How to Take Good Pictures of Yourself Traveling Solo

Here’s how I went from this:

To this:

Who Takes Your Photos When You’re Travelling Alone?

Did you ask a stranger?

How can I get photos like that by myself?

Do you have a secret photographer helping you take these photos?

These are just a few questions many people ask me about taking photos while travelling solo. You probably have the same! Everyone wants to have great photos of themself while they travel, and it’s the same when you’re alone. However, the thing about solo travel is that you don’t have a friend or family member there to help you get that perfect shot.

Trying to ask a stranger for a photo can also be intimidating, especially if they speak a different language. And more often than not, the stranger isn’t going to capture the picture you want. They’re doing you a favor, so it seems awkward taking up more than a minute of the time getting the perfect shot. Also, what happens if they run off with your expensive camera or phone?

Luckily, I’ve had my fair share of experience capturing beautiful photos while travelling solo. The first couple aren’t going to turn out so pretty, but that’s okay! Photography is a skill you exercise, like a muscle, and the more you do it, the better you get at it. You also don’t need fancy equipment to take amazing photos. So, here’s a guide on how to take good pictures of yourself while travelling solo. Plus, underrated tips on how to capture the perfect shot.

Before You Start

Know What You Want

Do you want a candid photo that’s really cinematic? A polished photo with nice poses and smiles? Or derpy moments in front of iconic landmarks? Perhaps you saw photos on Instagram you loved and want to recreate. Knowing what photo you want during your travels will make taking photos much easier than just winging it in the moment.

Planning how to get the photo you want and telling others what you’re looking for will be easier. Plus, you’ll be happier with your photos once you capture them.

Get Inspiration

Not sure what photos you want? There are hundreds and thousands of travel photos on Pinterest, Google, Instagram, etc., and you can screenshot and keep them for photo inspiration. It’s hard to visualize what you might want, but looking online for inspiration makes it super easy to see what looks good.

Other people have done the hard work of taking great photos. I guarantee you’ll find photo ideas that will make you think, “Wow, why didn’t I think of that?” or “That looks amazing. I want to try that.”

It’s also a great way to know what poses to do, especially if you’re unsure or uncomfortable posing for pictures. I like screenshotting photo inspo and using it later when taking photos as a reference for a background, pose, or composition. Work smarter, not harder!

Get inspiration in the form of solo travel quotes!

Know Basic Photography

Getting good photos is more complex than snapping pictures and hoping it works out. Before pressing the shutter button, you must understand basic lighting, composition, framing, posing, and applying it to your shot. The best way to learn these photography concepts is to experiment.

Play with different lighting, subjects, compositions, and poses to get a feel of how each component affects the picture. You don’t need to know the technical aspects of basic photography, just enough to know how to achieve the look or feeling you want.

We’ll delve into more specific and applicable photography basics later in this article, so continue reading!

Have Go-To Poses and Angles

“How do I pose in this picture?” is such a common question people ask when taking photos. And I get it. Not knowing how to position our bodies, heads, legs, and arms feels awkward. Especially if we don’t know what looks good or aren’t confident in our poses, we’ve all been victims of not knowing why our hands look that way or why our arms or legs look so weird in photos.

Luckily, this is easily fixed by 1) looking at inspiration and 2) practice. I share some example poses later in this article, with photos!

Everyone has certain poses and angles they think they look best in, especially in photos. For example, my go-to poses include my head and body turned away from the camera, using my hand to cover a part of my face candidly, and smiling with my mouth open.

Once you take enough pictures of yourself and experiment with different poses, you’ll learn what poses you like and don’t like. It makes you feel more comfortable taking photos, and you’ll also like your pictures more in poses and angles you think flatter you most. It also makes it easier to take photos.

Check the Weather and Lighting

Good weather and lighting make a world of difference in photos. Something as simple as checking the weather seems easy to do before going out and taking photos, but sometimes it slips our minds.

Double-check the weather before you go outside because you never know if conditions will change and alter your photo plan. It also changes what you wear in your photos.

But more often than not, if you’re traveling, you don’t have an option but to shoot in less-than-ideal conditions. Work with what you got!

Usually, the best lighting is in the morning or sunset hour. Sometimes, the lighting is also great during gray skies or cloudy days, when the sunlight diffuses and makes a soft light perfect for photos.

Choose Your Camera and Photography Gear

Do you want to take photos with your iPhone? Use a DSLR? Or a digital camera? Maybe a fancy Polaroid camera if you have one? Decide what camera you want to take photos on, heck, maybe even multiple. While you can edit photos in post, it’s always easier to choose the camera based on what you want your photos to look like. Phone cameras are of excellent quality these days, but they might not capture the softness or depth of professional cameras.

I love taking photos on my iPhone, as the camera quality is great! And I love the DAZZ Cam app for a film camera look without bringing one.

If you have lenses, like a fish eye or macro lens, bring them along and swap them in for a new look. If you have a tripod, bring that along, too.

Photography gear. You’ll need specific gear depending on the types of photos you want. For example, if you want a landscape shot, you’ll probably want a tripod that can get good height. But the more gear you have, the more you’ll have to carry around, especially if you’re alone. DSLR cameras can be heavy and draw attention to you.

Tripods are usually compact, but you should consider setup and stability. We’ll delve into a few different tripod options later on.

You’ll also need a way to carry cameras and gear if you have extra equipment, whether that’s a backpack or a camera bag. However, factor in how heavy your bag will get and if you need a bag with one or two straps for weight distribution (and not to hurt your shoulders or back).

How to Take Good Pictures of Yourself When Traveling Solo

Selfies

This is the classic photo that every solo traveller knows.

The smiling head with a nice background and part of your arm showing photo. You’ll scroll through your photos at the end of a trip and realize that all your photos of yourself are selfies. These aren’t bad, but it’d be nice to have one regular photo of us without our arms in the photo.

Everyone knows how to take the classic selfie using the front camera, but here are some ways to get creative and make them look more exciting.

Front camera wide lens:

Recently, the iPhone added a wide lens option to the front camera, which lets you capture more of your surroundings and body in the photo.

All you need to do is tap the two arrows pointing away from each other at a diagonal near the screen bottom, on top of the shutter button. Then, you have a great wide-angle selfie ready!

Back camera:

If you want a high-quality selfie, use the back camera by facing the phone screen away from you and pressing the volume button to take photos. On the iPhone, pressing the volume button automatically takes a photo for you.

The downside is that you can’t see how the photo looks while you take it, but give it a couple of tries, and one of them should turn out well.

0.5 angle back camera selfie:

This is the gen-z selfie! I love using this with friends or by myself if I want to switch up my selfies. It’s basically a built-in fish eye lens for iPhones and a great way to show outfits, multiple objects, scenery, etc.

All you have to do is open up your camera, select the 0.5x option on the bottom of the screen, and turn the camera around so the back camera faces you. It’s nicer than the regular back camera pictures, in my opinion, because your face isn’t too close to the camera. Press the volume button to take photos and snap away! The higher the angle, the better the photo.

Ask a Stranger

“Hi, sorry, could you help me take a photo, please?” I’ve asked this so many times to strangers when I’m traveling alone because sometimes it’s your only option for a photo of yourself. Usually, this is my last resort because I don’t like looking for someone to ask or bothering other people. I once sat at the Musee de L’Orangerie for 30 minutes just trying to scout out who to ask… However, you have to do what you have to do.

Who to ask?

First, I try asking other tourists because they’re more likely to help you take a picture since they are there for the same reason you are. If that’s not an option, I look for people also taking photos. Most of the time, these happen also to be tourists, but not always.

Ask a worker. The biggest concern with asking strangers is that you don’t know if they’ll run off with your phone (it happens)! If you want more security when asking strangers, ask workers like waiters, security guards, employees, etc. Anyone working a job is guaranteed not to leave with your phone because they physically cannot.

Obviously, don’t ask a worker who is busy helping someone, but if you see someone free, don’t hesitate to ask! It’s more safe to ask a worker than a totally random stranger. Also, if you’re at a popular tourist attraction like a museum or palace and ask a worker, chances are they’ve been asked before and know what pictures people generally want. They’ll take amazing photos because they have experience.

Tips on how to ask.

Before I ask someone, I try making eye contact first, or I’ll slowly approach them. I’ll usually start with “Hi, sorry to bother you, but…” or “Hi, would you mind…” to break the ice. As long as you are polite, people usually don’t mind taking photos for you!

Another way to approach this is if you see someone taking a selfie and asking if they would like you to take their photo. That way, you can ask them to help you back when you’re done. It’s a win-win!

Tell them what you want. If you want a particular look or photo, tell them what you want, like if you want a portrait or landscape photo, where you want to be in the photo, etc. I find it helpful to frame the photo for them, too, since it makes it easier. It might seem rude or awkward to do this, but trust me, most people would rather you tell them what you’re looking for than awkwardly take pictures you don’t like. Just be polite about it.

Prop Camera Up + Self Timer

If you want to take regular photos by yourself, find a flat surface you can prop your phone or camera on and use the self-timer feature on your camera.

Tips for propping cameras.

Generally, you want to prop your camera up on a surface that has some height. Surfaces like a window sill, a small ledge on the side of a building, lamppost edges, fences, etc. If you use something lower to the ground, like a chair or table, chances are that the photo angle will be really low and distort your photo.

Most importantly, you want to find a flat surface that connects to a wall that supports your phone. Otherwise, you’ll have to find an object to lean your phone against. If you have a camera, ensure the surface supports the camera’s weight. You can also use the camera lanyard to hang it from something, but the photo may not turn out straight.

Take test photos.

With a self-timer on a phone, you can use the front or back camera. With the back camera, make sure that you place the phone where the camera is the furthest away from the surface. For example, the camera should be in the top right-hand corner if you want a landscape photo. If you place it close to the surface, it will appear in your photo and block a part of the photo.

Additionally, the nice thing about using the front camera with selfie mode is that you can see what you look like on the screen. With the back camera, take a test picture and make sure you like what the photo looks like. Just peeking at the screen and putting it back in position isn’t enough because the photo looks different at an angle versus straight on. I’ve taken a handful of back camera self-timer photos where the photo is slightly crooked even though it looked straight on the screen.

Also, this is common sense, but please don’t prop your expensive phone or camera near the edge of a lake, pond, cliff, etc. If it falls in, chances are it’s a long way down, and your device will break. Make sure to secure your phone or camera wherever you prop it so it doesn’t fall. Keep your phone or camera in sight, as well!

How long to set the self-timer?

On phones, there’s usually a three and 10-second option for self-timer. If you can pose fast and know what you want, 3 seconds is good enough to get a good shot. But if you want a photo of yourself where you’re far from the camera, you’ll need more time to get in place. Generally, I like using the 10-second option more, just in case I want to reposition myself or need more time to get in position.

Also, to maximize the self-timer, set your camera settings to shoot multiple photos simultaneously. This is called a burst and is automatically the default on the iPhone.

Don’t want to run back and forth to click the camera button?

For more control, you can use an app that automatically takes a picture every couple of seconds, so you don’t have to run back and forth. Some popular apps are Lens Buddy and Photo Timer+, both free, although I have never used them. You can also buy a remote Bluetooth clicker to avoid this problem, although the ones I’ve tried are wonky and don’t work half the time. Some people suggest recording a 4k-quality video and taking screenshots, but I don’t think the quality compares to actual photos.

Tripod (Self Timer or Remote)

Don’t want to prop your camera or phone up on a dirty surface? Invest in a tripod! There are tripods in all sizes and prices. You can get a simple tripod for phones or digital cameras for less than $20. The downside with the cheaper tripods is that they’re usually not sturdy and break easily because they’re made of plastic. But on the plus side, the plastic ones are super light and compact, making them very transportable.

If you need a sturdier tripod, you can get one made out of metal or aluminum, which are much more sturdy and can support more weight. The downside is that they’re usually heavier, bulky, and expensive. I personally like a tripod that’s a little more sturdy so that the phone or camera stays in place and doesn’t move, even with a slight breeze.

If you want a tripod that can stand at a person’s height, get one with adjustable legs. Usually, the legs extend between 50 to 70 inches, giving you great height and photo angle possibilities. You can also get one that has bendy or flexible legs that grip around poles, logs, edges, etc., to unlock cool angles and perspectives. The most popular is the GorillaPod, which you’ve probably seen Youtubers or vloggers use. They’re super versatile and very secure. The downside is that the legs are short and more expensive for a short tripod, ranging between $25 and $ 50.

Tripod vs Propping. The ultimate benefit of a tripod is that you can finely adjust the photo composition and secure it, as well as take photos straight on versus at an angle. The downside is that a tripod is one more thing to carry and can be heavy and annoying.

Use a Mirror or Reflection

See a reflective surface that you can see yourself in? That’s a way to capture a good photo of yourself, especially if you can see the scenery in the reflection. Think of round circle mirrors on the sidewalk or maybe a reflective window.

Look for bodies of water where you can snap a photo of yourself by leaning over the water’s edge; just make sure not to fall in! You’ll also find mirrors in subway stations or metros around staircase corners or on platforms.

This is not a reflective surface, but video monitor displays are also a cool opportunity for snapping a cool photo of yourself. You’ll find these in grocery stores, museums, or anywhere that needs security footage.

Hire a Photographer

Want an easy way to get non-selfie photos of yourself without worrying about carrying around a tripod or leaving your phone or camera alone? Hire a local photographer. It’s a great way to get amazing, high-quality photos of yourself for a fraction of the work. It’s expensive, but it is worth it if you find a photographer with work you admire or like. Usually, a one- or two-hour session costs around $75 and can be upwards of $200. It may initially sound expensive, but the cost also includes the photographer’s experience, time, editing, and gear.

A great photographer will tell you how to pose, the best locations, get various angles, and more. They take care of all the hard decisions in photography and let you have fun. Best of all, you’ll have amazing souvenirs from your travels.

How to Find a Photographer:

You can find photographers through a Google search, like local photographers in XYZ location, on social media, or through word of mouth. You’ll also find them on Airbnb Experiences, where I found my Paris photographer for my solo trip to Paris in 2022. Once you find a photographer you like, book with them, and they’ll usually follow up with more information and photoshoot logistics.

Before Booking a Photographer:

Before booking a photographer, make sure you go through their portfolio or samples of their work on Instagram, their website, etc. As much as you’re paying for a photographer’s expertise, you’re also booking them because you like how they photograph or edit their photos. Some photographers prefer dark, rustic, romantic photos, while others prefer bright and crisp ones.

Maybe you want more cinematic-looking photos or prefer quirky, fun shots. Each photographer specializes in a certain kind of photo vibe, and matching your interests with their work is important. Don’t book a photographer known for cinematic photography if that’s not what you want.

Hire a Guide

Hiring a guide is similar to hiring a photographer but less photo-specialized. If you want to see more of your destination and don’t have time for a photo session, pay for a tour guide to take you around.

As you visit different places, you can ask your guide to help you take photos, which they are usually more than happy to do. You can even find photo-specific guides specializing in taking you to photo destinations and getting great shots of you.

The price for hiring a guide depends on your location and tour length. In countries where Western currency is strong, it’s much more affordable than in countries where Western currencies are not as strong. For example, I paid $50 for a private guide for a whole day in Bali, and he drove me around to 3+ attractions and took great photos of me. He even told me how to pose and captured a variety of shots. You get a tour and photos in one!

Find a Photobooth

Photobooths are the OG way to take photos of yourself! There’s no need to worry about angling your camera, positioning yourself, or taking nice photos. All you need to do is sit inside and pose. You can search for a photobooth in Google maps, and you should be able to find a few.

Japanese purikura and Korean photobooths are trending again, where you can add cute stickers and designs after the photos are done. As much as I love the cute ones, I love hunting for vintage film photobooths that use real film for the photos. There aren’t many left in the world, and they’re a really unique and fun souvenir.

Most photobooths take credit card these days, and a photostrip can cost anywhere from $2-4 each.

Make Friends

Lastly, if you prefer having trustworthy people take your photos, make some friends on your solo trip and ask them to take photos. Making new friends is often one of the best parts of traveling alone. You meet people from all different backgrounds with similar intentions about travel and making fun memories.

Additionally, you can take photos of each other and get creative in capturing your trip. You can make friends during solo travels by joining a tour, staying in a hostel, or chatting with strangers when you’re out and about.

Pose Suggestions

Knowing how to pose in photos is a skill you develop with practice. It’s not vain to want to look nice in photos, either! These photos are for your memories, and of course, we want to look nice in photos, too. But it’s so common not to know how to pose and awkwardly move around while taking photos. Or, reuse the same awkward pose in every photo, which you probably don’t want either. Luckily, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to discover poses to try. Here are some of my favorites: (pictures)

Head Turned Away

Walking Shot

Twirling Shot

Fit Check

The Shy One

Sipping Coffee Shot

Looking Up Shot

Looking Down and Camera Up

Searching in the Distance

Find Cool Backgrounds

If you want pictures different from the typical tourist photo in front of attractions and monuments, find a cool background! The background is just as important, sometimes even more than the subject, in a picture. Maybe you see a cool wall with certain designs or patterns or a cute row of houses unique to the area. You’re bound to see amazing things when you’re abroad, especially at some of the best places to solo travel.

As much as photography is about capturing you with iconic landmarks (i.e., the Mona Lisa, the Tokyo Tower, etc.), it’s also about capturing you on your trip, including all the little details you find. Some great ways to get backgrounds are:

Architecture:

I love, love, love using architecture in my photos of myself when I solo travel. I even plan itineraries based on cool architecture. Buildings say a lot about where you are and can even give off your travel location. For example, you can probably tell the difference between a French apartment building, a Japanese house, and a Spanish church.

That’s because architecture communicates with us nonverbally, and you know what they say: a picture says a thousand words. If you find cool architecture on your trip and it makes you go, “wow,” try taking a photo with it.

Window Displays:

Shop window displays are easy to find curated “looks” in different cities. It can be as fancy as a clothing boutique or lifestyle store or as common as a local grocery store. I personally love it when you can see a bit of the local language in the background of a photo of myself. It’s a very subtle and local way to include destinations in photos of yourself, and it feels more authentic.

Natural Scenery:

This is a given, but taking a photo in front of some beautiful flowers or plants makes for great pictures. Like architecture, plants, and trees sometimes say much more about the destination than you think. For example, redwood trees are pretty synonymous with California, cherry blossoms with Japan or Korea, etc. And who doesn’t love a photo of themself with a beautiful sunset or blooming plants?

Solo Travel Photography Tips

Photography is a learned skill; the learning curve can be steep if you’re just starting out. Luckily, there are ways to make it easier and more fun. Here are some tips on how to take good photos of yourself:

Take photos during magic and golden hour:

Magic hour is the hour after sunrise, and golden hour is the hour during sunset. Photographers prefer these times of day for photos because the lighting is soft and warm.

I’m sure you’ve experienced taking photos during noon and afternoon when the light is directly overhead and harsh—the pictures don’t turn out great.

Sunrise might be more challenging to wake up for, so golden hour is much more doable for most people. Make sure to face towards the light so the light doesn’t create a shadow on your face. A nice bonus during golden hour is that you’ll also get a colorful, beautiful sunset if you’re lucky.

Know how to get the shot:

If you’re recreating a photo you saw online, it’s not as easy as showing up and taking a photo, hoping it will turn out the same. Where were they standing when they took it? What time of day is it? How and where is the lighting? These are all things you should think about and research before taking a similar photo.

Luckily, it’s easy to tell how someone took a photo from the photo itself. You can also use the photo inspiration as a reference to compose and frame your photo. Sometimes, the photographer will reveal how they took it, but you’ll need to figure it out yourself most of the time. This way, you’ll be prepared and can adjust expectations beforehand.

Use a photo preset:

Presets are predefined settings (preset for short) photo edits that you can apply to your photos in one click. Lots of influencers and photographers sell or provide photo presets they’ve made, which is great if you really, really like someone’s aesthetic and don’t want to spend the time trying to make it yourself.

Presets are usually cheap, ranging from 50 cents per preset. People typically sell presets in bundles, like 20 for ten dollars, etc. The nice thing about presets is that you only have to buy them once, and you can use them unlimited times.

You can find them on Etsy, Lightroom, magazine websites, and more. Your favorite influencer might even sell them!

Use photography apps:

Want a film look to your photos but don’t want to invest in a film camera? Or a Polaroid frame without a Polaroid? There are apps for that! The beauty of apps is that dozens of photography apps can help you edit, track lighting, apply photo effects, etc.

My favorites are Dazz Cam for vintage film-looking photos and VSCO for editing. Lightroom is also a popular choice for editing.

Practice posing:

“I feel so awkward posing in front of the camera!” “I don’t know what poses to do!” We’ve all been there. The best way to get more comfortable in front of the camera is to practice.

Before your trip, take a bunch of photos and strike all kinds of poses. Even ones you think might not turn out great because you’ll never know until you try. Take pictures using all types of lighting, too. Then, once you look back at the poses, you can see which ones make you feel and look best.

For future reference, you can save them into an album on your phone to reference later on. This is also a great way to determine your go-to poses and angles. You’ll feel much more confident taking photos and getting photos you love!

Know your angles:

Similar to posing, knowing what angles you like makes taking photos more enjoyable and easy. You’ll instantly know what angles to get and which makes you look great.

I think I look best from a slightly taller angle, which hides part of my chin. But I hate taking photos from an angle underneath my face—I don’t think they’re flattering for me.

Lighting also makes a massive difference with angles because it creates shadows on our face or body, which alters how it looks in photos. Take photos of yourself from different angles and determine which ones you like best. This will make taking photos of yourself easier and faster because you won’t waste time figuring out what angle you want.

Take Multiple Shots:

All you need is one great photo. And sometimes, that one great photo won’t come after taking just a few photos. You might have to take 10 or 20 to find one you love, and there’s no shame in taking a lot. You are capturing your trip and deserve great photos to capture unforgettable memories.

It’s even easier if your camera takes multiple shots with one click. And sometimes, great photos happen unintentionally. So you’ll never know what it will look like until you after you take it.

Practice:

The first shots we take always have room for improvement. The lighting might be off, we might be out of focus, or the photo may be bad. But it’s expected to be bad at something when we first start.

Keep taking photos and practicing photography basics, experimenting with different poses, lighting, compositions, and more. Once you get a feel for it, you’ll start taking photos you love more often and get faster and better with practice.

Photography Basics

As easy as photography seems, there’s a lot more involved behind a great picture than just clicking the camera. Learning and practicing photography before you get the shot you want is necessary. Otherwise, you’ll be disappointed when you have a photo in mind and can’t replicate it. And once you’re already at the location, it’s too late! Here are the most useful basic photography skills you should know:

Lighting:

Without light, photos would not exist. Light reflects off a surface, which cameras capture to provide images. There are different types of light, including natural and artificial light. Most people like natural light because it’s soft and everywhere.

Depending on where the light is coming from and how it hits your subject, it alters the feel of your photo. Light creates shadows and highlights, which differ in size depending on where it’s coming from and how bright it is.

Usually, you don’t want the light behind your subject because you won’t be able to see them in the photo. You also don’t want it on the sides because the shadows will create weird shapes on your subject.

Exposure: How much light the camera lens allows is exposure. You’ve probably seen an overexposed image with little detail or an underexposed image that’s hard to see. It can make or break a photo, especially when it’s bright out. You can easily adjust this in your phone camera while taking a photo by touching the screen and dragging your finger down or up. Your scene should brighten while dragging your finger up and darken when dragged down.

Composition:

Photo composition is how you arrange elements in an image. This is probably the most fun part of photography: deciding where you want a person or item in your photo concerning the environment. This is also where you’ll get to play with different positions, extra space, and more within your frame.

My favorite composition rule is the rule of thirds, where you want to place your subject in the left or right third of your image. Most cameras divide the image into a grid, so it’s easy to line up your subject at the line intersections that make up a third. You can also play with negative space in your photo for more drama.

Emotion:

Photography is a form of self-expression and communication. Some of the greatest photos of all time make you feel something. I’m not saying every photo you take has to have a grand message or even a message at all. But interesting photographs say something about you or how you view the world. You can play with themes like exploration, wanderlust, wonder, gratitude, happiness, etc., that work well with travel photography.

Once you get a feel for these photography basics, taking photos will be easier and more fun. You’ll get to be more creative and capture some amazing shots.

Photography Safety Tips

To be honest, many of these are common sense, but you’d be surprised how many people get caught up in taking a great photo and drop their defenses. When taking photos by yourself, remember:

Keep your belongings on you:

I know, I know, having a purse or bag in your photos isn’t the prettiest, but the regret of having a bag stolen is bigger than the regret of having it in your photo. Don’t leave your valuables or bag on the ground when taking photos because someone can easily steal it when you’re distracted with posing for the camera. While snapping pics, you can easily hide a backpack or purse by putting it behind you while wearing it or at your feet. If you really want to leave your belongings somewhere, make sure they are within reach or hidden away.

Stay close to your phone or camera:

This is specifically for when you prop your camera down in public. It’s similar to leaving a bag unattended while taking photos; you never know if someone will steal it. However, it’s tough with a phone or camera because to take a nice photo, you have to stand somewhat away from it. Obviously, don’t leave it out of your sight, but when propping your camera up, make sure there are fewer people around and inconspicuously. For example, propping your phone up on the side of a residential business window will have less chance of someone stealing it than on a bench on a busy street.

Look where you’re going:

I’ve seen too many people walk too far in one direction and accidentally trip or fall while trying to take a nice photo. Whether that be into the road, into other people, or too close to the side of a lake or cliff edge. Risking your safety is never a good reason to get a good photo (even though people always disregard it). It’s like taking a photo that defies the laws of reality, haha.

Don’t post in real time:

If you have a public social media account or just want the security of not being traceable, delay posting your pictures. It’s very easy to follow someone based on their photos, especially if you post locations or have very obvious landmarks in the background. You never know all the people looking at your photos who might have malicious intent. For example, never, ever post where your accommodation is in real time! This is just one of many important solo travel safety tips!

Editing Photos

Have you ever seen unreal, amazing travel photos with a vibrant blue sea or lush nature? Nine times out of ten, they are edited and don’t look like that in real life. They’re still amazing photos, but editing takes a great photo to an exceptional one. You’re enhancing your subject’s beauty, whether the color, lighting, or contrast. And let’s be honest—everyone edits their photos. It’s also a useful photography skill. It’s a great way to bring what you saw in person to life through a screen or create your own distinct look. I edit all of my favorite shots to give it that finished look, but there are multiple ways you can do it:

Use Apple’s built-in adjustments:

This is a beginner-friendly way to edit your photos because the pictures have built-in editing features. There’s no need to download an app or learn how to use expensive software.

The best way to edit using Apple Photos is to play around with the settings. Especially if you’re new to photo editing, you won’t know what you like or how to achieve a certain look until you do it. After using it to edit my photos, I know what characteristics I want to adjust with my photos. For example, I like decreasing the highlights and exposure for a more moody photo. Test your editing on multiple photos with various lighting, textures, contrasts, etc.

Use VSCO:

I love VSCO. The app makes it so easy to edit, and my favorite feature is that you can copy and paste photo edits into other photos. So, if you love the look of one photo, you can automatically apply it to other photos, saving you so much time.

You can also apply the settings to multiple photos at once, which makes it really convenient if you have a lot. The only downside is that some edit features are only for premium VSCO users, including filters and layouts.

Use Lightroom:

Lightroom is the industry standard, especially for professional photographers or serious photo hobbyists. With an easy-to-use interface, it has great control over color tones, lighting, and other photo characteristics. The downside is that there’s a $10/month fee, or you can opt for a yearly fee.

A free version of Lightroom is available for mobile devices, giving you free access to basic editing tools. It’s enough for people who want to touch up or edit their photos. But the free version doesn’t include fancy features like masking or copying and pasting edits to other photos.

Essential Tip: Backup Your Photos

Avoid losing precious memories like me, and back up your photos. Every traveler has some experience losing sentimental photos that you’ll never get back. For me, it was photos from my first-ever international trip outside North America in 2018 to Thailand. My old phone suddenly needed a factory reset, and the photos from that trip were, unfortunately, not synced into my iCloud or backed up on a hard drive. Luckily, I had some that I had posted on social media and stored on the GoPro I brought, but it was heartbreaking. But from that point forward, I back up all my photos in multiple formats. Here are some ways to back up your photos:

Use a Hard Drive:

A hard drive is a small, physical box with either a disk or flash drive inside that stores data. They’re a great option if you need lots of storage and don’t want to pay for a monthly subscription for cloud storage.

Plenty of options exist, from as little as 4 GB to upwards of 34 TB. The higher the storage, the higher the price. For most people, 2 TB is plenty of storage and costs around $60-80, depending on the brand. You can buy them from any electronic or computer store or from Amazon.

In the past, HDDs were the standard, a hard disk drive that stores data on a magnetic disk. The downside is that they’re incredibly sensitive to sudden movement that could scratch the disk. I’ve dropped an HDD from the table to the ground, and it stopped working (which sucked).

Nowadays, people prefer SSDs, solid-state drives that store data in flash memory, which are faster, thinner, and more durable. I use the Sandisk 2 TB SDD, and it’s been a godsend for clearing up my phone storage and providing a great physical backup for my photos.

Use Cloud Storage (Google Photos, Apple Cloud):

If you don’t want to buy physical storage, cloud storage is a good option. You can use Google Photos or Apple iCloud storage to sync and save your photos to a data center via the internet and the respective user account. With Apple, you can start for as little as $3/month for 200 GB of extra storage. And if you have a Google account, you automatically get 15 GB of storage free amongst all your Google accounts, which includes Google Photos.

And just like the hard drive, the more storage you want, the more expensive it gets. Cloud storage is becoming more popular now because it’s more convenient, and you don’t have to worry about taking care of a delicate hard drive. Cloud services also automatically sync your photos, so you don’t have to worry about manually uploading photos every time.

The downside is that you can only access your stored photos with an internet connection, so you won’t be able to download them to your phone if you don’t have wifi. There are also privacy and security concerns since the provider is responsible for data security.

Print Physical Copies via CVS photos, Walgreens, etc.:

You didn’t forget about the old-school way, did you? Creating literal physical copies is the most straightforward way to “back up” your photos. You can manually print your photos at your local print store, Walgreens, CVS, etc.

My family printed all our photos with Costco when I was young, but I recently discovered that they closed Costco Photo down (so sad, RIP).

Usually, each photo costs around 30-50 cents to print, but it’s cheaper when you print in bulk. You can make scrapbooks or albums you can display at home or keep on a shelf for safekeeping. I personally love physical photos and love that nostalgic feel of looking through photo albums over and over again.

The downside is that the photos take up space over time and can be expensive to print. However, physical photos are the most resilient storage because unless you damage them physically or lose them, you will always have them.

Note: I back up my photos with all three methods, so I have backups for my backups in case a hard drive breaks or something goes wrong with cloud computing. Especially after I broke my first hard drive, it’s good to be extra prepared and have multiple forms of backups. Luckily, my dad could transfer the data from the broken hard drive, but it took hours. Sometimes, you may not be that lucky!

It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect

It’s easy to get caught up in taking pictures and wanting to capture every moment, but this is a reminder that:

1. Your pictures don’t have to be perfect, and
2. Don’t let taking pictures take you out of the moment of travel!

Taking photos should complement your experience and not negatively impact your travels unless photography is your livelihood or passion hobby. If you ever feel consumed by taking photos, take a break or limit yourself to a specific time or photo amount. Remind yourself why you’re traveling in the first place—to experience!

In 2021, my friend and I went on a road trip to Oregon from California, and I was utterly consumed with taking photos, so I didn’t enjoy the trip fully. While the memorable experiences stand out, what I remember more is the pressure of trying to capture every single moment, which is ironic because in attempting to capture everything, I wasn’t fully present in my travels. But hey, sometimes you learn the hard way, and that’s okay.

Now Go Capture Good Pictures of Yourself!

Phew, that was a long one! Photography is one of the best ways to capture your travels, even if it is challenging when travelling solo. But with some creativity and courage, you can capture some amazing photos of yourself beyond the usual selfie. Remember, don’t let taking photos consume your travels—you’re there to experience a different and new lifestyle and culture. And if the photos don’t turn out perfect, that’s okay! Hopefully, this guide on how to take good pictures of yourself when traveling solo helps you capture your solo travel memories in a way that you want to remember. Happy travels!