traveltips.wpengine.com had the chance to speak with Ralph Velasco about capturing the perfect photograph while traveling. Ralph shares his top three tips on taking great vacation selfies, his top three biggest mistakes people make when trying to take the perfect vacation photo, and his top three apps for capturing the perfect picture, along with additional expert advice about photography.

Ralph’s three tips for taking a great vacation selfie include, focusing on the background, creating context and filling up the frame with more than just your face. He harps on the importance of telling a story with your picture so your audience will feel like they are right there with you.

Next, Ralph shares the top three mistakes people make while taking vacation photos. The first of mistake includes not giving your viewer a sense of place by not adding a meaningful background into your shot. The second mistake people make is not being aware of horizons. A crooked horizon is not pleasing to the eye, whether it be a natural horizon like sunset, or man made horizon like a windowsill, be sure that the horizon is straight and not cockeyed to one side. The last mistake is making sure to take a variety of photos. Don’t stick to just one type of photo like food or people for the entire trip. Be sure to get a wide variety of photographs such as monuments, people, food, night scenes and nature to accurately tell the story of your trip experience.

The next topic is the importance of creating shot list before you visit a specific place. He talks about his app, called “My Shot List for Travel” available on iOS devices, and two other apps, “Snapseed” and “VelaClock”, which significantly aid in helping take that perfect vacation photograph.

Lastly, Ralph gives tips on low-lighting photography, and how to be sure your pictures don’t come out blurry or are white washed from the flash, and approaching people of a different language for photos.