Family travel five: Picture-perfect vacations

It's true. Every picture tells a story. In the months and years ahead you'll be glad you nudged the kids or grandparents to succumb to "one more photo." Encourage your family members to be the focal point of landscape images, cityscapes and your active adventures. The photos and videos will enrich the experience, provide context and stoke your memories long after the trip has ended.

Contact: www.moabphototours.com

You may have heard about the "golden hour." It's that magical time around sunrise and sunset when your photographic subjects seem to have a special glow. Capturing images in this soft light can make for beautiful pictures.

Markets, festivals and parades often provide an array of subjects and unique experiences that will add color to your family's vacation story. At the market, be on the lookout for brightly colored vegetables, fruits, meat or fish unlike those in your local grocery store. Stoke your children's natural curiosity by asking the vendor to explain the origin of items.

Whether at the zoo, in the countryside, on safari or within a national park, snapping photos of critters can be an enriching experience, particularly when you can capture an image in their native habitat. Will you get the shot when the lion roars, the giraffe reaches upward, the monkey swings from the branch, or the buffalo forges the river? Yet, it's important for every member of the family to understand that animals in the wild are just that: wild. Don't take chances. Keep a proper distance.

Contact: www.thomsonsafaris.com; www.nps.gov

It's fun to capture the movement and the exhilaration of a family adventure - whether it's wild rides at the theme park, bike or running races or rafts in the rapids.

You don't need a fancy camera to create fun shots that tell the story. Try clicking the shutter while moving your body at the same pace as the action you want to record.

Encourage each member of the family to use their cameras to provide an extra layer of safety. Snap a photo of your parking space, your hotel address and room number, restaurants and the menus that make your favorites list as well as the designated family meeting spot.

When visiting a new environment or when worn out from a full day of traveling, it can be difficult to remember life's more mundane details.