're shooting mid day get close up to things, put people in the shade and try to get reflected light onto their face.
• Look up, look down, look all around--there are photos to be had everywhere.
• Flash--don't use it, ever.  It gives a flat awful light, not to mention red eye, and uses up batteries.  Modern digital cameras shoot well in low light.  Take photos at night of neon, candle lit tables, available light anything, but if there's no light, put the camera away and have a beer.
• Get close to things, get low to the ground to shoot, try different angles.
• It used to be said film is cheap, shoot, shoot, shoot.  Now pixels cost nothing, batteries are cheap, but storage on your hard drive is valuable.  So shoot away till you've snagged something good, then into the trash with everything else. You're not going to show your junk to anyone, are you?
• If it's out of focus, shows camera motion or is poorly exposed, chuck it.  I don't care if it's your dead grandmother in her casket!
• The very limited exception to the above--in the edit area of iphoto (and other photoshop type programs I suppose) there is the ability to increase definition and sharpness, as well as improve exposure. If you are just a little bit off, try it, it can sometimes rescue a photo.
• Otherwise stay away from screwing with color and effects--I'm a purist in that regard. An exception though that I use very occasionally, in iphoto there's the ability to "enhance color". It's useful if you've shot something that's just a little bland, usually in mid day light or haze, but is otherwise a good photo
• Shoot everything at the highest definition you're camera allows.  What if you want to enlarge something and you've got three pixels per inch?
• Anticipate that annoying split second delay that is ubiquitous with today's digital cameras. It's a difficult issue to deal with when shooting people in motion, flags, windy days, wild life. Just keep shooting till you get something then throw the rest away.
• Don't zoom beyond the optical range of your camera, in other words the point at which your camera lens stops extending. Doing so will produce a lousy photo every time.
• A camera that fits in your pocket means that you will be prone to carry it, and makes you less conspicuous. By all means spend as spend as much as you want on equipment, but a spendy camera does not a great photographer make.  I get great results with a four year old 12'1 megapixel Canon Sureshot that cost $140.
• Frame your photos, pay really close attention to the edges. Don't cut peoples feet off, although oddly it's ok  to cut the very top of peoples hair off. I find it forces one's eye to the face. Diagonal lines from one or more corners also brings your eye into the picture. Keep the horizon level, and if it's not, I correct it in iphoto. Don't cut picture evenly in half with a strong hoizontal line.
• Hope this all helps!  Shoot away!!!