40 Side-By-Side Travel Photos That Prove Instagram Isn’t Always What It Seems

Instagrammers go to Trevi Fountain at 5-6 AM in the morning to take these photos. There is usually a small line of ladies in scant dresses waiting for their time to shoot the same exact trite pics. On the other hand, the crowd in the other photo is not typical if you visit in a normal day, that's not a peak tourist time (weekend, major holiday or June-August).

There must be some times when the fountain is like the picture on the left, otherwise how would they get the shot? Just go at a similar time?

Thailand? James Bond Island?

Terme di Saturnia. The left photo is fake A.F., but the right one is simply a bad photo. Once again, outside of weekends and peak tourism days it's far more manageable.

Still looks fun!

Different point of view & time of day.

I'm so glad I went there before social media existed

The photo on the left appears to be at Miyajima off the coast of Hiroshima. The area where the gate is located is not wooded like the photo on the right, so I'm totally confused.

Both picture are taken in Hakone, on a small shrine near the lake. That being said… I didn’t found anyone when I been there, so I’m either very lucky, or the picture on the right was taken on a sunday afternoon ir during public holiday

They're trying to find out where she went

Is there…some other sort of water activity going on or, do people just wear life vests in flat, (not even) waist deep water? Genuine question, have gone to beaches with actual waves my whole life and I don’t recall seeing it.

Why is there a b itch in every fountain in these posts? B itch pollution!

The long shadows and pale blue light in the first pic would indicate very early morning

Cappadocia, Turkey. And it can certainly be like the left picture. You can see the balloons from the entire area. Unfortunately, we got grounded due to winds in the morning when we were there.

The insta is possible,very early in the morning, run as fast as you can to the back, snap a shot. Not everyone goes all the way.

We were just there. You have to go very very very early in the morning

While both shots are in Fushimi inari taisha in Kyoto, they are not taken at the same spot. That being said, outside of early morning and late evening it -is- usually very crowded. But if you are lucky and have a few other visitors cooperating, you can get the shot on the left even during early afternoon.

I think Memoirs of a Geisha made this even more popular

Same beach as above. I think it's a filming location of a film that Dicaprio was in and that the beach was closed or has limited access because of that.

Yep, was there..

I can attest.

Wouldn't want to land in that mud in white trousers.

This is down the road from where I live. Yes, it gets muddy but also yes, you can easily take a cool photo like this one.

Mont Saint-Michel is known for its quick sand

The Cornish one, St Michael's Mount, has a stone path leading up to it, so there's no risk of this unless you're being silly.

How is this the same?

It's not crowded and you only have to wait for high tide. Not nearly as bad as others in this list

The Eiffel Tower is impressive. If someone chooses to take a picture of some trash (which is not at the Tower), that's too bad.

They have trash in Paris, what a shock. The Eiffel Tower is still very beautiful.

The reflection isn't "real". There are vendors who will take a photo for you, and they hold a mirror beneath the phone in a certain way to create this effect.

This doesn't even look like the same beach unless its at a different vantage point

I'd rather be there when the water's NOT green, thank you.

I like the reality better

that green should be seeds, or spores. sonot the same season even

Sunrise vs sunset? If you want the place to yourself for a photo (and as a photographer I often do) you need to scope out a spot and at least one backup choice in advance, get there before dawn, basically "claiming" your specific spot. In my experience other photographers who have done the same are respectful of this and will either take turns or set up nearby. There's a spot in Canyonlands National Park that comes to mind where people like to photograph the sunrise through an arch. I've seen several photographers set up a few feet apart and having tried a few angles there, you can basically get the same coveted shot this way. It takes effort to get photos that look magical, to some it's worth it, if it's not to you just enjoy to view you and everyone else came to see.

Santorini, Greece.

I had the great opportunity to swim in bioluminescent plankton and it was exactly like the first picture. Pure magic! It's just difficult to capture that in a photo.

Do you expect to just be airdropped in? No? Then you would obviously have to get in somewhere.

They both look fun