What are you doing on your summer vacation? Share your photos with LA Times Travel

If you’re packing your carry-on bag for your summer getaway, don’t forget to include your camera or smartphone to capture that picture-perfect moment.

For the seventh year in a row, we’re asking our readers to share their best photos from journeys between the unofficial start of summer (May 27, start of Memorial Day weekend) to its unofficial end (Sept. 5).

Times editors will select the best photos for the Sept. 18 print and online editions to showcase in our Summer of 2016 Photo Fiesta.

What will impress us? Make sure you pay attention to these lighting, composition and capturing moments.

For our summer vacation photo issue, a picture that shows us where in the world you spent your summer vacation, by providing a sense of place, will go to the head of the class. Photos of people and spontaneous action will win kudos too.

Submit your photos through e-mail with the subject “Summer Vacation Photo Issue” to travel@latimes.com (note that photos larger than 10 MB will bounce back), upload them to Flickr, or hashtag them on Instagram with #latimestravel2016.

Here are more tips to make sure you catch our eye:

• Large, high-resolution photos: They need to be at least 1600 pixels wide and at least 200 dpi (dots per inch). Photos should be at least 1 megabyte; 5MB is ideal, but 10MB is too large.
• No pros: We’re looking for talented amateurs, not professional photographers. If you make some of your living as a professional photographer, please do not submit.
• No alterations: You can’t use a photo editing tool to take out or add elements. If someone photo bombed your shot, sorry, but you can’t erase him or her.
• Summer 2016 photos: Photos must have been taken from Memorial Day to Labor Day of this year -- that’s from May 27 to Sept. 5.
• Deadline for submissions: Sept. 7.
• Include your name, city of residence, date and place of photo and an email or phone number where we can reach you for verification; we won’t print your email or phone number, but we may need to clarify something about the photo.
• Describe the photo: What’s happening? Who is in it? Please include the names of the subjects. What prompted you to take the picture?
• What kind of camera did you use? Smartphone photos are fine, by the way; we love knowing that they can be used for great photography.
• Agreement: By submitting your photos, you agree that The Times may reproduce your photos in any format.
• Limit: Please limit submissions to no more than 10 photos.

Our highlights from previous years:

2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009