How many times has this happened to you: You and your family are visiting a picturesque vacation spot and you want a group shot of the entire clan, only you forgot to pack your tripod and there isn’t anywhere for you to place your camera and use the self-timer feature. You want to ask a fellow visitor to snap a shot of your entire brood, but others in your group resist because they don’t want to “bother” a stranger to take the photo. What do you do?
I’ve found myself in this type situation on many occasions and depending who I’m with (my mom can’t stand to be in pictures regardless of who is taking them) I can go one way or the other. Frankly, I don’t have a problem asking a complete stranger to take my family’s picture especially if I want to be in it and can’t do it myself. I am the queen of the self-timer and have an excellent tripod, but there are times when it is impossible to use either and I don’t see the harm in asking someone else to take a group shot. (There’s no telling what the results will be, but it’s worth a shot.)
But not everyone feels the same way and the reasons why vary. For example, my brother simply doesn’t want a stranger touching his camera. This, of course, is very frustrating for his wife, who enjoys having shots of their entire family together. But, my brother owns a very expensive camera and he is very reluctant to allow others to touch it. The solution: when she remembers my sister-in-law brings along her camera phone so when a photo op arises she can give her phone to a stranger and ask him or her to take a shot.
Then there are individuals like my mom who claim they don’t want to “bother” others to take a group shot. I’ve tried explaining to her that most people are more than happy to oblige a photo request. The key is to look for people toting cameras themselves. Most if not all travelers who have a camera on hand have likely (at some point in their lives) asked another person to take their family’s picture and they could not be happier to reciprocate. (I grew up in Hawaii, a place teeming with tourists and know this for a fact.) Personally, my philosophy on people who claim they don’t want to “bother” others to take their picture is that deep down they simply don’t want to have their picture taken at all.
I am the photographer in my family. So the bottom line for me is that if I don’t ask someone else to take the shot I wouldn’t be in any of our family’s pictures, which is probably why I have no problem asking others to lend a hand.
What category do you fit in? Do you have a problem asking someone else to take your family’s picture?
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