This photography guide is meant to serve as both inspiration to get out there and take some incredible photos, as well as to get you started on where some of the classic and lesser-known vantage points are. Photography is all about individuality and being creative, so begin at these locations and then see what you find. With all there is to photograph in and around Washington, D.C., there's much to discover.

Along the way, this book provides tips that will help you use your camera to its best and help you make the most of situations that might arise. There is useful information about where you specifically can bring tripods (and more importantly, where you cannot), how to pack for certain locations where security checks are necessary, what lenses you may want to use, and some suggested settings for your camera.

Photographers are usually an inquisitive breed, so there is also information about a location's significance. As any professional photographer knows, it's important to know a lot about your subject, and while this guide certainly won't replace a good guide book, its aim is to provide some interesting insights along the way.

A note about copyright: A relatively unknown fact about some landmarks in the Washington, D.C., area is that they are copyrighted by the artists and/or the foundations that made them possible. Many do so to protect the memorial or monument against unregulated commercial use. Reproducing copyrighted works is against the law and could result in a lawsuit. This does not generally apply to personal use — making a print of a copyrighted work for, say, your living room wall would not attract any attention. But posting the photos online for sale is an entirely different matter.

Examples of memorials that are covered by copyright include the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the sculptures at the Vietnam Veterans National Memorial and the artwork within the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

The ease of sharing and publishing photos due to digital photography and the Internet have meant that being educated about copyright is more important than ever. For more information, see the United States Copyright Office at copyright.gov.

Whether you are traveling to or live at one of the destinations covered by the Digital Field Guides, time is usually a limiting factor. So these guides have been organized by the editors in a way that will allow you to quickly understand the locations, get an overview of where you should go, and determine what gear you should bring, and how well your gear will work at a location.

Each chapter begins with an overview of the subject and quickly moves on to where the best locations are and provides images illustrating what's possible there. The equipment section explains what will help you capture these images, while the settings section offers tips and guidance specific to each area. If you are new to photography you may want to mostly use the locations and let your camera do the rest. If you are an expert, the tips will help you get up to speed quickly and make your own unique images.

The best advice for any aspiring photographer is simple: Get out and shoot more. Thus this guide is designed to get you out the door as quickly as possible with the information you need to make the best photos you can.