Keep your images simple—make them graphically strong and uncluttered. Identify your subject or center of interest— that is, your focus, around which everything else will be peripheral—and then compose the background.

Work with just a few colors, perhaps only two. The same principle applies to color as it does to overall composition: Keep your images clean and focused. Where colors are concerned, less is definitely more.

When you're photographing people, strike up a conversation with them. Learn something about them that can help reveal their personality, and then photograph them unposed, and in a natural setting. When people are not self-conscious with the camera their personality will come through.

Carry a Leatherman Tool. I was just in Eastern Tibet and my Jeep broke down, days from the nearest service station. Fortunately, my driver was able to fix the truck using the Leatherman I was carrying. Photographers always need to be prepared.

David Alan Harvey: My background is in art history, and so my photography is often more artistic than journalistic. As a photographer I strive to share information about a culture and place.

Photograph something you can relate to, a setting or mood or subject that's familiar to you. Great photography doesn't automatically come from being in Nepal; often, you can get the best picture in your own backyard.

Take a good look at photography books and magazines, watch films, and educate yourself on the techniques photographers use to evoke feelings, moods, and a sense of place.

Push the envelope of light, particularly if you're working in color. Shoot earlier in the morning than you might normally and continue shooting late in the afternoon, into sunset's warm light and even 20 minutes beyond, to capture subtle, flickering candle- light and firelight.

Composition is really a matter of personal taste. There are no firm rules on how to compose an image, but I've found that including people in your photographs (even if they're not the primary subjects) adds a crucial extra element that creates a "moment." People add scale, vitality, and sensibility.

Macduff Everton: Remember to look at the whole picture when looking through the viewfinder. Too often people only see the middle of the frame and forget the edges. But the edges are essential, and are often the first thing you notice when you look at the prints. Don't go on a vacation (or a photo trip) with a camera you've never used before.

With film cameras, experiment with fast-negative film, speeds such as 800 ASA. This film now has less grain, and its fast speed permits you to handhold your camera in low-light situations when you would normally have to use a tripod.

A large Ziploc bag will easily hold 30 rolls of film, simplifying security checks at airports. Don't carry film in checked baggage; some scanners will ruin it with only one pass. The handcheck x-ray machines at the gate will not damage film.

Catherine Karnow: Getting close to people is the best way to get close to the culture. The camera is a great tool for meeting people, and even though people may say they don't like being photographed, I find that in every country, there are people who love to be photographed. I always ask permission; I never shoot with a long lens from across the street. Be friendly and polite, listen to people, and take your cues from how they are acting; sit down with people and you'll get great pictures.

Don't shoot when the sun is bright and high, except in the middle of the city where the tall buildings can throw great light around, and in the Caribbean where the water looks most blue midday.

Put people in your photos. I find pictures of nature and landscapes boring without people. There is no sense of scale, and no sense of "you are there." When you include people in your photos, have them do something like walk, hike, or climb—anything but just standing there. Even the smallest gesture is important. The gesture is everything. Every photo should be capturing a moment in time.

John Kernick: My best pictures come when I'm relaxed and not spending time desperately looking for a shot. I like to stay open to my surroundings and be ready for the unexpected.

Keep your equipment light and simple; carry little more than a standard lens and camera. You'll only shoot great pictures if you have a camera on you. It's no good to see a great photograph when your big camera bag and five lenses are sitting in the hotel room. Carry a point-and-shoot.

Have a goal. Know what you want to capture and how to go about it before you set off. Sounds obvious but it's easy to waste good shooting time by not being prepared.

Cloudy days can be fine for portraits of people and close- ups, but nothing beats that early-morning or late-evening light. For some reason the evening light always lasts longer and can sometimes be best after the sun has dropped below the horizon, when city scenes come alive and the sky turns amazing shades of magenta.

Bob Krist: I never leave home without gaffer's tape. Strong, waterproof, and—unlike duct tape—removable. I've used gaffer's tape to secure lighting, repair tripods, fix French showers, and lock down rattling windows in cheap hotel rooms.

Go for humor and serendipity. Compositional imperfections, less-than-perfect light, and other flaws are readily overlooked if the picture carries a humorous, offbeat situation at its core.

You can set your landscapes apart if they're shot in unusual light or weather conditions.