Ah, summer. The chance to take a break from worrying about work, go on vacation, and spend your time worrying about getting good pictures. Fortunately, your photographic life doesn't have to be as stressful as your work life, as long as you follow a few tips and pack the right gear.Top vacation photo pitfalls and fixes

When shooting vacation pictures you need to consider the same things you do when shooting anywhere else: exposure, composition, adequate sunblock. However, there are some common vacation photo problems that can be easily remedied.

Get Closer When you see a grand vista, or vast landscape, it's easy to think that you need the widest angle possible to capture this breathtaking view. But the problem with wide angles is that, when you zoom out, distances get stretched and details in your image get smaller. The result can be an image with no discernible subject.

Rather than trying to capture everything, remember that sometimes less is more, and your job as a photographer is to represent. Get in close, and capture just a sliver of that broad vista, or find an evocative detail in the scene, and shoot that. Some scenes are simply too big to fit in a photo, so go for the details, and enjoy the view while you're there.

Balance your Sunsets If you find yourself somewhere with a beautiful sunset, and you're itching to take someone's picture in front of it, remember that the sun is still very bright. This means you're shooting in a back-lit situation so you need to take the same steps that you would if you were shooting in front of a window. Use your camera's fill flash to illuminate your subject. The camera will expose for the background, so the result should be a nice, even exposure.