Avoid This Embarrassing Etiquette Mistake To Blend In Better While Traveling Abroad

Look, we all have a right to take a selfie. We've traveled for days. We've checked bags, flown for hours, and passed through customs. We've adjusted to time zones and scraped together meals. Now we're here, standing in front of a staggering monument we've waited a lifetime to see. The real thing is standing directly in front of us, and we know, deep down, that we might never return to this magical place. So if we want to take out our phone and take a picture of ourselves to inspire our children and our children's children to see the world, we're just going to snap that selfie and be fine with it, okay?

Amateur photographers have taken pictures on their vacations for decades, and the joy is twofold: Photographing our experiences on the road, and then reliving those moments later in the comfort of our homes. The selfie has long been possible, thanks to fancy timers or twisted wrists, but the advent of smartphones has made them especially easy. The look of the selfie — close-up, warped by a wide-angle lens — has become its own art form as socially acceptable as any landscape or still life. And there are lots of hacks for solo travelers to take great shots.

But selfie-takers can also annoy the living daylights out of everyone else. In their quest to chronicle every moment, they may step on toes, photobomb others, or forget the gravity and importance of their destination. Some have even hurt themselves, paying more attention to the viewfinder than closing doors and sudden drops. In short, tone-deaf selfies can breach etiquette and come with serious consequences.

For many travelers, selfie-taking is such a knee-jerk instinct that they don't even think about what they're doing. For starters, be aware of your surroundings. Don't get in the way of other photographers, don't push anyone aside, and don't ruin the experience for other visitors. Tourists who focus all their attention on their digital screens often get clumsy or careless. Not to be alarmist, but let's remember that 379 people actually died taking selfies between 2008 and 2021 (via Slate).

Next, respect the location's atmosphere, especially if it's a place that's solemn and meaningful to others. Churches and memorials demand quiet reflection, and amped-up tourists should refrain from making silly faces in the nave of Nôtre Dame Cathedral or Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Even the act of photographing yourself in venerated spaces may come off as vulgar. As the travel guide company Expat Explore sagely put it in a blog post about travel etiquette: "Taking a selfie while you're touring erstwhile concentration camps in Germany is just not respectful."

Finally, make sure you follow the rules. Many museums forbid the use of selfie sticks, and even the smallest self-flying drone may get confiscated. Believe it or not, there are many destinations around the world where selfie-taking is actually banned — and people who aim cameras at their own faces, in certain circumstances, could get fined.

Digital photography and cloud storage allow us to snap nearly infinite pictures and it's easy to fall into a familiar pattern: Show up at a scenic monument, then take a picture of yourself. Show up at another scenic monument. Repeat. Such selfies can feel like mere documentation. As the saying goes: "Pics or it didn't happen." When you review your album later or show it to friends, these stills can get stale.

A timeless alternative is to ask someone to take a picture of you; the portraits almost always look better, with less distortion and more background in the frame. This is also an opportunity for you to break the ice with locals or travelers, if only for a minute. That said, it may be nerve-wracking to hand your precious camera to a total stranger, so make sure to seek out someone who looks trustworthy.

A growing number of travelers have actually weaned themselves off digital photography, or at least taken a break. Instead, they've found that taking a film camera on vacation can make you a more thoughtful traveler. Many photographers recommend wandering around an unfamiliar place in search of inspiration, rather than just shooting yourself in front of famous landmarks. More than just diversifying your portfolio, this unexpected tip will have you taking the best pictures of your life.