Really? You? Again?

Answering the replies:

What is with people? Are people feeling guilty about something? Read what I wrote here. READ IT! I am not saying you are not allowed to take photos of yourself. In context photos of your are perfectly fine. I’m merely pointing out that you should NOT claim that photos of YOU are actually photos of something else. I’m not really making any other point in that regard.

If you bother to finish the post, you will see the note that says that this is in preparation for something else. In context this is not nearly the rant everyone seems to think it is. This is merely an explanation of what I personally consider a "photo opportunity" and the fact that I don't consider that “photo hogging” a photo opportunity when travelling.

Lastly, people are trying to throw “not everyone is a great photographer” in my face. I’m not a great photographer, yet I get nice photos. Amazing how that happens, isn’t it? Most of my friends are not great photographers, yet they get nice photos and I enjoy looking through them. I wonder how? Also, if you are in your own photo, then you are NOT the photographer, so your skill as no bearing on anything.

You see it all the time. Photos of people standing in front of a landmark or some other point of interest, facing the camera with a huge smile on their face. Sometimes they’re pointing at said point of interest and maybe even doing something silly. What is more, in a set of say 50 photos, as many as 40 will basically be the same photo with just a change of background.

I can just imagine how the conversation will go if they ever had to show hard copies in an album to someone: “Look, here I am posing next to the old tree, and here I am, posing in front of the pond next to the old tree, and here I am posing at the sign telling us that this is the old tree. Here I am, in front of the plaque with the name of the gallery next to the old tree with the pond and here I am inside the gallery posing next to an amazing work of art, and completely distracting you from looking at it.”

“So?” people might say, “these are photos showing where I was”.

Well, yes, but mostly NO! These are photos of you. Not photos of things you saw and places you went to. These things and places are the backgrounds to photos of you. You are the subject with everything else doing nothing more than adding interest to a photo of, all together now, yoooou.

Was that place really so boring that you couldn’t find anything that deserved its own photos? If indeed it was so boring, why then are you showing us these photos? Can’t we just look at your face while we speak to you or at your profile picture after we looked at your photos?

“No, the photos are not about me.” (pointing) “They are about that there.” Let’s have another look, shall we…

Are you looking straight at the camera and smiling? Yes? Then the photo is about you! See that big thing you are standing in front of? I’m not looking at that because you are twice its size, in the foreground, and…yes, that’s right, smiling at the camera. Humans are programmed to look at people and their faces. It takes a strong man, or women, to look at the background before looking at…yooooou.

“Yes, but when I’m in the photo it shows people that I was there.”

Firstly, don’t you think a single photo at the start of the series is enough to prove that you were at the location of all the photos to follow? Secondly, just who are these people doubting you? Are they your friends? If they are and don’t believe that you actually took those photos yourself, don’t you think it is about time to drop them?

If you absolutely HAVE to be in the photo, please look like you belong in the scene. Don’t BE the scene. Stand further away from the camera so that you don’t obscure or dominate the scene. Pretend you are doing something. “Glance” at something off to the side of the photographer. Read a book and look like you are relaxing in the shade of the tree next to the Eifel tower. Yes, the Eifel Tower will still be impressive, even without your mug filling the entire foreground, and you will also look more like you were actually enjoying the place instead of just trying to hog the camera.

Lastly, and for heaven’s sake just do this, spend 5 minutes reading up on the rule of thirds and then spend 30 seconds explaining it to whomever you are giving your camera to. These photos are memories and I obviously memories you want to share. Don’t you think others deserve something worth their time?

Note: This post was written in preparation of a series of posts I will do next year in which “Photo Opportunity” will be discussed.