It's hard to live in a culture where vacations and travels are judged by the pictures you share of it. Yes, some can argue that's not always the case... and those are the same people who have albums worth of memories splattered across social media. So there’s that. I mean, it's 2015. Pictures tell a thousand words of stories that we hardly do justice without graphic evidence.

In a perfect world, I’d be married to Channing Tatum and we’d all be able to hire private photographers to follow us everywhere on trips, snapping every staged candid moment, and making us look like the supermodels we all could be if fast food chains & Nutella didn’t exist. If I go through my inbox, one of the most common questions I get asked by readers is who my photographer is, to which I usually answer with Joe Schmoe from Germany or India or Brazil.

Pictures can sometimes be direct reflections of our trips because for a moment, we feel like we've frozen time and turned it into this beautifully-crafted 5x5, Instagram-worthy moment that people near and far can gaze at or draw inspiration from.

    

Even after I listed the many reasons why a photographer makes one of the best travel companions, I still prefer solo travel when it comes to jet-setting, and although there will be awkwardness in the initial approach of finding someone to take your picture, after 15 countries, and approximately 10,000 extremely awkward encounters, I’ve figured out a magic formula for capturing your trips to remind people how much they hate you savor this memory forever!

As a portrait photographer myself, I'm used to giving direction to others to make the ever-so-awkward experience of someone pointing a hole at your face and you trying not to fart from smiling for no reason other than hoping to God your pimples took a vacation that day and that soon, someone saves your life and creates a filter that magically hides all insecurities. Until then, listen up my unphotogenic lillies friends.

TIP #1 - Babies For Ransom

No one is immune to theft while traveling, and if you travel solo, you run the risk of placing your camera into the hands of a thief. But there is a fool-proof way to make sure the person you’re about to approach isn’t going to run off with your thousand-dollar DSLR.

1. -Speaking of DSLR’s, if this person has a DSLR around their neck, chances are they will respect a fellow expensive-camera-buyer photographer and treat it with the same care as they would their own. Not only that, but there’s a good chance they already know how to work your camera and you don’t have to spend 10 minutes explaining how to push a button.
   
   

2. -Secondly, if this person has kids, specifically a toddler in a stroller, you know for sure they aren’t running off. You take my camera sir, and I’ll take your baby and put a ransom on that ass. But don’t worry, I don’t discriminate. This applies to kids, spouses, and pets.    
   
   

3. -Thirdly, if you see

   

   a couple taking an awkward selfie and you gently offer to take a picture for them, 99% of the time, they will automatically reciprocate the offer. This takes the pressure off you having to ask, because they will first, and it’s a good chance to scope out how you want your picture to look after you take theirs. If you try an angle with them that comes out well, you can tell them to look at the picture you took of them, and try to imitate the results. People are usually so cute about imitating my squats and angles when I ask, and the results are always exactly what I want.
   

TIP #2 - In Angles We Trust

1. -It’s amazing what perspective does to enhancing a photo. Using an angle apart from the “holding my camera directly in front of my face while standing straight” does wonders to the eye and it’s like photoshopping a pic without the expensive software. To make a person, monument, or subject appear greater than it is in person, crouch down and angle upwards. This also applies to shorter people who want to add some height to their pictures.
   

1. -When you think of a scenery, think of the thousands, maybe millions who’ve been on those exact grounds you’re standing on... taking the exact same photo, with the exact same, standard angle. You also want to take a picture from an angle that you won’t see a replica of on the first page of Google Images because it’s so unique. Anybody can right-click and save a picture from the internet, but the angle that you take a picture from is what makes it stand out. I’ve seen enough pictures of Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) to feed a third-world country suffering from London deprivation for life if that were a thing, yet and still, there are some amazing Instagram accounts I follow like @London who remind me of the beauty of a cliché city from the eyes of people who don’t capture it in a cliché way. And it’s beautiful.
   

1. -Some different

   

   angles include a “Bird’s Eye View” which would require you to take a picture of something from the top and see it the way a bird does. This is usually best for instagramming pictures of food, which I only try doing on special occasions, fancy dining, or immaculately prepared feasts during holidays. Try different things out and get creative!
   

TIP #3 - The Moment of Truth

So you’ve found your photographer and you’ve made eye contact with his toddler in case they want to crawl off as an accomplice to this potential thievery and you’re ready to strike a pose. How on Earth do you control your face? What do you do with your hands? Is this constipation or is that just your body reminding you how awkward life is? Here to help, kids.

1. -First off, before you get ready for the picture, find a setting that complements you. Patterned backgrounds, bodies of water, and large monuments all make great backdrops and are iconic for “look at me, I traveled” and stuff. It also helps to use accessories to keep your hands occupied. The reason I love fedoras is because it hides a percentage of my alien-shaped head and gives me something to place my hands on or tinker with if I feel the moment is right. Look how cute “candid” can look with a hat...  
   

1. -If you want to

   

   appear a bit slimmer, try slanting your torso and hips just a bit to the side, as well as elongating your neck and turning it slightly to an angle as well, as if giving off a smirk. All this sounds very robotic, so to combat that, you want to have the person count down the picture and while they’re at 3, 2... you’ll be looking backwards, down, or in the sky, and then you’ll snap your head into place by 1 and the picture will appear a tad bit more natural, in all of its stagedness. Also, don’t be afraid to ask them to take 2-3 shots before you review them. Chances are, one will be blurry, one will have your eyes closed, and the third will be gold. Repeat these steps with at least 3 iconic sceneries and you’ll be sure to come back with several favorites and a new default profile pic.
   

1. -One of the most fun

   

   things about being a photographer is directing my clients to do odd things for the sake of a good photo. Odd things includes “laughing out loud” on cue, looking at a branch in the tree in front of you, or stroking your hair. These non-candid actions or movements make a picture appear more natural and authentic. Oh, the irony. But I promise this is THE #1 TRICK TO GET A NATURAL SMILE IN YOUR PICTURE. Don’t smile for the picture, actually laugh out loud and you’ll be amazed at how much more fun and genuine your smile shines through. Don’t be afraid to be silly! There are some people who go on these amazing trips and don’t have ONE picture of themselves on the trip and I find that absolutely absurd. Okay, you don’t like taking pictures, I get it. But anybody can grab a picture from google and say they were somewhere. Being in the picture is not only undeniable proof that you were there, but it conveys so much more. Your mood, your expression, and your body all change daily, and you get a chance to see how all of that looked while on a trip to laugh or gawk at in the future!
   

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Most of all, embrace the moment! You’re in gorgeous, foreign territory! Even if it was the crappiest time of your life (which, uhhm... impossible), still make that picture hold thousands of memories you won’t be able to adequately retell with words.

People are surprised to learn that a majority of my travel pics are taken from my Samsung Galaxy S4. I love the Galaxy series and will forever be an Android user for so many reasons; their photographic capabilities being one. If you have a Galaxy phone, go into the settings and explore the different modes your camera can shoot in and play around with it.

But for sharper images with a clear Bokeh effect, those were taken on my Canon 60D with a 50mm f1/8 lens. If you’ve held or used this lens before, you can vouch for how easy and lightweight it is. It’s the only lens I’ve shot with in my last two years of travel, and it has an amazingly sharp focus on its subjects. You can get it for about $100 on Amazon and it works great on any DSLR camera body you may have. Note: It’s not a zoom lens, so if you’re used to stock lenses, this will be a bit of an adjustment, and sometimes a challenge to explain to strangers.

Any ways, I hope this post helps some of you! For fun, upload your favorite travel picture on Instagram after you read this, then tag @glographics in the caption and picture, and tell me where you were and a fun memory from that trip! My favorite one will get a repost! Can’t wait! See y’all on the ‘gram ;)

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