Ah instagram, we all love it because we see people travelling to beautiful places every day. But instagram can enhance or even ruin your own travelling experience. I’ll start with how instagram can make your trip even better than you thought possible, but no list would be complete without mentioning the opposite effect instagram can have on your trip of a lifetime.
How Instagram Makes Your Travels Better
Instagram inspires you to travel to places you hadn’t heard of before
When you plan your backpacking trip you probably have certain places in mind that you want to visit. These are all the must see places we hear about all our lives, but when you follow certain people on instagram they visit places you’d never considered before and you can be inspired to change your travel plans to include some of these mysterious places.
You’ve heard of Uluru, but how about The Olga’s (Kata Tjuta)?
Ever heard of The Bungle Bungles in WA?
You can learn how to take better photos
Taking photos whilst travelling is a must. How else are you going to be smug with your friends? But no-one wants to take crappy photos. By following good instagrammers you’ll slowly be learning about how to use the light to your advantage or how to properly compose your photos.
Sydney Harbour Bridge is rarely photographed from this angle, but this photo is beautifully framed.
The composition of this photo of Mount Doom (Mt Ngauruhoe) is fantastic because of the variation in the colours, as well as the stunning mountain of course.
Including people in photos gives you a real sense of perspective. Kauri Trees in New Zealand are enormous, but without those tiny people at the bottom of this photo, it would be very hard to get a sense of just how big they are.
You learn the best ways to pose
If you follow celebrities on instagram then you’ll already know the popular ways to pose to look thinner or to accentuate your muscles (if that’s your thing of course…) If red carpets have taught women anything, it’s to pose awkwardly with one leg in front of the other.
You also have to take at least one “King of The World” posed photo whilst on holiday!
You know that every female traveller needs to pack a floppy hat and floaty skirt
If you want to be an insta-famous traveller it’s important to always wear a large floppy sunhat and a floaty dress or skirt so that you can be photographed from behind looking at a spectacular view!
How Instagram Makes Your Trip Worse
You can become obsessed with getting the perfect shot
Rather than taking in your surroundings and living in the moment you might become obsessed with getting the right shot. Your photos don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to look perfect, just enjoy where you are right now. In my opinion candid shots are much better as they capture a real moment rather than competing for likes. And there’s nothing more boring than people just staring at their phones all day.
Your photos might be the same as everyone else’s
You’ve been inspired by people on instagram, but that doesn’t mean you have to take the same photos at the same locations. How many times have you seen people pretending to hold up The Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was funny and clever the first time, now it’s just boring. Of course the new thing is to pretend the Leaning Tower is an ice-cream!
Some locations are not as they appear in photos
Some places have become so popular because of instagram that in fact they’re not quite as serene and peaceful as you might have thought. That Wanaka Tree and Roys Peak in Wanaka are two prime examples where reality is very different to expectation! Roys Peak has queues of up to half an hour just to take that photo that everyone else has.
That Wanaka Tree is now at risk because people are climbing it to take pictures. This person did just that whilst saying it would be banned soon, basically because of people like him!
Instagram is great. I love it. But don’t become so obsessed with getting the perfect shot that you forget to enjoy yourself. And don’t be boring. Take photos that no-one else is taking. Yes these locations are popular for a reason and that’s because they’re stunning, but why not try to take photos from a slightly different angle, or find places that fewer people are visiting to get some unique photos?
What are your tips for taking great travel instagram photos?