The Wonderful World of Digital:  As far as I am concerned, Digital is King!   With Digital, you can preview your pictures immediately after taking it.  You can then choose to re-take the picture for a better result.  You can purchase memory cards that can hold up to hundreds of shots (depending on the resolution and memory size of your camera).  Literally, you have have up to 200+ frames to take before you have to switch memory card and/or download into a portable storage device.  Tip:  Personally, I never delete any pictures.  With the proper software you can improve any pictures.  Who knows, these shots may very well be your best composed pictures of the  trip.   Lastly, memory cards take very little room and will not be affected by airport security x-ray machines.

Only video subjects and events that have sound to them!  For example, try not to video tape a stationery subject like the Colosseum or a famous painting (like I mistakenly did too much of on my first trip to Europe). Instead take still shots of these subjects.

Never use your flash when stated. Learn how to turn off your flash before you leave on your trip. Museum paintings have survived centuries and are priceless works of art. Please be courteous and respectful at all times.

Video subjects where sound would make a difference, such as a gondola ride in Venice or your local Guide in Rome describing to us tourists that ". . . . Romans are people just like you & me." Before she said that I considered Romans to be larger than life! In some ways, I still do because of their history.

Use your video to chronicle your trip.  

Take more still pictures than video (I didn’t take many still pictures on my first trip and regretted it).

TIPS ON TAKING STILL PICTURES

• Practice, Practice, Practice taking pictures before your trip to improve your technique and shot selections.  Try enrolling in a Photography composition class/workshop.  Go to my Favorite Travel Links for several good Photography Tips Links. 

• Create interesting category shots for each city and country: Interesting Sights, Interesting People, Restaurants/Cafes you ate at, Delicious Cuisine (maybe a cup of steaming hot coffee and croissant that you had for breakfast one morning or a local fruit market that had vibrant colors streaming across your lens).  Interesting pictures that can tell a viewer a lot about your experiences and about the places you visit or the people you meet.

• In addition to taking pictures of those wonderful fountains and historical sights.  A picture of locals shopping at an open flea market or young children playing soccer on a cobble stone road can tell a viewer so much more about life in Rome.   Take pictures of interesting street signs, quaint cafes, playful animals, flowers, interesting buildings, sunsets/sunrises, flea markets, shops, people conversing along a country road, children playing in a piazza, etc. Try a close-up of a crashing wave off the Amalfi coast or a picture of a flower pot sitting on a windowsill as you cruise down the narrow canals in a gondola in Venice!  How you frame your pictures and what you choose to take a picture of will tell a lot about you the photographer.  What are your interests and how you see the world around you!  Very interesting for your viewers.

• Use lighting, framing, focusing, shadows, unusual vantage points and other composition techniques to help make your pictures interesting.  Often times it's not just the subject that is the center attraction of your composition, but the surroundings itself! Experiment taking pictures using different composition techniques.  I did it for my first trip and I regretted not doing it more.  Trust me, these pictures will bring back special memories.

• Always be prepared to take a snap shot - On my first trip, I was walking along a well known bridge in Paris. There were a lot of security and people along the side of the road.  I remember thinking to myself, "what was going on?"   Who could be so important as to close down a busy Paris bridge . . . "the Queen of England?"  . . . Guess what!  All of a sudden, an entourage of cars started coming and low and behold it was the queen of England.  She was apparently here visiting Paris.  Since I had my camera ready I took a picture of the Queen as soon as I realized it was her.  I got her waving her gloved hand to the people along the road (me included!).