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50 Times People Shared Their Travel Photos Because They Turned Out Terrible (New Pics)
Take a vacation, they said, it will be fun, they said. Except if it’s not. Because the truth is, no matter what the pitch-perfect shots on social media show, what the travel blogs tell you, what the summer getaway packages promise you, no one is safe from their holiday going from ripe to sour in no time.
The same goes with holiday pictures. It’s no secret that part of the motive to travel is driven by a wish to have great photos. Something to put on your Facebook page, something to share on Instagram, something to show off to your friends and colleagues, because humans are vain and it doesn’t take a whole lot to feel good.
This post is a safe place to talk about hard things. So if you've ever seen your dream holiday pictures crashing down like a sand castle, know that you’re far from the only one. We have all looked like lost potatoheads and sunburnt crabs, been photobombed or betrayed by weather at some point of our vacation.
So Bored Panda has compiled this list of travel photo fails to soothe our holiday-hungry souls and remind us that we can always take our fedora and go on yet another trip to collect not just good, but the very best pics. Psst! More vacation photo fails can be found in our previous feature right here.
This post may include affiliate links.
Tried To Take A Panoramic Picture Of The Eiffel Tower Today, It Went Surprisingly Well
To find out more about what it takes to make a perfect vacation shot and how to avoid making common mistakes that lead to photo fails like we’ve seen in this post, we spoke with a couple of experts. For many people, vacation shots are something worthwhile when traveling to the furthest corners of the world. But even for more casual travelers, it’s always nice to take good photographs to share with friends and family.
Thanks Tour Guide For Taking Such A Great Photo Of Everyone
Going To Cristo And Taking A 3D Photo Is Priceless
Vacation shots are “important because that's the time they get to enjoy together, whether it's a couple, family or just friends,” said Charlie, the team manager of The Parisian Photographers, a Paris-based photography service that joins talented professional photographers who make pitch-perfect memories for couples, weddings, family, solo portraits, elopements, you name it. “Also because there is excitement of travel and discovering a new country, city and beautiful places there.”
“In the case of Paris, this is even more the case as it's often related to the city of love and romance for couples, and visitors in general are in awe of the city landmarks, food and French culture,” Charlie said, referring to the beautiful city where The Parisian Photographers work.
It's All About The Journey Though Right?
My Sister Rented A Flat Here In North Of Iceland For Christmas, This Is Her View
Visited The Grand Canyon. Pictures Don't Do It Justice
There are multiple reasons why it's so hard to get good images on vacations. “First of all, because you don't know the place as locals do, that's why hiring a local photographer can be so helpful,” Charlie said. “Also, selfies may be a way to do it, but the angles will be the same. Tripods and selfie sticks can help, but a photographer will also bring his/her expertise by shooting from a distance, including more landscape or cityscape in the background, varying portraits and wide-angle shots,” he explained.
Me, Outside The Duomo In Milan, Getting Photobombed. By A Pigeon
Trying To Explain To The 70-Year-Old Swiss Man Who Offered To Take Our Pic That His Finger Was Covering The Lens
Haha had the same experience with an elderly gentleman in Thailand. He was very nice, though :)
Smile
When asked about the most common mistakes people make while taking vacation photos, Charlie listed a handful of them. The first one is taking only selfie photos. “It will be the same angle every time and wide-angle lens from the camera is not the most gratifying.” Another one is “only taking photos of your family/better half or friends since you won't be in the photo. Feel free to ask a stranger to take a picture of you all,” Charlie suggested.
Not Mount Rushmore, But I Woke Up At 3AM And Hiked Up Machu Picchu To Be There At Sunrise
Went To Go See The Golden Gate Bridge
We Hiked 3 Hours To Get A Good Picture Of Our Hometown. Our City Is On The Left
Doing it in the middle of the day is another common faux pas in vacation photos. Instead, Charlie’s advice is to aim for sunrise or sunset when the light is better. The last one, according to him, is not hiring a local photographer. “Even just a short/mini session can do wonders to have photos you'll cherish forever.”
This Guy Having A Selfie With Mona Lisa
He still got to see it and at least he’s not at the back of the huge crowd that flock around it.
The “Waterfall” My Family Drove Two Hours To See
Expectation vs. Reality. London Edition
According to Charlie, a couple of things to think of when aiming for a pitch-perfect vacation shot are: more photos by sunrise/sunset; asking someone to take a picture of the whole group (for friends/family) or couple; asking for someone who has a camera and seems to know what they're doing; hiring a local photographer.
Go To The Taj Mahal At Sunrise, They Said. It'll Be Beautiful, They Said
Bought These Binoculars Specifically To Go To The Grand Canyon Today
I've Noticed This Guy Just Now, A Few Days After I Took The Photo And This Photo Will Be In My Tourist Association Book
We also spoke with Krystal Kenney, a photographer working in Paris, France, specializing in portraits. Kenney is originally from Baltimore, Maryland, but has been in Paris for 10 years working with organizations such as the Louvre, Orsay, and diplomats.
The photographer told us that it’s hard to get good images of your vacation by yourself because there are certain principles that make a good image. Moreover, “you don’t know the best locations when you are traveling. Sometimes there are hidden gems,” Kenney said. According to her, the most common mistake while taking vacation photos is not shooting at the golden hours. “Sunrise is best because there are no people around and beautiful light,” she added.
Climbed North Europa's Tallest Mountain At 8100 Feet, And Got This Picture
My Wife At The Top Of The Sears/Willis Tower On A Foggy Day
A Nice Asian Family Asked My Son To Take A Picture Of Them. He Didn't Understand
Waited Forever For The Crowd To Dissipate To Take A Picture, Then This Happened
Guy Took Week Off Of Work To Climb Mountain Kilimanjaro And Raise Money For Charity. This Is The Picture His Guide Took At The Summit Before The Phone Died
I (Left) Was Excited To See The Tip Of Africa From Gibraltar But - Fog. Still The Closest I’ve Ever Been
The Only Photo I Have Of Myself On My Camera From My Only Overseas Trip
Well, what do you expect when you join the witness relocation program :D
Tried To Grab A Quick Photo While Driving Past The Washington Monument
Went On A Hike Today Which Promised Stunning Views. My Pic Is On The Bottom
I Traveled From UK All The Way To Germany To Take Photos Of The Devil’s Eye, But When I Got There
This Is My Wife And I At The Highest Point On Skyline Drive, Overlooking The Majestic Shenandoah Valley
On Our Honeymoon In Hallstatt Austria
Missus Taking A Photo Of Me With A Llama vs. Me Taking A Photo Of Her. When The Llama's Rear Becomes Your New Hairstyle
I See Your Scenic Photos Ruined By The Weather And Present The Time I Fulfilled A Life Long Dream To Visit The Taj Mahal
Travelled Nearly 300 Miles To The Northernmost Point Of Vietnam So I Could See China - This Was The View
You have firewalls? We have fogwalls ... Move along now there's nothing to see here...
Told My Girlfriend To Use The Last Piece Of Film We Had With Us To Get A Picture Of Me In Front Of Some Mountains
Travelled 10,000 Km To See The Total Solar Eclipse In Chile. Heavy Rain And Low Clouds Blocked The Entire Show
What I Expected To See At Preikestolen vs. What I Got
Took My Buddy To The Grand Canyon For The First Time Today. Spectacular Views All Around
It Was Always A Personal Dream To Be Able To Go And Visit This Remarkable Oak Tree In The Shawshank Redemption
Turns out that people after the film released took away all those stones from the little wall that led to the tree away to their homes and lately in 2016 the tree fell in a thunderstorm.
While this is very sad, the wall removal wouldn’t have anything to do with the tree falling. Oak trees have some of the most invasive root systems and go very wide in all directions. Must have been a very serious thunderstorm
Expectation vs. Reality. Travel Edition
First picture is me at the Mar Rosado En Galerazamba 2 years ago. The next pic is what it looks like in 2021. The final picture is me looking embarrassed because I hyped this place up to my friends, and it was beyond disappointing.
Unfortunately These Images Are Not An April Fools Joke. This Really Was Our View After Hiking The Famous Preikestolen. We Had To Rely On Google Images To See The View
Don't show this to Ripley! The silhouette has some Alien Queen vibes with the head😬
Drove 4 Hours Round Trip To See An Active Volcano Today, While On Vacation
On Top Of A Volcano, Waiting For The Sunrise To Materialize. Thanks To The Clouds, This Was The Best View We Saw
Wait What?
There was a guy at the leaning tower of Pisa that offered to take photos of the tourists doing the whole "holding up the tower" thing. He'd position them to do something similar to this. I watched him do it to at least 15 people.
Travelled To London To Go On The London Eye
Surely this could have been predicted from below? Before paying and going on the ride??
They probably bought the ticket in advance as it is super expensive and you can save quite a bit by booking it online.
Load More Replies...Don’t trust London weather. It will stab you in the back with it’s annoying rain and fog
To be fair it's very, very rarely foggy. And statistically gets less rain than Rome and many places in Europe and the US.
Load More Replies...I'd like to think that this was the ONLY day they had programmed for London and had pre-paid- as otherwise, this is unexplicable.
You literally didn't have to go on it. I swear, my old work was an attraction like this and I had to constantly explain to people how fog works and no, you don't get a refund because I told you the view was bad before you went up.
It's actually quite unusual to get that much fog in London, so I think you were just very unlucky that day.
Load More Replies...It's not a bad view on a clear dark evening in winter, still have a lovely cityscape photo from the time my family did that near christmas. But most of the time you get fog or rain. Ah, England.
Actually fog is extremely rare here in London. The myth of "foggy London" came about because so many famous writers were writing during a period when London had a serious problem with smog due to burning a very dangerous kind of fuel. That kind of fuel has been illegal for a long time, so no more smog.
Load More Replies...Not gonna lie, I'd rather see fog than whats really down there...
You should be more respectful, the view s great
Load More Replies...Finally Able To Travel To Paris And The Arch De Triumph Looks Like This. It's An "Art" Project
Expectation vs. Reality. At Least It Was Just A Four-Hour Hike
I feel bad for the buddy who waits yo take the picture of the other far away who pose
My Parents Got To Visit Mt. Rushmore Today For The First Time. The View Is Spectacular
Flew To Kauai To View The Na Pali Coast
Flew 13 Hours To Hawaii To See Volcanoes National Park
My View From The Top Of Mount Machu Picchu vs. What The View Could Have Been
Visited Machu Picchu in 2009, the historic site was amazing the view was breathtaking, I watched as my family walked the ruins as I was too sick to walk too far from the altitude. We visited the town and visited a few families and watched a parade and soccer match. Sadly the mudslide the next year took half the town with it. We have pictures of us standing in parts of the town that are gone.
When You Plan A City Break In Summer, And At The Destination, You Find Yourself By Surprise In Winter. Shouldn't There Be A Breathtaking Panorama In The Background?
Fog & Rain. Amazing How Two Consecutive Days Can Be So Completely Different. No Views To Be Seen. Visibility Only 50 Metres
That One Family Photo That Sweet Little Old Lady Took For Us
Temple Of Musseden, Northern Ireland. Still A Lovely Place But We Didn't Quite Get The Weather
I Was About To Get A Panorama Shot Of The Reichstag On My School Trip Until My Friend Photobombed Me
I Went To Takaya Shrine, Which Is One Of The Places I Wanted To Visit. When The Weather Is Nice, You Should Be Able To See The City Through The Gaps Of The Torii Gate
Months Of Saving, Travelled Over 5000 Miles And An 11 Hour Flight. Ladies And Gentlemen The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA
The Time I Hiked Up A Mountain For This View
My Husband And I Hiked 2.5 Miles To What We Thought Would Have Been The Roaring Waterfalls We Saw On Our Honeymoon 10 Years Ago
Looks like someone turned off the faucet.
Empire State Building Has Great Views They Said
Traveled To Norway From Florida, Spent 4 Hours Climbing Pulpit Rock In 40 Degree Weather With Rain To Be Blessed With This
Picture Of The Eiffel Tower, Taken In The Days Before Digital Cameras
Thought you were holding a mini eyeball on your finger then! Oh I need my glasses checked.
Trip Of A Lifetime To Italy To See The Trevi Fountain
Hitachi Seaside Park. Expectation vs. Reality
This giant park in Ibaraki is famous for its beautiful flowers and plants on this hill with an ocean view. Every season there's something else blooming on this hill, which attracts people from all over Japan. So I took a train for 1,5 hours and a car for 2 more hours to see the view in the second picture. When I arrived there with 2 friends, we got the view of the first picture instead. Apparently, we were 5 days too late! They took out all the plants already.
In Keeping With The Theme Of Not Checking The Weather Before Visiting Beautiful Vantage Points, Here's Waimea Canyon, "The Grand Canyon Of The Pacific"
Seeing Christ The Redeemer After A 23 Hour Journey To Rio De Janeiro Was The Highlight Of My Trip
Someone please give that redeemer some caffeine. He's feeling a little foggy this morning.
Our First Trip To Kyoto And The Golden Pavilion Was Under Construction. Golden? More Like A Scaffold Pavilion
I think I would have looked up the places I intended to visit, when I was planning where to go. (Or is it just me that does that?)...
In Response To The Girl Not Holding The World, Here I Am, Not Leaning Against The Leaning Tower Of Pisa
When You Go To A Scenic Overlook But You’re In A Cloud
When You Visit To See The Great Pyramid Of Giza And Catch That Perfect Moment, But A Big Camel Is Blocking The Way
Insert View Back There
Hiked All 5200 Feet Of Half Dome For These Stunning Views
In London For My Honeymoon. Big Ben Looks Just Like I Always Hoped It Would
Yeah but the scaffolding has been up for a while. It’s not like it suddenly appeared. Research before you travel. 🤷♀️
Beautiful Volcano Arenal In Costa Rica
Apparently, The Three Sisters Lookout Is The Best View Of The Blue Mountains. I Guess I'll Take Their Word For It
Went To Iceland Earlier In The Month And Waited Nearly 10 Minutes For The Geysir To Blow Only For Another Tourist To Walk Right In Front Of The Shot
Family Vacation To The Grand Canyon. What A View
I Picked The Wrong Day To Go To The Top Of Willis Tower
Last Day Of Vacation. I Thought We Would Go To This Field That We Like For A Picnic
My Trip To Disneyland
Well, Today Will Go Down As A "Travel Fail". Can't Enjoy Crater Lake If You Can't See Crater Lake
After Riding Throughout The Night Battling Strong Headwinds And Torrential Rain, We Tackled The Stwlan Dam This Morning With Storm Ellen Trying To Ruin The Views
I Took Two Planes, A Shuttle Van, Train, Bus And Hiked To See Machu Picchu. This Was My View Today
Brings to mind the lyrics from Outkast's Ms Jackson: "You can plan a pretty picnic but you can't predict the weather" 😓
The View From Our Alaskan Cruise
That Time I Went All The Way To Italy, And The Trevi Fountain Was Broken
It’s nigh on impossible to take good photos around that fountain anyway. So many people there all the damn time!
That View
Such A Nice Day For Visiting Portland (Oregon) And Enjoy Its Incredible Scenery
Buxton's 'Blue Lagoon'. Expectation vs. Reality
You should read up on it - its blue because it contains loads of nasty chemicals - not a place worth visiting and the idiots who get in it need a check up from the neck up!
Went To A Swimming Pool That Has A Great View Of The Twin Towers
Was Hoping To Get Some Nice Pictures Of The Alps. The Fog Had Other Plans
My Family Went To See The Torii Gate In Miyajima, Only To Find Out It’s Under Construction
When You Have A Good Photo, But Tourists Ruin It
Tourist complaining of other tourists is like someone in a car complaining about the traffic jam they’re in.
I Swear New York Is Under There Somewhere
Paid $60 For An Alligator Tour, This Was My View The Whole Time
Can give you a proper tour of the swamps here. Lot cheaper. Then we'll have more fun by running fishing lines. There's many gators along the bayou near me. Really blessed to have the swamps and bayous in my back yard. You really should check out the swamps during the winter. Favorite time of the year in Louisiana. When we actually DO have a winter, that is! Lol
We Paid Extra For A High Up View Of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
Currently On Vacation In Rhodes, Went To See Their Acropolis
Went To See The Ocean. Great 360 Vistas Of Fog
That's A Must, Isn't It?
It Probably Gets Even More Crowded When It’s Nice Out
enjoy the trip. damn. nature and contruction are normal. so is other people existing
Why do so many people seem to think it should always be sunny in Norway
Can't believe these people criticizing someone for "not checking the weather forecast "! Heavens, Mother Nature does her own thing. Weather can change in matter of minutes.
Take short videos of important moments, and then you can screenshot pics from the video
I literally have dozens: Zhangjiajie (China) was the worst, its quite a detour, and most spectacular... If you can see it. Sigiriya Lion Rock (Sri Lanka): fog, US coastal route H1 and SF: fog (we redid the coastal route). Everest (en route to Gokyo) fog.... Top of vulcano Merapi (Java), died batteries... On the good side, look at that amazing list of cool destinations!
I really cannot understand humans. Pay lots of money and time to go see something, that has been advertised using remarkable photos of it, instead of reality
Where others find disappointment, I see Photoshop opportunities that can be monetized. Lemonade people, lemonade!
Don't know why this was down-voted, I sorted it for you.
Load More Replies...So I remember in ninth grade, one of our class trips was up to Philadelphia. While we were there we went out to Amish Country. Teacher told us the whole way up there, don't take pictures of the Amish, it's against their culture. This was the '90s so we all had film cameras. Most of the class had their nice 35mm models and I was stuck with an ancient 110 model (that we were lucky to even find film for). The short of it is, the teacher saw a couple of flashes go off and started yelling at us. My camera didn't have a flash so I snuck a few pictures of the Amish. Got the prints back and my finger was in every single picture of an Amish person.
Unwritten Rule #1: In any post about bad travel pics, at least half will have something to do with fog.
We have to drive through a valley when going from airport to my hometown. It’s always foggy there. On our 10th trip or so and 3-4 years driving through with my husband he started screaming “THERE’S A TOWN HERE!!!”. He drove through 10 times before and never realized we are driving through a town, typically you hardly see the edges of your lane, it’s like driving through milk. This one heatwave revealed what’s underneath. I guess people in this town don’t really need curtains.
90% of these "fails" are the holidaymakers fault and could easily have not been fails had they done some research beforehand. Like checking if areas are open, or checking the weather. Also, if you hiked up a mountain surely you should have known it would be too foggy to see anything BEFORE you reached the summit!?
unfortunately it doesn't always work like that. In mountainous areas the weather can change quickly. I once climbed a volcano in sunny weather only to find a cloud move in and spoil the view. After waiting half an hour it was gone and the sun was out again.
Load More Replies...enjoy the trip. damn. nature and contruction are normal. so is other people existing
Why do so many people seem to think it should always be sunny in Norway
Can't believe these people criticizing someone for "not checking the weather forecast "! Heavens, Mother Nature does her own thing. Weather can change in matter of minutes.
Take short videos of important moments, and then you can screenshot pics from the video
I literally have dozens: Zhangjiajie (China) was the worst, its quite a detour, and most spectacular... If you can see it. Sigiriya Lion Rock (Sri Lanka): fog, US coastal route H1 and SF: fog (we redid the coastal route). Everest (en route to Gokyo) fog.... Top of vulcano Merapi (Java), died batteries... On the good side, look at that amazing list of cool destinations!
I really cannot understand humans. Pay lots of money and time to go see something, that has been advertised using remarkable photos of it, instead of reality
Where others find disappointment, I see Photoshop opportunities that can be monetized. Lemonade people, lemonade!
Don't know why this was down-voted, I sorted it for you.
Load More Replies...So I remember in ninth grade, one of our class trips was up to Philadelphia. While we were there we went out to Amish Country. Teacher told us the whole way up there, don't take pictures of the Amish, it's against their culture. This was the '90s so we all had film cameras. Most of the class had their nice 35mm models and I was stuck with an ancient 110 model (that we were lucky to even find film for). The short of it is, the teacher saw a couple of flashes go off and started yelling at us. My camera didn't have a flash so I snuck a few pictures of the Amish. Got the prints back and my finger was in every single picture of an Amish person.
Unwritten Rule #1: In any post about bad travel pics, at least half will have something to do with fog.
We have to drive through a valley when going from airport to my hometown. It’s always foggy there. On our 10th trip or so and 3-4 years driving through with my husband he started screaming “THERE’S A TOWN HERE!!!”. He drove through 10 times before and never realized we are driving through a town, typically you hardly see the edges of your lane, it’s like driving through milk. This one heatwave revealed what’s underneath. I guess people in this town don’t really need curtains.
90% of these "fails" are the holidaymakers fault and could easily have not been fails had they done some research beforehand. Like checking if areas are open, or checking the weather. Also, if you hiked up a mountain surely you should have known it would be too foggy to see anything BEFORE you reached the summit!?
unfortunately it doesn't always work like that. In mountainous areas the weather can change quickly. I once climbed a volcano in sunny weather only to find a cloud move in and spoil the view. After waiting half an hour it was gone and the sun was out again.
Load More Replies...