Travel Tip: Why Strangers Shouldn’t Take Your Picture

Let me describe a scenario for you: you’re vacationing in a city filled with massive buildings that are unique in shape and color. The city is well-known for its architecture, which is a large reason for its tourist appeal. You’re traveling solo and trying to take photos of all that you see. But you realize you’d like a picture or two of the city’s beauty with you in it. So you scan the people around you to see who doesn’t look too busy – you avoid the woman carrying two arms full of bags, the older gentleman on vacation with his family and the girl who, judging by the scowl on her face, looks unapproachable. You key in on a young guy who looks like he could be in his early twenties, maybe even a college student, and ask him politely if he would mind taking a picture of you in front of one of the buildings.

Sure, he agrees and reaches for your phone.

You give him your phone, to which you have all camera settings already adjusted for a great photo. You pose and he snaps. He lets you have a look at the picture. It’s okay, but a little blurry so you politely request just one more. You pose and he snaps the picture again. He lets you see. This picture is in fact worse than the first. So you decide to cut your losses, offer a half-hearted thanks and wonder how you can doctor on the photo to make it worthy enough to include your blog.

In all honesty and fairness, the guy may have meant well, but his intent didn’t translate into the picture.

Back to reality.

Think back to your travels. How often have you asked someone to snap a quick pic of you only to see it and begrudgingly force out a “thanks” knowing very well it looks like sh*t?

Or perhaps you don’t want to be that guy/girl asking strangers if they can “take your picture really quickly.”

There are remedies for this and we strongly encourage all avid travelers or those just starting out to do them.

Invest in a selfie stick, GoPro, tripod or anything else that will allow you to capture images/moments important to you on your travels without the assistance of anyone else. Most random folks are not going to a) be the trained photographer you are or are trying to be; or b) care enough to get every angle, color or balance just right. Nine times out of 10, they’re just going to snap your picture and be on their way.

So take responsibility for your own great photos. In this day and age, where carelessness abounds and things like customer service are unheard of, it’s best not to leave your “money shot” up to chance.