What’s your worst travel photography cliché?

Adorable and unwashed third-world children staring large-eyed at the camera. Bonus points if they’re toting an infant or gnawing on some ethnic food, like naan.

Does taking a self-portrait at the mirror count?

all self portraits! In the age of user icons we have become self portrait monsters and travelers ( myself, perhaps more guilty than most!) are prone to self portrait in every location…

when I was road tripping with my Grandpa last Spring I was taking a self portriat in front of Crater Lake, he had seen me do this in front of various landscapes and monuments and finally asked,
“Just what the hell you want to ruin a perfectly good picture for?”

He said they never did that in his day and furthermore it was a waste of good film (film?)

travelers are cliche in their photography because they have an overwhelming urge to insert themselves into the landscape,perhaps to prove that they were really there, and they looked good…

“safron robed monks”

Great trailer of people taking photos of same here.

http://vimeo.com/11235479

I think the “fake smile and stare into the lens” pose has to be the most overdone. I once read to either smile or stare into the lens, never both. Things only seem to be made worse when the photo is taken from a few meters away and the photographer is too scared to really get close to his subject. Of course there are always exceptions to rules.

That’s a though one. Sometimes I think taking pictures of people in any kind of “traditional” clothes is getting a little cliche, especially when most people in the world wear jeans and t-shirts with Disney characters or Nike logos on them. But on the other hand, monks are a real and visible and important aspect of life is parts of Asia. And sadhus do seem to have actual relevance beyond photo ops for some. I think it really comes down to why you take the picture. Seeing a shot that’s just like the one you saw in Nat Geo before you left–that’s cliche. Seeing someone or something that catches your eye or your heart and you’re not even sure why–that’s original.

Great post! You’d think travel writers and photographers would be able to capture unique photos since they’re on the road or in the airplane than the average traveler. They would have a better “eye” for photos than most people.

Cheesy photo clichés: sunsets, beaches, famous road signs, the couple standing on the beach at sunset, villagers, famous sites, children in the village, people working the rice fields or some other field, cafes, people kissing on park benches, and water fountains,

Background: Landmark/Sunset/Hillside
Foreground: Me or someone else standing with their arms up, “OMG!” face with mouth wide open, sometimes jumping.
It’s past cheesy, it’s like soft cheese. The goat brie of photos.

This strikes me as slightly elitist. ”No you can’t take that picture!!! Loads of people have taken that picture before, so there” This is bull, travel photography is to document your trip, if you want to take some standards fair enough, and you should be able to do so without the photograph gestapo saying you can’t.

Oooo lets all try and look all authentic as we take our photographs, after all theres no point in taking photographs unless random people online can see them and in turn bolster our self esteem and feeling that we really had an affinity with the place we visited.

Your elitism is a joke, let people take whatever shots they want, who the hell are you to criticise?

Pinching the top of the Taj Mahal drives me nuts

Person on motorbike driving by building. Ill admit I have far too many of them.

Oh Matt, I couldn’t agree with you more… what is it that prompts these people to take a photo that was once decent and creative (sometimes, anyway) and then saturate the hell out of it so it looks like an inspirational painting print someone bought at a truck stop? HDR has to be my top overplayed “ways to ruin your photo” choice.

On the other hand, I can’t seem to get enough of the “macro shot of this flower/ornate wall/local snack with a major landmark in the background” thing… I’m pretty sure I’m singlehandedly playing that one out, ha ha.