Ah, travel photography—the noble pursuit of capturing the perfect moment and making your Instagram followers believe you live a life of adventure. We’ve all been there, right? You’re standing on a mountaintop in a foreign country, squinting into the sun, pretending you know how to use your camera’s “manual” mode, while simultaneously wondering how many photos you need to take to ensure one doesn’t feature your thumb.
The true essence of travel photography is finding that magical shot where the light is perfect, the landscape looks otherworldly, and you, of course, are in a flattering pose (which requires at least 50 attempts). Oh, and don’t forget that all-important self-timer. Sure, you could ask someone to take your picture, but then you’d have to interact with a fellow human being. Gasp.
And let’s not ignore the struggle of getting that iconic shot—whether it’s you holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa (with minimal elbow bending) or standing majestically in front of the Eiffel Tower, trying to look like you’ve just had an epiphany about life. But of course, you’ll need 20 variations of the same photo, just to be sure one of them truly encapsulates your “wanderlust” vibe.
It’s also vital to capture local cuisine, not because you’ll ever actually cook it at home, but because everyone needs to see how cultured you are. Your friends will never know that you couldn’t identify the dish if it wasn’t for Google Images.
So, next time you’re out and about, remember: travel photography is not just about the places you visit. It’s about the hundreds of blurry photos you’ll delete later, the awkward angle you’ll edit out of the final picture, and the endless hours of scrolling through your camera roll, wondering if you’ll ever achieve “National Geographic level” status. Spoiler alert: you won’t. But that’s okay—just make sure your captions are witty enough. That’s what truly matters, right?