Richard I'Anson has contributed photographs to Lonely Planet's guidebooks for 10 years, so fittingly they commissioned him to write this guide. This is a clear and succinct technical manual to improving your travel photography - and the bulk of most amateur photographs are surely taken abroad.

The book looks at the equipment you need and basic and technical skills required to take a successful picture. It ensures you'll know how to deal with glare from snow or humid rainforest conditions and that you'll remember not to leave your footprints in the pristine desert dune you then wish to photograph.

There is basic advice on underwater and aerial photography as well as guidance on how to approach people for portraits. Much emphasis is put on planning - something casual snappers give little thought to.

However, ultimately you have to decide what you want to photograph and why. There is a tendency to think that brightly coloured Far Eastern exotica automatically makes a stunning picture. Kathmandu prayer flags, Balinese child dancers and the gnarled faces of older peasant people have rapidly become travel cliches.

The best photographs on both an amateur and professional level are those which tell an unexpected story or make the viewer genuinely curious as to what is going on in the picture. Location photography can be breathtaking but it is crucial to find an unusual viewpoint or framing device in a culture increasingly image-saturated.

The final chapter suggests how to promote and sell your work. It's worth bearing in mind that unless you have captured something truly unique or beautiful there will already be thousands of very similar commercial photographs in the marketplace.

Take the technical advice but don't forget to use your own curiosity to find what strikes you as really extraordinary. That way your photographs will have improved dramatically, even if they are never seen publicly.