Have you ever looked through old family travel photos only to discover that you are in very few of them? If you are the main photographer of your family, you are probably so busy snapping shots of everyone and everything else that you’ve probably forgotten that years from now, you will be the missing link in your family album — the unseen ghost that made the pictures possible.
To avoid the possibility that you may be the faceless wonder behind all of your travel photos, it’s important that you make an extra effort to include yourself in your pictures. The following are a few tips that will help you to be the focus of more of your priceless travel memories. Here are 4 ways to include yourself in your travel pictures.
1. Use Your Self-Timer
The camera companies have already thought about this issue and so have created the self-timer function. Unfortunately, many people don’t take the time to learn how to use this clever feature. So before you head off on your next trip, set aside some time to read up on this feature. That way you won’t have to fumble with your camera, trying to learn how to use the self-timer on the fly. In addition, here are some tips to help you take better pictures once you do learn how to use this function.
- Focus your camera. This is easy if you are just planning on jumping into a group photo. The camera will just auto-focus on the members of your group. However, taking a picture of yourself is trickier if you will be by yourself as your camera won’t have a person to focus on. So you will need to switch your camera to manual focus and then focus it on a subject close to where you will be standing.
- Make sure not to stand in front of the camera when you press the button to take your picture as it will then focus on you.
- Inform your group that your camera will give an audio or visual signal that it is about to take the picture. For example, the camera may flash slowly, then speed up right before it is about to take the picture.
- Bring a small tripod. This device makes it easier to take auto-focus pictures.
2. Reciprocate
If you notice a person taking photographs of their family members, offer to take a picture of everyone for them. And then ask them if they wouldn’t mind doing the same for you and your group.
3. Use a Reflection
This could make for a very interesting picture and also solve the problem of taking your own picture at the same time. An example of this technique would be to find a large glass building that faces the subject you are interested in photographing and then snap your shot.
4. Buy a Selfie Stick
This clever telescopic stick allows you to hold your camera a few feet away so that you can take more interesting selfie shots. Instead of your head and a bit of background, for instance; this camera will allow you to show more of the landscape or that interesting monument behind you.
Photos from www.123rf.com