Travel Photographer? Do Your Homework First

The Holy Trinity Monastery in Sergiev Posad, Russia — under restoration in 2013 The photo that makes the cover of a guidebook serves two purposes: to visually represent the soul of a region, and to sell a place as a traveling destination. The image sits next to countless others on a shelf attempting to stand out, all for the sake of inspiring window shoppers to plan their next adventure based on that depiction.