Sharing sites take vacation pictures to the next level

— -- Sharing vacation photos and videos with friends has never been easier. New Web tools make it possible to tie together your photos, videos and thoughts in one central place — instead of, say, posting a few photos at Flickr, videos on Facebook or random getaway musings on a blog.

With the added functionality of the Web, you'll want to give a little more thought to your presentations. Simple editing tools are available on most computers to add a little music, credits and pizazz to your travel photos in a video montage.

When you're traveling, keep the final product in mind as you snap photos. Do you really want endless shots of yourself in front of monuments, or do you want to show your friends your experiences visiting a faraway land?

For tips, we checked in with a group of experts to make your travel photos memorable.

Dan Heller, author of Digital Travel Photography, recommends shooting liberally and leaving home with a big memory card — 8-GB cards now sell for $30 to $40.

"Shoot 10 pictures instead of one; that way you'll end up with one that you want," Heller says. "When you do a group shot, keep shooting and shooting. Ask them to make a funny face. Usually immediately afterward, they all start laughing, and that makes a great shot."

Jeffrey Housenbold, CEO of online photo site Shutterfly, says that in addition to the tried and true — standing in front of the Louvre, or holding up a fishing pole — have some fun and tell a different story.

"I recently went to New York with my son, and we took pictures of every restaurant we went to — and every meal. The theme was: 'We ate our way through New York.' "

Use the video mode on your point-and-shoot to bring the sights home in moving pictures, too, Housenbold suggests. On his trip to New York, he shot a video while on a carriage ride through Central Park. "It adds an extra sensory experience."

Edit video for pizazz

Videos don't have to be straight-from-the-camera unedited clips. It's easy to slice out the excess and keep the good parts in a presentation that can be married to your pictures in a creative visual offering.