British photographer Martin Parr offers sound advice for documenting family vacations: "On holiday, photograph the daytrips and good times, but make sure you document when everything isn't going to plan as well." Above: Italy, Lake Garda, 1999. © Martin Parr

In an article for the Guardian, he went through the canon, covering all of the W’s. For example: “Don't be scared of photographing a storm-out, crying fit or strop. The instinct is to capture people only when they are smiling around a birthday cake or at a wedding, but never during an argument or funeral. On holiday, of course photograph the daytrips and good times, but make sure you document when everything isn't going to plan as well.”

“Photograph the caravan, guest house, tent – wherever you are staying. Think of yourself as a documentary photographer; up the ante and take yourself more seriously.”

“And the other thing you must do is print them. We are in danger of having a whole generation—and this will continue into the future—that has no family albums, because people just leave them on their computer, and then suddenly they will be deleted. You have to print them and put them in an album or a box, otherwise they could be lost. And write captions. You might think you are going to remember what is happening in a picture, but you probably won't in 10 years' time.”

To get Parr’s advice in the form of pure evidence—his own photos of people at the beach—you can see Life’s a Beach at the Telfair Museum, in Atlanta, until the end of August [Information]. If you can’t get there, get the book, published by Aperture, here. Parr has been photographing beaches for many decades, documenting all aspects of them, including close-ups of sunbathers, rambunctious swimmers caught mid-plunge, and the eternal sandy picnic underway. Martin Parr is a member of Magnum Photos.