The first big trip I ever took was when my family went to Kauai the summer after my freshman year of high school. My sister and I had our new digital cameras and were so excited to show our trip to everyone when we returned home. We had taken hundreds of photos and I remember the first time we sat someone in front of our family computer to see them. It got pretty repetitive showing landscape after landscape no matter how pretty Kauai is. Looking back years later the only photos that really hold memories are the ones of us, whether posed or candid.
Now I am not hating on landscape/cityscape photography, but in the grand scheme of photos worth looking back on only a handful of good scenery photos are needed. And a lot of photos are just more fun to look back and reminisce on your travels if you or the people you are with into the frame. After the trip to Kauai, I took this thought forward for my future big trips. But it's definitely a learning process, and as someone who tends to be on the shy side it is hard to ask for a photo especially when traveling by yourself, people who don't want photos of themselves or with people you don't know very well.
The next major trip I went on was with my sister to Greece. Even though it was years later I still had the lesson from Hawaii in my head. I tried to take a lot of candid photos, specifically of my sister, some still are my favorite from the trip. We made sure to ask for at least typical tourist photos in front of monuments or cool areas, but I was always with her smiling like a classic Christmas card photo. The one photo just of me that wasn't a selfie was only taken with extreme coaxing from my sister and a lot of blushing and giggling. And I am so glad she pushed me to do it. It was my dream to go to Santorini, we had 3 hours there, and if I had left without a photo of myself there I know I would have always regretted it.
This Greece trip was in the age of instagram unlike the Kauai trip. If you have not noticed for most instagrams if it is just scenery without a person it will get less likes 90% of the time. Not that likes are really too important or the goal for making memories and taking photos but it echos the same feeling I noticed after our Kauai trip. Now when I went to Hong Kong, I had been on instagram for years and wanted the instagram photos as much as I wanted to make memories. And by that I mean I wanted interesting pictures, candid or candid like photos, and photos that were filled with memories. So, I decided to be ... shameless!
Deciding to be shameless about wanting photos was liberating and I honestly believe that getting over my fear of asking actually helped me enjoy myself more because for many smallish trips for years I would be thinking about it but too afraid to ask. I didn't want to be judged. I was with a bunch of new co-workers in Hong Kong and once I was open about wanting photos as we explored the city, I could tell other people became more confident asking for photos. A tip would be to ask the people you are with if they want a photo taken, even just broaching it as "hey (name), this would be a good photo! I can take it if you want?" or "Oh you look cute! Lets take some photos!"
So my tips for getting over being too self conscious to ask for your photo taken while traveling:
- Wear an outfit that is comfortable, but you feel at least mostly good in
- Be realistic (100 degree heat and humidity in Hong Kong means you are gonna have frizzy hair, and a constant sheen of sweat)
- Bring a mini mirror/ brush small enough for a handbag
- Ask the people you are with if they want a photo, or suggest that you will take it for a good memory
-Don't be afraid to ask how you look or how you should stand
- Only take a few and mix up poses! Have a go to that you know you'll be mostly happy with - - Don't be too critical of yourself and feel like you need 50 photos to get a good one, even if it doesn't feel great in the moment it will be a great memory to look back on!
And last but not least be shameless! The few seconds of embarrassment you might feel is not worth missing out on a picture!
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