Selfies. Selfies are adorable. To the uninitiated, selfies are self-portrait photography or in my terms perfect for solo photography. The problem with travelling solo is that a lot of my photos are just, well, photos of everything WITHOUT me in it. What’s the fun of visiting iconic buildings or places without having one with you in it? I like to think of it as my proof that I was there. Unfortunately, selfies don’t always work for me.
Why is this so? I’m a selfie idiot, I have a short arm and I feel too self-conscious to take one myself.
Having a short arm means my face is usually close to the camera or my smartphone and then makes my face feature too prominently in the photos. Result? Selfie fail.
Being too self-conscious to take one myself means that I rush through the process. So it’s point and shoot and go. Result? Another selfie fail.
As a selfie idiot, I just struggle to take a selfie with me in it. Result? Epic selfie fail.
Most times, I end up asking someone to take my photo, using a tripod or just going without any photos of myself.
Asking for help to take photo (Credit: Wikipedia)
Carrying a tripod is quite troublesome and bulky though, so I prefer not to use this. Asking someone to take my photo is usually my preferred choice but it’s still a hit and miss as the photo may not always turn out the way I wanted it to be. Most of the time, I just go without taking any photos of myself.
But then again, perhaps all these struggles is just me. I have friends who are experts at this – move their arm here, face there, snap and voila, an amazingly awesome selfie. Me, I end up with a photo that has a big round face in it and very little of the background.
I’ll just have to keep practising, I suppose.
Maybe I’ll just use this method of putting myself in the picture instead…
How do you take photos on solo travels? Any tips for selfies are greatly appreciated!!! 🙂
Lifetomyfullest 
You could get one of those selfie sticks, it’s light and handy I believe.
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Is it really? But wldnt it look weird posing with one? Haha..I might think abt this one…thks!!
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I think it wouldn’t be weird at all in this age of selfie haha let me know if you decided to get one.
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will do!! 🙂
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I have yet to see anyone with one of those selfie sticks, I have considered getting one though, but too feel like I may look like an idiot if I had one. Haha
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Right?! I had the same sentiments…haha…I did see someone use this but it was for a group selfie though. 🙂
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I don’t have a problem taking good selfies. Then again, that’s mainly because I don’t take selfies so the problem doesn’t exist to begin with. 🙂
I’ve got nothing against selfies. In fact, I admire people like my sister who can hold out their cameras and smartphones and whatnot at precisely the right distance, snapping perfect portraits of themselves every single time. I just don’t do them, that’s all. Probably comes from being antisocial: no need to prove to friends that I’ve been here or there (I don’t even use Facebook), so no need to spoil the gorgeous scenery by plastering my ugly mug onto the landscape. For my blogging purposes, Diego-free images seem to work best.
Again, to be clear, that’s just me. Nothing bad with snapping the occasional selfie when circumstances warrant, and I wish you all the best in your quest to improve your self-potraiture.
As for tips, have you considered one of those cameras with a screen that flips over the top, allowing you to see what the camera sees even though the lens is pointed in your direction? I use one of those (a Sony NEX-F3K) and on the extremely rare occasions when I need to take a selfie (mostly to placate my mum who complains about how I’m never in my travel photos), seeing what I’m about to shoot makes composition easier.
Cheerio.
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haha, yes. I don’t understand how someone can do it too. I’ve tried the camera with the flip screen but my problem is that my face is usually taking up most of the photo composition that it doesn’t look nice. So I eventually put it down to my short arms, since I can’t hold it out very far away because of that.
I’ll just content myself with getting strangers to take my photo but most of the time, it’s hard to get a nice one when they do so. So, I usually just take it without me in it…haha…
But thanks for your thoughts anyway!!! 🙂
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ooooh, selfies. I’m not one for them; I always ask someone nearby to take them for me! If you’re having trouble getting out of your comfort zone in a foreign country, approaching strangers and asking them to take your photo, especially in their language, is a great way to break the ice and build your own confidence in the country.
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yeah, i do that sometimes too but it’s just that not all of the photos will turn out the way I want it…haha…I’m not such a fan of selfies either but it works out during solo travels…:)
I will admit to the occasional camwhoring sessions though BUT only when I am bored….hehe…
thanks for the tip!!
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this post made me smile! can totally realte to the whole feeling slightly awkward feeling of taking a photo of yourself in public – i am the same, much easier to ask someone to do it for you!
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Haha..yes that’s true. I usually ask someone to take my photo too but not all photos turn out nice which is why it’s sometimes easier to try to take one myself. But of course, then I end up with this problem of taking a selfie. Haha..:)
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