Summer or early fall is when many of us go on vacation, whether it’s a quick weekend jaunt to the beach, a flight across the country, or a carefully planned international destination. So buckle up and spend the next nine minutes learning how to commemorate your trip with beautiful photographs rather than mere snapshots that quickly fade from memory.

Instructor Leander Hoefler is an experienced traveler whose YouTube channel shares the secrets to his eye-catching images, and this quick episode reveals a trio of his favorite recommendations. As he says, “these three tips fundamentally changed how I approach travel photography and have helped me improve my images.”

Be sure to click the link in the description beneath the video to find the presets he used to edit the images in this episode. Hoefler’s says that his simple advice will help you return home with meaningful images that tell a story, create lasting memories, or even kickstart a travel photography portfolio.

Hoefler’s first tip involves a mindset that he refers to as “thinking in sets” which he says may be his most important point, and he explains the essential concept like this: “Most people just wander around and point the camera at everything that grab’s their attention.” The problem with this approach is that you’ll likely end up with a bunch of random images that don’t capture the essence of the place you visited—even if the individual photos look nice.

He demonstrates a strategy for shooting multiple images in the same locale that create a cohesive story that includes an establishing shot, the overall ambience of a scene, along with  close-up photos of interesting details. This way, “anyone looking at your shots will get a better understanding of what it feels like when visiting this place.”

Tip #2 is all about understanding prevailing light and using this knowledge to shoot at the best time of day, and from the most effective camera position, vantage point, and angle relative to the sun—especially when it comes to documenting iconic landmarks, street scenes, and environmental portraits of the locals. In other words, it’s all about being at the right place at the right time and using skillful composition techniques.

The lesson concludes with one more tip that’s sure to improve your results and provide beautiful, lasting memories for years to come. There are more helpful travel photography videos on Hoefler’s instructional YouTube channel.

And speaking of lighting, don’t miss our earlier tutorial featuring a professional boudoir photographer who demonstrates the difference between backlighting and direct sun for capturing portraits of alluring models on the beach.