Prepare before you go and while you are away to make sensational photo books on your return, saving time and making a much more interesting photo book

Part of the fun of any holiday is browsing through your photos. It's a great way of prolonging the feel good factor, especially when your photos reflect what a brilliant time you had. So here are a few helpful hints.

Get up to date

Be honest, how old is your camera? Digital cameras have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. If yours is a little ancient it could be what's holding you back. Today's models have superb picture quality and easy to use features to give your images the edge. You could even cash in at the airport if going overseas by claiming the GST on any camera bought within a month of departure.

Camera Settings

Make sure that the file size is set to approx 1.5- 2mb per image or second highest quality and set your time and date. Make sure that you synchronize your cameras time/date with anyone else in your family or group, so when loading a photo book into our photo kiosks they will be in order, this saves a lot of time!

Plenty of pictures

Any photographer will tell you, to get great results it helps to take lots of pictures. Packing a spare camera battery and your charger will ensure you've plenty of power. With memory cards it's a case of the more the better. These are now great value so there's no excuse for not having enough.

Share the camera 

Give the camera to your spouse or kids. Let them take a few pictures, and allow them to share in your enthusiasm. More often than not, the photographer in the family is the person who seems to not have gone on the trip. Let the others take shots of you, and have some fun posing.

Get inspired

Take a look at local postcards to give you an idea of where you can find the most interesting photo opportunities and note how professionals have captured local highlights. You don't have to copy what they've done but it will certainly inspire you. The most important thing is to make sure that you or your family or friends are in as many photos as possible, this is what will make your photo book your own unique photobook. You can always buy postcards or printed books if it is just about the view, building, animals etc. Take one of those small travel tripods (available at Fotofast) with your camera self timer you too can be in the photo.

Tell a story

Think about detail shots. When you're out enjoying dinner, in addition to typical shots across the table, get a photo of the outside of the restaurant so you can recall its name. Try and remember to photograph the food - before you tuck in! Perhaps there's a great view, or some musicians playing that would make a memorable photograph. Collections of themed photos like this really sum up the atmosphere and are perfect for photo books and collages and calendars

Early start

Get up early on holiday! Don't worry, you don't have to do this everyday, but catching the flattering early morning light will be a great asset to your images. Starting early also means there are fewer people to cause distractions. If you have to work in harsh daylight try putting your subject in the shade, or using fill-in flash to disguise unflattering shadows.

Think before you click

Think about the overall balance of your pictures. You don't want to end up with endless images of the same stretch of beach. Try waiting for a bright blue sky, interesting cloud formation, or breathtaking sunset. Also consider other areas of interest to give a sense of scale, such as your kids in the foreground making sandcastles, or colourful boats along the shore.

Check these web sites for lots of great ideas,

HP http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/digital_photography/take_better_photos/index.html

National Geographic http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography

Mark Comon shows how http://www.videojug.com/tag/digital-photography