You may be proud of your vacation photos, but they may seem to fall short of the quality you see in travel magazines. To improve your photos, the Society of American Travel Writers offers these tips:

Shoot in early morning and late afternoon. It'll add more color and shadows to your photos, giving more definition to your subject.

Put locals in your photos. Ask permission first and don't make them pose.

Pay attention to background detail. Often, a tree or a telephone pole seems to be growing right out of your subject's head. Change your viewpoint or move the subject so as to avoid that.

Before you click, wait. for the clouds to clear, the truck to move away from the front of the cathedral or other distractions to pass.

For detailed shots, get closest to your subject so as to fill the frame with your subject

Show a sense of location. In the tropics, frame the photo with palm trees; in the mountains, frame it with pine trees.

Look for a new angle on the familiar: Shoot the beach on a foggy day instead of in the sun, or shoot bright colors on an overcast day.

Avoid facing the sun, especially when shooting people. If your camera supports force-flash, use it even under daylight, so as to eliminate shadows on faces. Also avoid wearing hats, which causes shadows on the face.