fake travel pictures

A selection of our favourite images is available for PRINTS ! 📸

The library of fake travel photos in Asia

Finally, it’s arrived! A tool to help the world’s photography competition judges work out if the “travel” images they are judging are real or not! Yep, this is the first library of fake travel photos focusing on people photography in Asia. You’re welcome!

What is a fake travel image?

Well, it’s an image which doesn’t fit the true definition of travel photography. Or, to be more precise, doesn’t fit my definition of travel photography. Which is this:

A candid image capturing a moment in time. A real moment, in which the photographer (or anyone for that matter) can witness while travelling. Something that actually occurs, whether it looks authentic or not.* 

*The concept of authenticity would need a whole post in itself so I won’t go there now.

What doesn’t fit into this/my definition of travel photography are any images that have been staged, organised, pre-planned – or ones that use models and/or props. This is what I call “conceptual travel photography”. But feel free to also call it “fashion photography in a place far from home”.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the editing and photoshopping that can be done to create a fake image. Rather, I mean the use of real people to create fake images. We are also not talking about people staging their images for commercial or editorial purpose. We are not talking about fine art. We are talking about travel photography.

As my area of expertise is people photography in Asia, this is the area I want to focus on. 

Why make this tool? 

Well, the idea isn’t to spit on any specific photographers out there. Every photographer is entitled to do whatever they choose – whether they stage photos or not. This tool has simply been created to catalogue all the images that are becoming, or already are, popular and known to be staged. 

These are the images that you can find online over and over again… because a lot of photographers travel to these same specific locations and stage these same specific images . Once again, there’s nothing wrong with that. But to me, it is not travel photography. 

Another purpose of this library is to silence photographers who claim their staged images are not staged. (Believe me, there are plenty of them!) They build a huge following on social media, stage their images, then claim that these images were taken in a candid moment. This is a lie, which makes them liars… and I don’t like liars! These photographers usually hate being exposed – which is why I expect some violent reactions to this article. Oh well.

Lastly, I offer this resource to help any photography competition judges out there, who feel qualified to hand out prizes without knowing much about travel and Asia. Which is a problem when judging a travel photography competition, whereby many of the images were taken in Asia. 

In my opinion, a photo that has been taken repeatedly by hundreds of photographers has nothing original to say and really should not win any competition . 

But this is only my opinion. Others are free to disagree. And clearly, they do.

I must admit, also, that for us “real travel photographers”, it is quite frustrating to see that so little work and effort can create beautiful images. A lot of photographers have built a career shooting the staged stuff and believe me, they have a lot more followers than I do. Why? Because these images are easy to digest and are very “wow”. I think of these images as the McDonalds of travel photography. Suspiciously tasty but little nutrition. And just like McDonalds’ fans, I’m sure these photographers know inside that what they’re doing is bad for them…but they do it anyway. 

You can see, I’ve clearly thought a lot about this problem. This isn’t a post I’ve written quickly from self-isolation at home. Rather, I have been studying this particular topic for a couple of years now, and have gathered this library of staged travel photos over time.

I’ve even come up with some classifications for these fake travel photos.

The 3 categories of fake travel photos :

• Classic staged photos This category contains images that I’ve talked about several times. Images that are almost 100% guaranteed to be staged – and having travelled to most of these places they’re staged in, I’ve witnessed firsthand the shit show of photographers lining up to take the same images.
• Unethical fake travel photos This is a category that really puts photographers to shame, and talking about it will (hopefully!) help to bring about change-making travel photography, in general, become more ethical.
• Emerging fake travel photos These are images that I slowly see appearing more and more on social media, ones which are quickly being imitated by other so-called “creative” photographers. Images that I imagine will be coming to your local photo competition very soon. Now, some of these images may, in fact, be real. I don’t have enough experience in seeing them or seeing where they were shot to know for sure that they are staged. But I do have my suspicions. 

Disclaimer:

I am listing images here that I know with almost certainty are staged scenes. Of course, it may so happen that somebody got a similar image without faking it, or took it in a different location. This is a possibility. A very, very, very small possibility. To those photographers, I apologise.

And of course, there is always someone who went there first and took a “real” image, before being copied by other lazier photographers. I congratulate the original photographers – imitation, they say, is the most sincere form of flattery. 

I know the fallacy behind some of these images because I’ve witnessed the charade with my own eyes: groups of photographers being shipped into a location to take the exact same image of the exact same model. 

However, for some of the examples below, I’ve simply used logic. Living and working in Asia for a long time, I’ve learned a bit about the norms and customs of the people here, and some of the images below just don’t make any logical sense in the Asia I know.

I originally published this post with screen captures of images. My goal is not to mention the name of the photographers as it would seem I am attacking them personally. But, due to copyright issues, I had to update this post using Instagram embedded images, meaning we can see the photographer’s name behind the picture.

Useful tip: If in doubt, do some digging

If you’re faced with an image (usually on social media) that looks staged but you’re not completely sure, simply have a quick look at the other pictures from the photographer. Someone who stages images once usually does it more than once.

I have seen many images that I suspected of being staged, and by simply checking the photographer’s profile, realised that most of their pictures were staged, which in turn confirmed my suspicions about the original picture.

The classic fake travel photos

Whether these images have been copied for years or decades, surely you’ll have seen them already. Yet somehow, inexplicably, they still win competitions. Which is the reason I believe most photography competition judges don’t know much about travel, Asia, or even which images won competitions the previous year. Doesn’t say much about serious, prestigious photo competitions now, does it?!

I will list images by country for ease of reference. Starting with my adopted home:

There’s a sizable photographic community emerging in Vietnam. Which is great! Still, while most of them are hard-working photographers trying to learn the craft (with some truly great street photographers), many use the shortcuts of staging popular images to easily grow their social media crowd.

Fishing net making:

View this post on Instagram Mending net These women are mending holes in fishing nets after a fishing trip at Hon Ro Port in Nha Trang Vietnam. #apecphotocontest2019 #woman #digitalsociety #net A post shared by Khánh Phan (@ptkhanhhvnh) on Sep 14, 2019 at 3:21pm PDT

This image can originate from Vietnam, Thailand or Indonesia.

Mui Ne sand dune:

View this post on Instagram Nam Cuong sand dunes in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam #vietnam #travelphotography #travel A post shared by NGUYỄN TẤN TUẤN (@tuannguyen1368) on Feb 27, 2020 at 6:25am PST

Ao Dai ladies: 

View this post on Instagram A young lady dressed up with traditional aodai walk along the yellow wall of the heritage house seats by the riverside at Hoi An best known as Yellow City listed as Unesco World Heritage Site #aodai #hoian #quangnam #vietnam #indochine #southeastasia #asia #phototrip #phototravel #worldtravel #ir_worldphoto #ig_travel #unescoworldheritage A post shared by Danny Yen Sin Wong (@danny_imageworld) on Jan 7, 2020 at 4:02am PST

By the way, any girl in a white áo dài (the traditional Vietnamese dress) doing something other than going to high school is probably staged. If you’ve ever had the joy of travelling to Vietnam, you’ll know that most people don’t like to expose themselves to sunlight. People usually cover themselves with jackets, gloves and face masks. I myself, in my several years here, have never witnessed girls acting like they are in this image.

Common sense notification: monks do not work

If you see very clean images of monks doing things like carrying fruits of flowers, these are most probably staged.

View this post on Instagram Flower boat on clouds ———————- Chiều xuân in bóng mây trời Thuyền hoa rực rở áo Thầy vương bay Chiều xuân hoa cúc nhẹ lay Bâng khuâng giọt nắng êm đềm lướt trôi — #dronephotography #dronestagram #droneshots #dronelife 
#photography #dailylife #vietnam #vietnamtravel #lonelyplanet #travelphotography #travelgram #traveltheworld #yourshotphotographer #picoftheday #photooftheday #sunrise #fineart #fineartphotography #natgeotravelpic #natgeofineart #photomagazine #photomag #photosale #imagemagazine #travelmagazine #curatethis1x #earthfocus #photowalkglobal #ourfotoworld #Environment A post shared by NGUYỄN TẤN TUẤN (@tuannguyen1368) on Mar 16, 2020 at 7:23am PDT

Salt fields:

View this post on Instagram Harvesting salt The woman is harveting salt in Hon Khoi field #vietnam?? #vietnamtravels #vietnamphotography #sonyalpha #sonyphotography #sonyvietnam #travel #travelphotography #salt #woman #working #yellow A post shared by Khánh Phan (@ptkhanhhvnh) on Feb 7, 2020 at 6:05pm PST

Nowadays the salt fields workers use wheelbarrows so as to not injure their backs. They also don’t throw salt all over their colleagues’ feet – that wouldn’t be comfortable. Salt stuck in your toes? No thanks.

The stilt fishermen of Hai Ly

View this post on Instagram VIETNAMESE STILT FISHERMEN Stilt fishermen is one of the most interesting traditional fishing methods of fishermen in Vietnam. Records indicate that it came into being for hundreds of years. Though Vietnamese stilt fishermen make the activity seem easy and comfortable, stilt fishing requires much skill and balance. This stilt walk is often seen in the circus. The bamboo bar are mounted to the fishermen legs, allows them move around the mud beach, and stand above the water level. The fishermen then use a V-shape net to catch of spotted herrings and small mackerels from the comparative shallows of the sea. They collect the catch in a bag worned on the side. Stilt fishermen always work in a group, to help each other while on the mud beach. Everyday, they start their work early in the morning. Mount the bamboo bars from the beach and step by step go to the sea. This photo was captured in Nam Dinh beach, northern Vietnam, Apr 2015. Follow @vietsui for more diversity of photography and visual art. A post shared by Tran Tuan Viet (@vietsui) on Nov 2, 2019 at 3:36am PDT

While these people really go to work in such ways, they definitely don’t walk on the sand at low tide in a perfect single file line. Once again, common sense, people!

Incense making near Hanoi.

This does indeed happen and it’s beautiful to witness – but it’s also one of the most faked photos out there. So how do you know which images are real and which are fake? 

Well, here’s a little trick for you: when you’re faced with images of incense-making in Vietnam – or umbrella-making in Myanmar for that matter – ask yourself: where is the subject in the frame? Workers tend to do things logically, they go from one side to the other, from beginning to the end. They don’t sit in the middle of their products like in the image here, it would make it very difficult for them to move around. Seeing a person right in the middle of a pattern of handmade products is usually staged.

You can also very easily guess when an image is staged, as some photographers try to combine several “concepts” into one photo:

View this post on Instagram ธูปชานกรุงฮานอย _________________ ประเทศเวียดนาม September 1-8, 2019 #Wanonniwat #Vietnam #mucangchai A post shared by Pramote Polyamate (@polyamate) on Sep 9, 2019 at 8:49am PDT

Common sense notification: Time of day

Also, after years of travelling through Asia, I’ve learned that people don’t enjoy working out in the sun in the middle of the day when it’s about 40 degrees outside. I mean, why would they, would you?!

View this post on Instagram Last date to submit photographs 03.03.2018 © Zarni Myo Win The Travel Photographer Society Awards 2018 are open for amateurs and for professionals Entry Fees US$ 12 MYR 52 TPS Awards 2017 categories are: 1.Landscape 2.People 3.Street 4.Wildlife & Animal 5.Black & White 6.Architecture/ Cityscape 7.Sports 8.Fashion 9.Wedding 10.Stories (Series of photos 4 to 6) Thanks to our Sponsors and partners @abeerugs #abeerugs @photobookww official printer @mapkl in kuala lumpur official venue host @comeseechange #comeseechange @portpirieregionalcouncil official partner to host exhibition in Australia @foundryphoto @obscurafestival for schorlarships Visit website for details: www.travelphotographersociety.com Submit your photos today! #photographyeveryday #fashionphotography #architecturephotography #cityscape #blackandwhitephotography #wildlifephotography #photographerslife #travelphotography #travel #wanderlust #travelphotographer #traveling #travelingram #travelgram #photocontest #landscape_captures #landscapephotography #landscape #wedding #prewedding #sportsphotography #tpsawards2018 #igs_photography #igs_world #igs_photos #photography #portraitphotography #streetphotographers A post shared by Travel Photographer Society (@travelphotographersociety) on Feb 21, 2018 at 2:58pm PST

The terraces of Mù Cang Chải 

There is a famous rice terrace in Mù Cang Chải in Northern Vietnam where every year , groups of photographers gather to take the exact same photo with the same models walking along. And so, every year, different photos emerge – still with the exact same models placed at the exact same spot winning different competitions. It’s as simple as this: a group of photographers all standing in a line shooting the same thing while shouting at their subjects to “go right, go left, stop, keep going” etc. Not exactly a spontaneous travel moment.

View this post on Instagram ที่สุดแห่งนาขั้นบันได มูกางจ๋าย ประเทศเวียดนาม September 1-8, 2019 #Wanonniwat #Vietnam #mucangchai A post shared by Pramote Polyamate (@polyamate) on Sep 14, 2019 at 11:36pm PDT

Common sense notification: Too clean

I have strong suspicions whenever I see an image that just looks “too clean” or when people carry things they normally don’t, or in ways they normally wouldn’t. If an image seems “too clean to be true”, it probably is.

View this post on Instagram Sunrise over rice terraces in #Bali, #Indonesia A post shared by David Lazar (@davidlazarphoto) on Oct 20, 2017 at 7:04am PDT

View this post on Instagram While I’d like to think I’ve already seen a fair portion of China, I’d be wrong… can’t wait to get back in 2019, as I have so much more to show you all! Who’s ready for the new year? ??‍?? A post shared by JORD | TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY (@jordhammond) on Dec 13, 2018 at 7:27am PST

Common sense notification: Candles

Old people don’t tend to work with candlelight. They are old and their eyes aren’t so good. So if you see an image of an older person working by candlelight, be suspicious. If you see anyone working by candlelight and the candles are arranged perfectly, be very suspicious.  

View this post on Instagram CONICAL NIGHT MARKET The conical leaf hat (nón lá) is a typical symbol of Vietnamese women. Go Gang traditional conical market is known for its special product, the conical hat. The unique of this market, is it only opens nightly from 2-5 AM. Go Gang is a small village located in Binh Dinh province, often crowded with visitors who come here to place orders and watch the weavers make the conical hats, which has become a ubiquitous symbol of Vietnam. Follow @vietsui for more diversity of photography and visual art ? A post shared by Tran Tuan Viet (@vietsui) on Nov 4, 2019 at 3:40am PST

Lily harvests around Hue

View this post on Instagram Hi Guys I am creating an Youtube channel to upload my travel videos in Vietnam so if you guys are interested in watching, please kindly subscribe through the link below (copy and paste to your browser) or in my profile https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCREz0obQ32bxEA0o–MHovg Thank You A post shared by Pham Huy Trung (@phtrung0611) on Mar 9, 2020 at 9:33pm PDT

Hue magical lantern river at sunset

View this post on Instagram FLOATING CANDLES ——————— Vietnamese girls in "áo dài" traditional garb perform the rid of floating the candles on the Hương River in Huế, Vietnam. In this performance, each lamp was lit flower is a prayer in which a compassionate mind for health and peaceful. Candle flower is lit aims to honor the spiritual values and culture of Vietnam, that be held on the 14th of lunar calendar each month, in some buddhism festivals or major holidays. #aodai #photography #dailylife #vietnam #vietnamtravel #lonelyplanet #travelphotography #travelgram #traveltheworld #yourshotphotographer #picoftheday #photooftheday #sunset #fineart #fineartphotography #natgeotravelpic #natgeofineart #photomagazine #photomag #photosale #imagemagazine #travelmagazine #earthfocus #photowalkglobal #ourfotoworld A post shared by NGUYỄN TẤN TUẤN (@tuannguyen1368) on Mar 10, 2020 at 9:09pm PDT

For the past 10 years, Myanmar has been an amazing playground for photographers. The country is extremely photogenic and many photographers travel there to come home with stunning images. But unfortunately, it’s also a big-time favourite of the fakers. Those who decide to go for the shortcuts and create their own fake postcards.

Candlelit novice monks

Starting with an image that probably has won the most competitions around the world, that of a young novice monk praying by candlelight in a smokey temple in Bagan.

Ok, ask yourself the question: how convenient is it to read small scriptures in a very dark room full of smoke? Next time you’re not sure whether an image is staged or not, just use that same logic.

View this post on Instagram Thinking back to these magical times in Myanmar. The last few weeks have been so hectic, going between five countries and preparing to move to Bali has left me little time to sleep, let alone edit any new content. On that note, who’s down to hang in Bali this summer? Looking forward to some serious down time ?? A post shared by JORD | TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY (@jordhammond) on May 14, 2018 at 8:08am PDT

There are lots of other locations in Myanmar that are used to seeing photographers stage novice and monk photos.

View this post on Instagram Novice monk portrait among the temple landscape of #Bagan, #Myanmar. Photographed on a Nikon D800 with #Nikon 24-85mm lens. #Burma #temple #monk #novicemonk #Buddhistmonk #buddism #portraitmood #potraitpage #mynikonlife #nikonasia #igs_asia #ig_respect #people_and_world #bestportraits #faith #igphotoworld #passionpassport #ig_mood A post shared by David Lazar (@davidlazarphoto) on Aug 16, 2016 at 8:53am PDT

Common sense notification: Umbrellas

People don’t tend to use umbrellas inside. It doesn’t rain, nor it is sunny indoors. If you see an image with monks using umbrellas indoors, use your common sense to question the authenticity of that image.

The standing fishermen of Inle Lake 

My next favourite staged images from Myanmar is that of Inle fishermen doing acrobatic moves on their boats. There are literally hundreds of copy & paste images of these fishermen. 

If you see these guys, you can be 100% certain that it’s a fake shot, as they simply won’t stand up until they’ve been paid. 

View this post on Instagram Fisherman inle,Myanmar #inlelake #inle #myanmar #travel #phototrip #asia #asian #fisherman A post shared by Saravut (@saravutwhanset) on Jan 23, 2020 at 11:08pm PST

Flying chickens in foggy forests

Don’t ask me why but apparently, Indonesian boys are addicted to throwing chickens in the air – only in front of foggy forests, of course! I’ve no idea where, or how, this particular staged shot started, but it’s one that regularly appears on social media.

View this post on Instagram Fighting Cock #lifephotography #countrysides #culture #asiaculture #xpro2 #fujifilm #fujifilmthailand #fujithailand A post shared by Chainarong Prasert (@chainarong_prasert) on Jun 15, 2019 at 8:18am PDT

View this post on Instagram Pilih mana memancing ikan atau memancing perasaan anaknya orang? ? #sonyalpha_id #sonyimages #sonyalpha #humaninterest #photography #people_infinity #kings_works #instajabar #geonusantara #geojabar #insanindonesia #humaninterestphotography #cameraindonesia #humaninterest_id #instanusantara #sonyalphain #sonyworldclub #official_photography_hub #greatshotz #indonesia_photography #human #humaninterestindonesia #_ipc #humanpotrait A post shared by Kwodokijo (@kwodokijo) on Feb 22, 2020 at 4:43pm PST

Dripping Rice Farmers

I don’t know if these ones are taken at the same locations as the flying chickens, but  the scenes are very similar, at least to me. They include farmers carrying rice in pristine fields and light beams in the background. By the way, if you want to see water droplets falling off each bushel of rice simultaneously, you need to ask your model to dunk them in the water and walk pretty quickly. There is no way this can be a candid shot. Once again, common sense.

View this post on Instagram Two Farmers grow rice in the rainy season. They were soaked with water and mud to be prepared for planting. #Farmers #grow #rice #rainy #season#soaked #water #prepared #planting #asian #asia #thai #thailand #old #man #life #style #lifesty #green A post shared by Pramote Polyamate (@polyamate) on Jul 8, 2019 at 10:38am PDT

The galloping horses of Bromo

I’ve seen nice images of horses galloping around Indonesia’s Mount Bromo in the past. Then I met someone who told me that guides commonly ask visitors if they want to get nice photos; they then gallop around the hills in circles to make as much dust as possible.

View this post on Instagram ©️ Tan Kok Chaon The Travel Photographer Society Awards 2018 are open for amateurs and professionals. Entry Fees will be US$ 12 MYR 52 TPS Awards 2018 categories are: 1.Landscape 2.People 3.Street 4.Wildlife & Animal 5.Black & White 6.Architecture/ Cityscape 7.Sports 8.Fashion 9.Wedding 10.Stories (Series of photos 4 to 6) Thanks to our Sponsors and partners @photobookww official printer @mapkl in kuala lumpur official venue host @comeseechange #comeseechange @portpirieregionalcouncil official partner to host exhibition in Australia @foundryphoto @obscurafestival for schorlarships Visit website for details: www.travelphotographersociety.com Submit your photos today! #photographyeveryday #fashionphotography #architecturephotography #cityscape #blackandwhitephotography #wildlifephotography #photographerslife #travelphotography #travel #wanderlust #travelphotographer #traveling #travelingram #travelgram #photocontest #landscape_captures #landscapephotography #landscape #wedding #prewedding #sportsphotography #stories #tpsawards2018 #igs_photography #instadaily #igs_photos #instalike A post shared by Travel Photographer Society (@travelphotographersociety) on Jan 14, 2018 at 7:34pm PST

The jumpy splash line

This is another image that you may have seen before. Once again, I don’t know what’s going on, nor do I care that much, but I’ve seen it many, many times.

Some very smart photographers have also decided to copy and paste this idea into other countries.

View this post on Instagram SPLASH Chams girls splash water in a stream of Ninh Thuan province, central Vietnam, 2016. This photo was taken in a model shooting session, it is not a travel destination ? Follow @vietsui for more diversity of photography and visual stories ? A post shared by Tran Tuan Viet (@vietsui) on Dec 3, 2019 at 6:03am PST

The boat kids of Semporna

Kids on a boat in the foreground? Check. Clear turquoise blue water? Check. Stilt house in the background? Check. Welcome to one of the most popular staged images to come out of Malaysia: a much-repeated photo of the Bajau Laut sea nomads of Semporna. 

View this post on Instagram Mobile phone capture of Sea Bajau boys background with stilt houses built on Bodgaya Island off shore Semporna in Sabah #seagypsies #seabajau #bodgayaisland #semporna #sabah #malaysia?? #southeastasia #borneo #asia #travelphoto #worldtravel #phototrip #travelstagram #instagram #ir_worldphoto #ig_travelerworld #ig_travel A post shared by Danny Yen Sin Wong (@danny_imageworld) on Jul 5, 2019 at 7:21pm PDT

The cormorant fishermen of Guilin 

Let’s start with the most popular staged travel photo coming from China – that of the famed cormorant fishermen of Guilin.

View this post on Instagram Local life is by far my favourite thing to photograph. Also, we are finally headed to a new country tomorrow! Any guesses where? ? A post shared by JORD | TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY (@jordhammond) on Sep 7, 2018 at 7:01am PDT

This particular scene has already been discussed online in previous articles. Photographer Jimmy McIntyre came out as reporting how cruel this scene can be for the cormorant birds, forced to be dived in the water so they can spray their wings, which makes for more beautiful photos. 

Now, there has been an answer to this article (described as a “fantastic response” by Petapixel) which is, in my opinion, plain wrong. It says that holding birds by the neck is the thing to do (my wildlife expert friends have confirmed to me that it’s not) and that the birds need to get wet so they don’t overheat… But. Most images you can see are taken before sunrise when surely, it’s not that hot?! Anyway, I remain very much unsatisfied with the response set out in that article and still believe it’s unethical to ask the fishermen to dunk their birds underwater in the name of a prettier shot. 

Farmers in Xiapu

View this post on Instagram Sometimes, all you need is a little bit of luck. The midmorning sunlight trickled through these ancient banyan trees for a matter of 10 seconds, lighting up the scene perfectly before us! ? A post shared by JORD | TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY (@jordhammond) on Nov 16, 2018 at 6:45am PST

Here is another example of how these photographers are misleading the public. I even found one of these images titled: “Farmer returns from field early morning”. And more recently, almost the same image was added (again!) on their Instagram titled “Months of research went into making this shot happen”. Let me show you the months of research:

The photo is obviously staged (different photographers, different days, same tree, same models, same composition), yet the title makes us believe that it isn’t. This is how devious these photographers are. I honestly wouldn’t care about all this if they were honest about their work, but they often say how they were lucky to get the shot, or how the moment was candid, while it clearly wasn’t.

The eagle hunters of Mongolia

View this post on Instagram SALBURUN ••••••••••••••••••••• Mongolian Kazakh Eagle Hunting also known as berkutchi is a form of ancient falconry, the practice of hunting with the aid of birds of prey, can be traced back as far as 4,000 years in Central Asia. ••••••••••••••••••••• During early winter in the last November, @helmieuy and myself lead a photography expedition for two weeks in Mongolia. Join us in next year 2019 Winter Mongolia Expedition with @mahacaraka Maha Caraka – The Art of Travel. ••••••••••••••••••••• ?? Sony A7R Mark III | Sony 85mm f/1.4 G Master ••••••••••••••••••••• ©️ Copyright | Sandy Wijaya Photography ••••••••••••••••••••• #mahacaraka #mahacaraka_phototrip #winter #expedition #mongolia #kazakh #eaglehunter #altai #bayanolgii #travelphotography #pixel_ig #profile_vision #travellers #igtravel #traveladdiction #instadaily #mytravelgram #traveladdict #theglobewanderer #instapassport #yourshotphotographer #travellers #igtravel #traveladdiction #visualsoflife #globalcapture #awesomeglobal #sonyalpha_id #sonyindonesia #sony85mm14gm A post shared by SW | Travel Photographer (@sandywijaya) on Dec 8, 2018 at 6:15pm PST

A very popular image these days, as Mongolia is becoming more frequently visited. It is, of course, easier to stage an eagle hunter and photograph him for 30 minutes rather than follow him for days at a time while he’s hunting, which would create a real body of work about his life. That requires time, which not everyone has.

All right India, as much as your street photography scene is truly amazing, there are still people travelling around your beautiful country staging images in your most popular cities, often unethically.

The Sadhus of Varanasi

Varanasi is a prime example of this. Online you can find countless images of “Sadhus” turning their back on the holy Ganges river. Ask any real Sadhu out there if this is something they would ever do. Give it a go.

Following on from Joey L.’s images, one can now witness photographers flashing fake Sadhus all along the Ganges with no thought whatsoever behind their images. They want that pretty shot – whether it is real, appropriate, or not.

View this post on Instagram A young sadhu at Varanasi. #Varanasi #Sadhu #Baba #Ganga #Ghats #Ganges #Portrait #kasi #indianphotography #indianshutterbugs #lppostcards #indiapictures #storiesofindia #lonelyplanetindia #creativeimagemagazine #natgeotravel #travelgram #ngc #lonelyplanetindia #traveldiaries #ip_world #instadaily #nikonindiaofficial #travel #travelltales A post shared by Ravikanth Kurma (@ravikanth) on Jan 7, 2018 at 8:34am PST

Thanks to all of their efforts to try and get a pretty image of a holy man, these photographers have created a whole new market of “Sadhus for hire” along the Ghats of Varanasi. These people dress like Sadhus and sit around all day asking for tourists to take their photos in exchange for money. It is quite disturbing for any candid photographer and it feels like the whole city is fake. Thanks, staging photographers, for spoiling an otherwise amazing location.

The stepwells of Rajasthan

Surely you’ve seen similar images to this one of the stepwells in Rajasthan? I know I have, let’s say, a million times! 

View this post on Instagram Reflections at a step-well, photographed in #Rajasthan, #India. Step-wells were built for access to water deep underground in areas where the soil doesn't retain water after rain. Photographed with a #NikonD800 and Nikon 28-300mm lens. #stepwell #saris #globe_people #tradition #travelandlife #travelphotography #wonderfulworld #ig_respect #people_infinity #mynikonlife A post shared by David Lazar (@davidlazarphoto) on Oct 15, 2018 at 4:47am PDT

McCurry’s Stilt Fishermen

We have Steve McCurry to thank for popularising this image of the Sri Lankan fishermen on stilts. 

Now, this is still a tradition in Sri Lanka, and some people do fish like this. But most images that you see online were captured on the south coast, between Mirissa and Galle. And this is where the locals have – and I am not kidding here – literally built parking spaces in front of their stilts so busloads of tourists can park up and photograph them. They even come up to the people with a menu, showing different photos they can take with different prices! Including a price for you to stand on their stilts and get your Instagram influencer shot.

View this post on Instagram The dying tradition of Sri Lankan fishermen. These tourist fishermen line the coast of Weligama shores and sometimes Galle. Some acquire new skills to fish while others remain to pose for tourists. The government probably don’t even know where the real ones are. You never need to apologize for how you choose to survive. . Ethically that is. . . #shotoniphone #shotoniphone6s #srilanka #amazingsrilanka #weligamabeach #eloaroundtheworld #sunset #visualsoflife #natgeotravel #magnum #magnumphotos #wanderlust #srilankafishermen #srilankabeach #srilanka2018 @visionofdestinations #visionofdestinations #dametraveler #girlvsglobe A post shared by Curious1oa (@curious1oa) on Jan 7, 2018 at 3:23am PST

What’s more, if you dare walk on the coastline with a camera in hand, some people might harass you and aggressively ask you for money to photograph the fishermen, even though you’ve no intention to do so. 

This is THE worst thing I have ever experienced in Sri Lanka.

Africa: 

I know this was supposed to be a library of fake travel photos in Asia – but I’ve got all wound up now so I’m going to include a little bonus detour over to East Africa as well! 

Any photo from the Omo Valley or Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s Omo Valley looks to me like one of the biggest photographic circuses on the planet. If you trust the photos, it’s like the locals are competing every year to try and outdo each other for who can have the most flowers or unexpected things on their heads as possible. 

You can’t blame the locals. It’s completely understandable. If photographers return every year to get more “original shots”, the locals with the most elaborate head adornment will end up making more money. I blame the photographers for going to photograph them.

View this post on Instagram Mobile phone capture of Suri girls at Kibish, Ethiopia #suri #tribe #tribal #ethiopia #africa #expedition #travelphotography #travel #phototrip A post shared by Danny Yen Sin Wong (@danny_imageworld) on Sep 29, 2018 at 1:17am PDT

It’s got to the ridiculous point whereby every year I see new photos of children with more and more trees, fruits and flowers and paintings on their heads to attract photographers. I believe this is basically destroying their culture, or what people see as being their own culture. 

These local people are viewed by most visiting photographers not as humans but as objects they can use to get nice, competition-winning photos. They probably don’t ever stop to think about whether this is right or wrong, whether they should depict the real world or their own fantasy post-colonial African dream. 

Common sense notification: fishing nets

Be very wary of any image of a fisherman throwing their nets literally on or over the photographer, whatever the country. People around the world would not throw their fishing nets at you unless you ask them to, or unless you happen to be a fish!

View this post on Instagram Fishermen nets —— #nikon #nikonthailand #phototrip #thailand #thai #culture #fisherman #fishing #sunset #whpnaturallight #teamgalaxy A post shared by Saravut (@saravutwhanset) on Sep 22, 2019 at 3:56am PDT

I will also include images of perfectly aligned boats with fishermen all throwing their nets together in perfect harmony. Yes, it could potentially – candidly – happen. But knowing my fellow photographers’ patience, there is a 99% chance that it didn’t. 

General common sense notification

Keep something in mind: with a little bit of travel experience you can easily find out whether an image is staged or not. Usually, when it looks all beautiful, perfect, and extremely exotic, there are chances that the image is staged. This isn’t a universal truth, but it helps. A little bit of research online, simply Googling the name of the place, or looking into Google reverse image search, can help you to find out for sure. 

Unethical travel images: 

Any staged image involving human abuse.

There are many images that fit into this category. This goes much beyond the simple act of travelling and capturing a staged image. This implies human exploitation, using a population for our own images, and only a few business-minded people benefit from this exploitation.

I actually believe that all the examples I am using in this article are unethical. In my opinion, a photographer travelling to a location and asking people to pose in a way that is not their normal way of life hurts the culture, customs and beliefs of its people. It leads to the destruction of their own culture and creates a fake cultural facade that will please only travellers.  

One of the finest examples for this is the long neck Padaung women in Myanmar and Thailand. 

View this post on Instagram A profile portrait of a lady from the Kayan ethnic tribe in far north #Thailand. #Kayan #Padaung #chiangrai #longneck #tribe #portraitmood #portraitvision #travelphotography #portraitphotography #portraitsfromtheworld A post shared by David Lazar (@davidlazarphoto) on Jan 3, 2019 at 7:08am PST

Not all photos of long neck women are part of this category but many, if not most, are. There are locations in Thailand and Myanmar where these women are exploited to pose for tourists, bringing a good revenue for their hosts – a kind of master and slave relationship.

That’s another reason why I have something against visiting these locations to take easy photos. The people are not treated with respect. There will always be someone keen to make money by offering other people available to be photographed. 

This situation has been discussed and criticized for years:

“Residents receive an allowance of food and toiletries and profit from handicraft sales, and women wearing brass rings earn an extra salary. Village owners decrease wages if women discuss their plight with visitors or use anything modern, like cell phones or computers.” Source.

“Some trekking companies and human rights groups consider the Padaung villages, which stretch across northern Thailand, to be “human zoos” that exploit the women. There have even been reports that some of the Padaung are prisoners held captive in the villages by businessmen.” Source.

Earlier, I spoke about the use of novice monks in Myanmar for photographers to get their pretty smokey spiritual images. 

While these images have been staged for almost a decade now, how about taking novice monks out of their daily routine and have them be your “toy” for a day? The responsibility falls on the photographers and the people who are in charge of the novice monks (usually senior monks) who are keen to make some extra money (for them, or for the temple, but we can never verify this) against the “rental” of their novices. 

People are literally being used here as objects. On top of that, these are minors who surely are not able to decide for themselves. Sure, they’d be happy to do it for a few dollars so they can go and buy candies. After all, they are children. But does that mean as a photographer you should do it?

No. This is clearly unethical. 

Any staged image involving minors

Being a travel photographer, I do realise how easy it is to organise staged photos, and I also understand how, at first, it could seem fine to hire a minor to pose for your travel images. 

People are very friendly in most places you travel in Asia – and they will let you organise your photoshoot if you ask them to. You could feel that you’re financially helping a family by paying the parents. The children, posing for your images, seem happy, they smile, they laugh, it’s all just a fun game for them. 

But honestly, a lot of families are poor and they would do a lot of things for a little bit of money. Or if not money, simply to please foreign visitors, who are often given far more respect than they deserve. But just because as a photographer you can do it, it doesn’t mean you should do it. 

After all, what will be the impact on that child’s life? 

By staging minors in your images, you’re propagating the idea that people can easily make money by posing for tourists with a camera (yes, I am a travel photographer, which is basically a tourist with a camera). They will associate foreigners with easy money, as long as they pose for their photos. And this can create a “village competition” between children, over who can attract the photographer and make more money. 

Look at the children from the Omo Valley I mentioned earlier. The circus of “objects on display” – children – created by unthinking photographers, who are focused on taking the “best” possible image without thinking about the ethics involved.

Whether young monks or the children of the Omo Valley, you are using the children as props for your beautiful photos and it’s not ok. Even though they make money, and even though they agree to it, they are still children! And kids don’t have the knowledge or maturity to decide for themselves. 

Any staged image including a particular person

View this post on Instagram © Fabrizio Crippa The Travel Photographer Society Awards 2018 are open for amateurs and professionals. Early bird discount you submit before 07 Jan 2018 at 5AM GMT Malaysia time. Single Entry Fees US$ 9 MYR 38 only From 07 Jan onwards Standard Entry Fees will be US$ 12 MYR 52 TPS Awards 2017 categories are: 1.Landscape 2.People 3.Street 4.Wildlife & Animal 5.Black & White 6.Architecture/ Cityscape 7.Sports 8.Fashion 9.Wedding 10.Stories (Series of photos 4 to 6) Thanks to our Sponsors and partners @photobookww official printer @mapkl in kuala lumpur official venue host @comeseechange #comeseechange @portpirieregionalcouncil official partner to host exhibition in Australia @foundryphoto @obscurafestival for schorlarships Visit website for details: www.travelphotographersociety.com Submit your photos today! #photographyeveryday #fashionphotography #architecturephotography #cityscape #blackandwhitephotography #wildlifephotography #photographerslife #travelphotography #travel #wanderlust #travelphotographer #traveling #travelingram #travelgram #photocontest #landscape_captures #landscapephotography #landscape #wedding #prewedding #sportsphotography #stories #tpsawards2018 #igs_photography #igs_world #igs_photos #photography #portraitphotography A post shared by Travel Photographer Society (@travelphotographersociety) on Dec 25, 2017 at 1:37am PST

There is one woman in the area of Mindat in Myanmar who has been photographed again and again. Now, when people arrive in the village, she instantly dresses up and comes out of her home expecting people to photograph her and then buy some of her souvenirs. I see this as a good way for this woman to support herself. She is definitely a grown-up person who can decide for herself. But this isn’t always the case.

The case of the blue-eyed girl in Vietnam

This young girl was “discovered” by a photographer and popularised with the use of heavy marketing. Now, photography tour groups show up at her house to photograph her.

There is definitely something ethically wrong going on here, and I feel like for these people it’s like a visit to the zoo. Get out of your bus, stage your “model” wherever you want to get your pretty picture. Which includes: arranging different scarves on her head to make her look prettier, placing her in front of the background you want, etc… I can see, in the not-too-distant future, images of this girl with flowers, trees and fruits on her head, Omo Valley style.

Any staged image including wildlife. 

For example, snake charmers in India. A lot of wrongdoing is happening with the treatment of these animals. People will capture animals in the wild and tame them until they are placid enough to be displayed in front of tourists and photographers. This is the same for the cormorant fisherman in China. The more photographers come, the more cormorants they are going to need. Please, just avoid them.

View this post on Instagram The art of snake charming is considered to be an ancient technique that is now believed to have risen in India, particularly through healers that would showcase their ability to hypnotise a cobra. The act in itself would involve a healer housing a cobra within a basket and playing a pungi or bansuri with the snake almost transfixed upon the playing instrument. It was historically believed to be a magical or blessed act that many healers would display around their local communities. Snakes can’t actually hear the noise of the instrument and instead focus on the pungi (or bansuri) and the player, assuming the player to be a threat for him. . #indiatravel #storiesofindia #photooftheday #instatravel #travelindia #jaipur #amberfortjaipur #snakecharmer #travelblogger #travelporn #traveljaipur #welovetoexplore #bestplacestogo #exploreindia #discover_earthpix #ourplanetdaily #earthfocus #discoverearth #stayandwander #welivetoexplore #lifeofadventure #eclectic_shotz #exploretocreate ##roamtheplanet #lensbible#wekeepmoments #earthofficial #exploremore #nationaldestinations #awesomeglobe @colours.of.india @stories.of.india @wanderers.of.india @official_photographers_hub @photographers.of.india @photographers_of_india @indianphotographyhub @indian_photography_club_ @vibez_of_insta @shuttersofindia @symmetryhunters @streets.of.india @stories.of.up @indiapictures @infinitive_universal_photos @shadows_of_india @dslrofficial @wahhindia @streetphotographyindia @world_photography_page @natgeoyourshot A post shared by Tanya (@nattysingh) on Mar 15, 2020 at 8:54am PDT

View this post on Instagram Kayan long neck Chaingmai,Thailand. ——————– #THAILAND #THAI #PEOPLE #PHOTO #chaingmai #face #SARAVUTwhanset #phototrip  #culture #elephant #travel A post shared by Saravut (@saravutwhanset) on Nov 29, 2017 at 8:45am PST

The emerging fake travel photos

With the advancement of new technologies like drones, we are seeing more and more similar images online. Because this is happening at this very moment, we can thus see the upcoming trends and the photos that are being copied over and over. 

View this post on Instagram Different color #vietnam?? #vietnamphotography #vietnamculture #incense #woman #dronephotography #dronestagram #travelphotography #vietnamtravel #khanhphan A post shared by Khánh Phan (@ptkhanhhvnh) on Mar 9, 2020 at 11:41pm PDT

View this post on Instagram FLOWER FOR LUNAR NEW YEAR A farmer stands in a boat watering pots of daisy in Sa Dec village of Dong Thap province, the largest flower village in Mekong delta of Vietnam. Flower villages are the busiest places on the lead up to the occasion of Lunar New Year — the biggest event of Vietnamese each year. Follow @vietsui for more diversity of photography and visual stories ? A post shared by Tran Tuan Viet (@vietsui) on Feb 12, 2020 at 3:59am PST

View this post on Instagram TAM TIEN FISH MARKET When the first sunrays began showing down the sea and the first fishing boats came back, a new trading morning at fishing market started in Quang Nam seaside, central Vietnam. The noisy atmosphere stirred up the calm and silent dawn of a small sea area. This small market was founded spontaneously more than 30 years ago. This photo was taken on June 2018, and selected as Photo of the Day on Smithsonian Magazine on Jun 30, 2018 Follow @vietsui for more diversity of photography and visual stories ? A post shared by Tran Tuan Viet (@vietsui) on Mar 1, 2020 at 3:57am PST

I have already discussed this on my blog : that staging your images destroys your creativity. Photographers who only stage their images are simply copying others’ work. This is bad for the whole travel photography community and the advancement of photography in general.  

I hope you understand my motivations behind writing this article and sharing this library. I genuinely believe that staging travel images kills your creativity – and it makes the whole travel photography scene become boring, something no photographer wants to see. 

If copied images that win competitions become the new standard, then the message that’s sent to emerging photographers is “if you want to have a lot of followers on social media, or if you want to win photo competitions, staging will make your life easier”.

We have to stop this and make travel photography interesting again.

P.s. i would like to keep this library as up-to-date as possible. so please contact me if you notice any mistakes, or if you’ve uncovered another fake image worth sharing..

66 Comments

Please do not call yourself creative or a professional when you can’t even respect other people’s style. You sound like a mad and petty person who never travelled to Asia. Are you jealous that those pictures are beautifully made? because to me they look amazing without doubt. Photography to me is also a form of art and people have different ways of creating them and it would be nice if you show abit more of respect for others. Your blogs just makes you sound very ignorant and that’s just not a great look on you especially as a teacher. There are far more other positive things to talk about in this world such as appreciating other people’s difference in style instead of more negativity. This world has enough of bad stuff going on so what’s up with all this criticisms? Look at it and just appreciate it and move on with your life.

I will very quickly reply to your message, as this is a typical message I receive after posting things like this. No, I will not close my eyes and turn the other way because “the world has too much negativity”. The world isn’t all pretty flowers and rainbows. There are issues we need to discuss. I respect every photographer’s style and images. But I do not respect cheaters and liars.

Love this article man! Thank you and Mott for taking the time to put it together. Has helped clarify a lot for me as an aspiring pro travel photographer! I wish the industry was more critical of fakes!

Thanks a lot Jay, your support means a lot!

“not a great look on you especially as a teacher”…. It is exactly BECAUSE he is a teacher that he has to say this… imagine if all teachers in other disciplines said “Don’t think for yourself,,, copy other people’s work…”. Where would that lead us?

I’m a photographer from southeast Asia and I agree with Etienne’s sentiment. It’s exhausting and honestly boring to see this otherism and exoticism that doesn’t even exist. I’d rather people call things for what they are than pretend everything is good.

Replying to MM:-

Why are you hiding behind initials? Please put front your real name if you are sincere in commenting! As you expect Etienne to respect other photographers’ style, you should also respect others with the freedom of speech and opinion. He is trying to create awareness among the photography community and it is a very big effort from Etienne that requires much appreciation. He has experienced the problems and seen the situation first handedly just because he has spent a lot of time in Asia, especially Vietnam. MM please do open your eyes and your mind.

Great shout out to Etienne for this amazing article! I share the same sentiment as you. People clamouring spots to get the same angles every time, and dare to call themselves a photographer.

Thanks, Simon, for your support. Some people react because I have been sending critics to the community, not just love and praises. People are not used to this.

He’s not criticizing people work or creative vision. He’s criticizing that people claim the images to be authentically made in real life situations, when there are in fact staged and not true life. I myself have traveled to some of these places and it’s sad to see the way local people change they’re traditions to appeal to tourists who want to make beautiful photos and have experienced first hand the “zoo” he’s talking about. The fact that often time the subject matter is children is indeed sad as well. I myself thank Etienne for exposing the truth.

request permission to use this story and translate it to Malay, to put into my blog, credit is still your name

sawlihim +60136043241

Yes please 🙂

tks for exposing these pathetic lame photographers. I was wondering why are they so lucky so often, and I never have such much luck

Hahaha, I was wondering the same too at the beginning. But then you see the trend, their instagram feed is suspiciously too pretty 😉

Has Steve Mc Curry not admitted in staging his pictures ? I believe he did after being questioned about it for years…

He is one of the reasons why people do this so much. He admitted it but didn’t seem to feel bad about it, not an apology, nothing.

Excellent article about a real problem. A recent issue of a British photography magazine included a photo of a Guilin cormorant fisherman as an example of an excellent travel image, while in an interview elsewhere in the same issue, a travel photographer dissed those very images as inauthentic. I know if you’re a typical tourist it can be very difficult to avoid these traps, but for a “real” photographer to do this, and for a “real” editor to fall for it, that’s something else.

Very well said, Gil. I see so many photo competitions now that are just money-making schemes and use beginner photographers as judges, paying them in exposure. All a lie, all fake.

Dear Etienne, I am just a very passionate hobbyist in photography. Many years ago, I was just like you, very against staged photography. Not only that but when I tell my photography society members that heavily photoshoped photos kills their creativity, all guns came blazing at me. I am the lone voice when I tell people to try to get it right on camera. Just like when you ranted about the HIPA winning shot. I asked a group of photographers, beginners, amateurs and professionals alike and they said one thing to me. “Say what you like, that guy is laughing to the bank” So live and let live. Travel photography is not my bread and butter but I like to travel to shoot people’s culture, lifestyle and festivals. Not all clean and beautifully taken photos are staged. Sometimes I travel alone and like the photos you posted of Semprona. I can actually get those photos without staging it. I have been there and I can attest to it. The staged photos that you posted of Vietnam, Myanmar, China, India and so on, have won many big competitions as far as I know. In Malaysia these winners have a big following and become influencers. Like it or not, it’s life, it’s true. We also have to look at photography as an art form. So the judges couldn’t care if it’s staged (not fake) or heavily photoshoped. Our minority voices cannot stop them, it’s a waste of time. I have come to live and lets live and just enjoy my photography.

Albert, I feel the disenchantment in your message. I have a lot of passion for this matter and I believe by writing these types of posts, we will slowly educate people and show them that this isn’t real photography. If I can change one photographer’s mind (and given the feedback I already received this week end, I have) then it’s a win. Keep the battle alive Albert! 🙂

Thank you so much for saying this out loud! I’m a photographer born and based in Ethiopia and really tired of the omo valley photos. I can relate with everything here.

Thanks for your support!

Superb article….recently read similar from PSA PT director Nadia Fillaiggi ….being a PT judge,we all knew its there and we did practise them too..its time now to change ourselves for the benefit of our clan.

Not sure we are a clan but yes, you are right, we need to make travel photography benefit from creative photographers.

Some of these practices, such as the cormorant fishermen of Guilin China, would completely disappear if it weren’t for the tourists photographing them. Tourists (or locals) taking staged photographs are actually helping preserve customs and history that might otherwise be lost.

Indeed some practices have and will continue to disappear, this is how things work. Shall we ask all the people in a village to keep living in wooden houses and wear their traditional costumes because “it’s traditional” or because that’s the image we want to bring back home? The customs and culture of people are two different things. If culture is something to preserve as it contains the ideas, the roots, the soul of a group, customs can, on the other hand, be questioned without attacking the culture. It’s quite convenient to mix both and use the preservation of “traditions” as a shield against all questions. Corrida is a tradition, part of a much wider culture. Deny the cruelty in such traditions would be deeply dishonest. The use of wildlife for human uses is rarely a situation which fully has shared benefits. One species exploits the other, with sometimes dramatic consequences on wild population or, at least, for the individuals being used (No, a cormorant shouldn’t be handled by the neck. No, a cormorant is not happily drowned into the water whenever it’s needed for a “good photo” …) Shall we use “traditions” to justify any action? Obviously, traditions find their origin and can be understood through history and part of the culture but they can’t be (at least not anymore) used to justify it. Humans’ sacrifices were a strong tradition for people from ancient Greece to South and Central America’s most amazing societies. Are we still expecting to get a good harvest season by killing anyone? Lost or, no more used, doesn’t mean forgotten. It’s a different work to keep this history alive, by transmitting knowledge. Cultures need indeed to be known, documented and preserved but, at first, by the ones who live it. If those cultures evolve, leaving behind some traditions (and maybe creating new ones as it’s a never-ending process), is photography a real tool to preserve anything anymore? Isn’t it here more about egos at work, looking to capture the “unique”, the “rare”, something to add to a bucket list? The tradition of cormorant fishermen had been photographed, documented, studied and belongs to history. If the loss of culture is a danger, the change of traditions can’t be seen so (it might just be actually a sign of the cultural evolution). One more point, by taking fake images of a place and using it widely on social media, do we really think “photographers” help here to know more about what people are and live in those parts of the world, about their actual culture?

Etienne, this is a comprehensive collection of fakes Very depressing! Mass tourism and mass photo tourism – and probably National Geographic- have a lot to answer for.

I LOVE this article. Thank you so much.

Well said. The photos are so repetitive, they get boring. Unfortunately kills off my desire to travel to some locations. I feel like Ive already been there.

I love this! I follow several photography hashtags on Instagram and it’s frustrating to see the same kind of images in similar genres popping up again and again. I think there is an argument that can be made for beginner photographers trying to take the same shots or mimic styles of other photographers to learn. Obviously they do not need to post these all over social media or claim them to be creative work as they are more about learning techniques by imitation. There’s a huge issue around transparency and originality with creative work but hopefully, we’ll see a change in that soon 🙂

We are hoping to see the whole industry change, and not just believe that having many followers means success. Thanks Bonnie.

Bravo, well said/written. Through the years I came to appreciate the beauty and rawness from travel photography rather then staged shoots. I think everyone has their own style of photography and they just have to be honest and state if a photo is staged or not and not mislead the audience.

Thanks San!

You are criticizing something that truly deserves to be criticized. However your reasoning could be better here and there. For example, there’s nothing wrong with taking beautiful photos with so little effort – efficiency should always be appreciated, and (imho) “the McDonald’s of photography” often helps spread the love for photography among mainstream viewer. I believe many of us photographers first got into this after being inspired by photos of which originality may have been questionable (but they wowed us anyway) Besides, staging for a shot is not always easy. Quite the opposite actually – it can be very time-consuming and expensive so it’s understandable that some do that together as a group to share the cost. Also, several examples you put up here are can’t really be identified as fake that easily. As a Vietnamese who has spend a lot of time in Mu Cang Chai even before it became a tourist magnet, I’m confident to tell you that those scenes and the like (ethnic people walking on the rice field or hanging out in front of a scenic background) can totally be observed on a normal day, anytime. Local children wear and play with whatever they have and it’s not weird at all to see them holding a teddy bear (most likely gift from a charity) or wearing a NY Yankees baseball cap (also, charity) I’m not saying that the photos you posted weren’t fake (I have no clue), just that they are not unusual activities at all, and staging them is just like staging a model holding an umbrella in a real rain – it’s not that evident. The same goes for pics of the farmer watering plants, emerald fishing net, or the fisherman market by the sea. Copied many time? Maybe. Staged? Hard to tell (and not likely) And I have seen very similar pics from local photographers (and from one whom I personally know) since 2016 so I’m not sure if your friend came up with the idea first. After all any statement about originality is often debatable, and I have no intention of discrediting your friend – just making a point here. Lastly, I hope you are condemning the act of using staged/copied photos for competitions or branding them as candid travel photography only, since I will have to defend those who do the same for the purpose of selling prints or just to make their Instagram page look good without any commercial purpose. They may never be great photographers, but as long as they are happy and not violating any law, they should be left alone 🙂

hey Luv, thanks a lot for your comment, you have got many valid points here. Efficiently should be appreciated, definitely. And yes, I myself have staged photos when I was a beginner, and I have probably decided to be a photograph watching Steve McCurry images. So without staging, I wouldn’t be here. But there is a line between staging photos for your images, and having a negative impact on the people you are using (the issue of authenticity and culture loss) and on the people who watch your images thinking that this is all true. I know amazing scenes that may look staged happen all the time, and I am the one striving to capture them. As I said in the article, when I see a suspicious image, I look at the photographer’s portfolio. Most of the time, the whole feed is made of staged images. So I doubt that they are the kind of photographers waiting patiently for that magic photo to happen. Staging photos can be done for so many purposes, I myself do it for commercial photography and weddings. But today, looking on social media, travel photography has become a big joke of who can have the most followers, whatever the means. No more creativity, purely re-using old concepts. And people follow and think this is great photography. I want to tell them that it is not and they should try to find their own creativity. Thanks for your feedback, very appreciated.

I could not agree more. I have been on many travel photo trips ( Alaska, India, Africa, Japan etc.) and enjoyed them immensely. The only one I did not like was the one I took to Vietnam. It turned out to be exactly what you described above. In fact, the photos you posted are the same one I have. I did not realize going into this trip that everything was staged to replicate the leaders photos. There were 8 of us on the trip and 4 loved the staging. I did write the tour company to say how disappointed I was, but they did not care. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Thanks for sharing your experience Jeff. some photo tour companies are only staging all their images, but I least I thought they were communicating this information to their clients… Sad 🙁

I have never thought about travel photography in this way, maybe because I’m not a professional. For me always that moment when I personally was at that place is much more important than any other moment or prettiest picture. Will look at shiny/glossy travel pics in a different way now. Thanks, Etienne!

Thank you Xenia!

Thank you for taking the time to put together this collection of fakes. I will share this with all the photography judges that I know in the hope that we will see fewer of these images being rewarded.

Thanks a lot Roy, spread the word.

Thank you, Etienne. This all had to be said despite creating a lot of anger and resentment.

The only disagreement I have with your definition of “real” travel photography is that it must always be candid. Interacting with while respecting people and places is to me a primary value of travel. “Using” people is immoral. Interaction between traveller and local residents builds a shared sense of community and should be a part of travel.

A portrait, for example, does not always have to be candid; it can show a relationship between photographer and subject; it can reveal a part of someone’s character or their environment. These are not a cheap self-serving shots; portraits can and should be genuine. The key, as you point out, is respect for individuals and not incidentally, for the planet.

I see nothing inherently wrong with staged shots — no matter how shallow — if they are acknowledged as such in competitions and when appropriate in social media posts. I regard still life setups as an exception with a capacity for succinct story-telling. For me they can be a personal statement.

The ease of taking pictures and manipulating them with software to create photo illustrations has opened up new possibilities for artistic expression while muddying what is real. Imagination is wonderful but deceptive intent is a lie.

Thanks, Gary, very wise words! Especially your last paragraph, very powerful! Portraits are, as you said, something a little bit different. But still, there is a way to interact with the subject (the way you should obviously do when taking a travel portrait) which is not “please stand here and look this way and smile”. Believe me, I see that a lot happening here in Vietnam. Hello, stage the subject, take the shot and walk away without a thank you. Shameful we all know that. Interacting with the subject to take portraits is, in my opinion, THE best way to capture unexpected moments, emotions, etc… rather than someone just looking at the camera. I talked about it previously here: https://www.picsofasia.com/tutorial/how-to-direct-your-subject/

Etienne, Many valid points. Shallow indeed are the photographers who lack imagination and copy other’s work. Where’s the sense of accomplishment in that? I’ve had entire books copied in photography concept, style and even design. It’s important to keep the creative flame burning and work on your own long term projects. Don’t tell others about it until you’ve finished, unfortunately not everyone adheres to a high ethical standard. In earlier days I looked up to Steve McCurry, wondered how he managed to get the composition, the light. Etc all working together to create the perfect image as a travel photographer. Now I know, quite often he didn’t. And had he been upfront about it it would have been ok. Not my style but no deception. Suddenly, feeling under pressure no doubt, from being a documentary photographer he changed and called himself an art photographer, in need of a justification after getting caught in the act of deception. Anyway life’s too short and rich in potential adventures, don’t let this become an obsession, go out and create something new, feed your mind and your photographer’s eye. And your soul.

Thanks a lot, Hans. The man who made the Bikes or Burden book that I used to watch almost every evening in a bar in Hoi An 13 years ago! A pleasure to meet you. Thanks a lot, for your comment. I don’t have an obsession with this, believe me I sleep very well at night. But this had to be said, and I know a lot of people who think the same way think it’s not their place to say it. So I took the job 🙂

HI Man, I’m Pisanu Thoyod who shoot the stilt fisherman from Sri Lanka. Please note that it is not a fake photo or with out any set up for that shot. Late afternoon I and my wife walk along the Koggela beach and found those fisherman fishing on their pole, then I walk into the sea with my 150-600mm. Lens to shoot this picture. For you may be bad luck experienced to pay for every thing you wanna capture, but not every one will lucky as me.

PISANU THOYOD THAILAND

Hello Pisanu, I am terribly sorry for the mistake, and I have now corrected the images. What are the chances? 😉 Anyway, great shot you took of them.

More than 15 days of traveling with full stuff in 3 camera bags from North to South in Sri Lanka, there are no problem with Celon People. For me I’m Thai. I think that they are very kind to us, smile and helpful as all Buddism mind.

If I respect to you, please do some respect them too.

Bravo, Etienne. Don’t lose your passion for this matter. And to those critics claiming “respect other people’s style”, I answer: it is not a question of style, it is a question of dignity and honesty. Don’t file your staged photos under “Travel photography” when it is an orchestrated outdoor-portrait or people photo.

Thanks a lot, Martin. Some people get very upset because I give my point of view and I might “hurt someones else’s feeling”. If we listen to them, there is no more discussion.

Hi Etienne, Many thanks for this very interesting reflexion and for you website in general. I love Vietnam, a country where I come every year for six years now (for work as a marine biologist). As an amateur of photography, I always wondered if some of the beautiful pictures of women in Hoi An, rice workers in Sa Pa, or the one of an old man on a bike carrying a mountain of baskets have been staged, now I have the answer. I totally agree with you that there is no room for lie, if a photo has been staged, it should be stated plainly. Nonetheless, photography is an art (and art is very subjective) and I agree with the comment of LV, many of us came to photography because of staged photos. For example, I love the pictures from Rhéhan, many are staged but still, there are really beautiful. And his work clearly contributes to the discovery of the ethnic diversity of this country. Also, it seems to me that there is some confusion in the comments between staged and fake photography. For me a staged photo is not fake (as long it is stated). A montage, in the contrary, is a fake (but also acceptable if stated). As a photo tour teacher and organizer, I suppose you brings group of people in the same places over the years, don’t you think (and it is an innocent question) that this will change the behavior of local people? Even if you do not want it, they will see in you and your group a potential source of income (even if it is indirect) and they will tend to act as models. I was wondering how you manage to avoid this? Again it is very innocent, I participated only once in a photo tour (just one day) and it has been a rather disappointing experience (despite the good reviews). I would like to try another go 😉 Thanks again for your fantastic website

Hi Jean Christophe, thanks for your message. Indeed, there are a lot of ethical questions involved when bringing a group of students on a photo tour. Whether we go to a location for the first time or whether we come back, we do have an influence on the people just by being here and taking photos. First, we travel to places where the people are not used to having “usual” tourists (by usual tourists I mean people who travel to visit, buy souvenirs, do the tourist stuff). By going to more remote areas the people are not expecting us to be money throwers. Then it’s all about interacting with them and explaining what we do here. We love their country, we find it beautiful, so we walk around and take photos. The key is also not to stay too long in one location. If kids are playing in a field and we start taking photos, after 30 minutes there might be a crowd of kids around us, and some will start jumping in front of the lens because… it’s fun. Then things change and we lose the candidness of the scene. And it’s time to say thank you and leave. Every place, every person, is different. As long as we are respectful of where we go to, we have to adapt to the situation, and travel experience tells us what to do. But this might be an upcoming blog post for sure because I always ask myself about the negative impact we can have on the people just by visiting them. Discussion to be continued…

Many thanks for taking the time to answer Etienne, to be continued then…

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/life/culture/mui-ne-dune-shot-wins-world-s-best-fun-photo-contest-4083793.html

Full of fakes…

Yes, I saw this one. Some people didn’t listen….

I totally agree with all of this article. We already had a chance to talk about that in private and I totally share your vision of travel photography. I shared it on my facebook page 🙂

Good Job! Cheers!

Thanks Vincent!

I am absolutely in agreement with the author. The same phenomenon is equally prevailing in Nature photography though. There is absolutely no harm if a beginner attend a workshop in a known famous place and understand the basics of light, composition, story line formation with pre-arranged set up as a part of understanding particular photography genre. But when the same is presented in an International competition and win awards repeatedly and for years, it not only raise a question about the ethics of the participant but also on the common sense of the jury members. People will react to this post not because it has addressed an issue related to ethics, but because it is interfering with financial interests of many. Secondly, even if I consider these photographs are genuine it does not explain why the hell the same genuine photograph by another person has to be awarded again! Have we ever heard that a painter got best award by painting same frame from famous painter like Vincent Van Gogh or Pablo Picasso that to year after year? I have asked this question to many and never got a satisfactory answer. Mr Etienne you article is very apt and contemporary, thanks for raising a very pertinent question to photography fraternity.

Thanks a lot for your feedback, really appreciated!

Hi Etienne, not only am i impressed with your article, I am also impressed that you take the time to acknowledge and reply to almost all of the comments here.

Thanks, Ross. It is a discussion we photographers need to have, not a plain statement frozen in time. So hopefully we can exchange ideas 🙂

Dear Etienne ;

First of all thanks a lot for your time to bringing all these up.. I agree with you %100. You have already covered it all and no need to comment on this more.

Emir @foto_raf ( ig )

Thanks a lot for your support!

Etienne thank you sincerely for such a thought provoking article that should be read by anyone interested or engaged in travel photography.

Thanks a lot Eugene!

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Attention-hungry people are faking holidays on Instagram

Attention seekers are signing up for a photo-editing service so they can fake glamorous holidays on social media and make their friends jealous.

Rich lister roasted over ‘arrogant’ video

Australia in legal victory against Musk’s X

‘Surprise’: Move that left Bluey fans in shock

Looking to live the glamorous, well-travelled life — and stir envy among your Instagram followers — but can’t afford it? Well, now you can have a photo of yourself digitally altered to make it seem like you can.

According to the New York Post , a photo-editing service named Fake A Vacation lets users send in snapshots to have them superimposed onto fake backgrounds. Options include Disneyland, Las Vegas, Hawaii and many more.

It may seem like a joke service, but lying about travel is a far more common practice than you may think.

According to a new study that surveyed over 4,000 American adults over 18, flight cost-comparison Jetcost concluded that 14% of respondents fibbed to others about their flashy vacations. Ten per cent of that pool even went the extra mile to post a fake on social media.

The reason? Participants claimed they felt embarrassed and wanted to impress others — such as the parents of their friends or partners, and colleagues.

But there are other reasons.

“They fake it … sometimes because the actual vacation is too expensive, so they plan this way or sometimes they do it to get others envious,” says Tom Eda, who leads marketing and support for Fake A Vacation, adding that others have purchased faux vacation pics because they had to cancel their trip last-minute.

Fake A Vacation was founded in 2017, simply because there was demand for this service.

“The need was there, and it got incremented by the upsurge of social media platforms,” says Eda, adding the company has two more products in the works to serve the market. One, FakeATrip.com, will specifically cater to celebrities and influencers. That will launch by year’s end. The other, in its early phases, is GetMeMotivated.com, which will create travel-related images for customers who are looking for trip inspiration.

Customers order their photo packages online; once it’s processed, they receive a link to send in photos.

Fake A Vacation staff will suggest attire to wear in the pictures, which are then superimposed onto other backgrounds.

Packages start at $US19 ($A26.55) and are processed within three business days.

Photo-editing and design service Krome Photos, based in California offers travel scenes in Parc Güell in Barcelona, hot air balloons over Cappadocia, Turkey, and Beijing’s Forbidden City. The Palo Alto, California based company includes these backdrops, as well as general outdoor scenes, just for fun.

“If [customers] want, we can stick them in Oktoberfest with a beer in their hand,” says Teri Llach, chief marketing officer who says people just want a better backdrop than their kitchen.

“If [a customer has] a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower and they post it, that’s their choice,” says Llach.

Some pranksters have taken to YouTube explaining how they faked going on vacation simply for a thrill. Georgia-based user Shyla Oliver published a video in January explaining how she convinced her followers that she took a spontaneous trip to Paris, whereas she never left Atlanta, Georgia.

Jokes aside, certain influencers have been called out for their practice of faking travel images — and lying to their followers.

London-based influencer Amelia Liana, who has 504,000 Instagram followers, was accused of Photoshopping herself onto inaccurate-looking destination backgrounds. One, a 2017 photo of herself atop Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center, showed the Manhattan skyline without the 2013-completed World Trade Center downtown. Another showed her lying on a bed that oddly seemed to float over London.

But Liana denied lying to her audience.

“I feel a great bond with you, my followers, and I would never wish to deceive you,” she posted on her blog, adding it was a goal for her to provide “authenticity as well as giving you imagery that is stylish, progressive and inspiring.”

More recently, at the end of 2018, Swedish influencer Johanna Olsson, who has 522,000 followers on Instagram, was criticised for Photoshopping herself badly all over Paris.

For instance, one altered image made it seem like she was floating, not standing, over a bridge above the river Seine.

“Lmao girl no one is falling for your poor job at [P]hotoshopping!” wrote one follower.

Responding to the criticism, Olsson — who claims she was indeed in Paris — said: “So I did one picture, shot it and didn’t think it looked that nice … so I took a different background … and when I put it up nobody noticed so I thought, this is good.

“I just wanted to make that clear that I was in Paris, but I did [P]hotoshop the background, but I’m not going to take them down because it’s a collaboration and they’re nice pictures — it’s a good outfit!”

This story first appeared in the New York Post and is republished with permission.

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

One of Australia’s richest women has been slammed online after posting a video giving Australians life advice.

Elon Musk’s X has had a minor legal loss against Australia’s eSafety commissioner, but their battle will return to the Federal Court within days.

Fans of the beloved Bluey were left asking “What in the Taylor Swift is this?” after a secret episode was released.

• Articles & Adventures

Fake or Staged Instagram Travel Photos From Around the World

Heaven's gate water reflection pool, bali.

Monkey Selfie Photo Bomb, Bali

Fishermen, Inle Lake, Myanmar

Similar Posts

Saying You're from America

With all the hype of people saying it's rude for those of us from the US to say we're from America, it's time to step back and look at the reality of it.

Travel - The Ultimate Weight Loss Plan

A combination of natural food, being more active, and a good attitude, I typically lose at least 10 lb during a month traveling.

¿Hay agua? ¿Hay luz?

It's amazing how many of life's luxuries you can live without. Water and light? Yep! It might even enhance your trip.

Latest Articles & Adventures

How to Find Work Abroad While you Travel

Form house sitting to working on a farm - there are quite a few options to work or volunteer while traveling internationally.

A Fun-Filled 1 Week Costa Rica Itinerary

Only have a short time in Costa Rica? Here's how to see the "Best Of" in only 7 days!

At-Home COVID Test for International Travel - Returning to the US

Fast, easy, and cheaper than the other options available! Save time and money next time you travel by using and at-home COVID test to travel back to the United States.

Latest Blog Entries

• Flights + Hotel
• Holiday Rentals
• Last Minute
• Unique stays
• Last-minute
• Great British Escapes
• Central America
• South America
• Passion Profiles
• Eboo’s Trips
• Unique Stays
• Winter Sports
• Hiking & Biking
• Food & Drink
• Pet-friendly
• List your propety
• Create Account
• Customer Service
• Flight + Hotel
• Things to do

12 tips to fake travel pics shot by a pro

We're drowning in images. Particularly – thanks, Instagram! – travel images.

Here's how to keep your head above the water of photographic mediocrity and impress friends, family and – perhaps most importantly – yourself with creative shots of this incredible world.

1. Kill the clichés

Memorable travel images are partly about what  not  to shoot.

Do a quick mood check before you click the shutter. If you're feeling the slightest bit self-satisfied about the impending shot, you could well be taking a tired, too easy image.

Sunsets, selfies, wacky visual 'illusions' involving the Taj Mahal, Cuban grandmothers with huge cigars, east-meets-west photos involving monks with mobile phones – all, you'll find, fill the frame suspiciously smoothly.

2. Drop the equipment

A camera is a box with a hole in it. From the cheapest disposable point-and-shoot to a brick-like Canon 5D costing more than £3,000, the principle is the same, and one is a hell of a lot likelier to give you neck ache – or to get you mugged – when you're travelling.

People take great photos: cameras don't. No matter how expensive and impressive-looking the outfit you buy, it won't make you a better photographer.

Size does matter for travel photographers: it gets in the way! The smaller and lighter the camera the better, when you're on the road.

These days, mirrorless cameras, combining light weight with high image quality, are the choice for more and more travel snappers above bulkier DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) machines. Sony and Fuji make some of the best mirrorless models, alongside the venerable (and pricey) Leica.

But don't forget: you can take a brilliant shot with a Box Brownie or a battered old Nokia camera phone. Splash the cash only when you crave the greater versatility a higher end camera can provide.

3. Elementary (mistakes), my dear Watson

If it feels as if we're dwelling on negatives, we are. Cut away the dross of basic photographic errors, and the core of your creativity can emerge.

So when you're framing your shot in a thrillingly different foreign locale (difference being grist to the mill of good travel photography) just make sure you're avoiding some rookie photographic blunders.

Is the horizon slicing through people's necks, giving your picture a grisly quality you really didn't intend? Are trees or streetlamps sprouting from their heads?

Are you shooting into the sun, so that the colourful local character you've come across is reduced to a faceless black profile?

Perhaps most commonly of all, are you shaking so you lose that precious photographic commodity: focus (as in the picture above)?

(Lesson: bring your elbows into your chest, as if they're stuck to it with glue, and plant your legs a shoulder-width apart. You're now a human tripod: shoot.)

4. Find the freshest angle

'Photographers' are lazy. They shoot at head height.

Don't be a 'photographer'; be a photographer, and find the freshest possible angle for your shot. A clever angle is a sure-fire way to make a picture interesting, and it doesn't cost a cent.

So, snap the Eiffel Tower (if you have to) but lie down on your back on the grubby pavement to show how seriously perpendicular the thing is! Who cares if people are laughing? You got the shot.

A Bali street market – photographed to death, surely? Not if you crouch down and snap it from the perspective of the luscious tamarinds and malang apples lined up on the trader's barrow or, climbing up on a friend's shoulders, a passing butterfly.

Kids diving off Galata Bridge, spanning Istanbul's Golden Horn? A bit snoozy. But why not get in with them and – up close – frame a diver's tensed back and the rivulets of Bosphorus water running down it as he prepares to take another plunge.

5. Get closer

The taut landscape of our tremulous diver's torso illustrates another maxim of good travel photographers: they get right up close to the subject.

“If you're photos aren't good enough, then you're not close enough," famously said the war photographer Robert Capa.

Conquer your shyness and hesitation and get proximate to the action. Fill the frame with your subject and avoid 'blah' – boring spaces in the shot with no visual interest.

Zooms are for sissies (and spendthrifts). Your feet are your zoom.

6. Golden opportunity

Photography is painting with light, someone said, and one of the joys of travel is sampling the different qualities of light the world lays on.

But you think decent light obeys your lie-in-heavy holiday schedule?

Sorry. Any decent travel photographer will be rising at dawn to capture the so-called 'golden hour': the day's first delicate rays that bathe everything in a magical spectre your lens will lap up.

And if you're walking the streets at this time, you're far more likely to be able to snap people – not expecting a photographer around – acting naturally.

Dusk is your second golden hour of the day. But noon, with its harsh light and deep shadows that your camera sensor will struggle to capture? It's for sleeping.

7. Geometry lesson

A good photograph has balance (or is deliberately  un balanced).

The classic trick for lending a photo balance that the human eye seems naturally to find pleasing is to apply the 'rule of thirds'.

No, it doesn't involve mental arithmetic. Instead you mentally divide the photo frame: first with two lines lengthways, then with two more horizontally.

Now position your subject at any of the four points where those vertical and sideways lines meet. You'll find that automatically lends the picture a pleasing sort of tension.

Luckily, these days, you rarely have to imagine the rule of thirds. The technique is so universally applicable that most cameras and devices have a mode that overlays the grid on the viewfinder.

If you think the rule of thirds sounds samey, though, you're not alone. Some pro photographers sneer at it (while probably using it some of the time secretly, anyway).

So deliberately break it. Position your subject just off one of the connection points to give your photo a different kind of tension.

Some final geometry lessons? Look for (natural or manmade) symmetry in your travel locale.

And find 'leading lines' – banisters, vineyard rows, fence posts – that lead the eye towards your subject.

8. Blur, speed, shadow

Speaking of technical things, there are only three settings on your camera you really need to know: aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

Aperture controls how much of that lovely sensuous blur you want in a photo, while your subject remains in pin-sharp focus.

Set your shutter speed to freeze fast subjects – breaking waves, a dragonfly, dancers.

And vary your ISO to deal with challenging light. Master these controls and a world of photographic experimentation opens up.

If your device or camera lacks some or all such variables, you may find yourself itching to upgrade so you can take your travel photography to the next level.

9. Ground control

When travelling, all the novelty can get the better of you. That mountain might be so majestic – to deploy a travel cliché – it captures all your photographic attention, leaving a good portion of the frame, namely the foreground, wasted and bland.

With landscapes, especially, you want to control your foreground  and  your background, not just whichever one is your intended subject. Get some intriguingly hued moss or sculptural stones in the foreground of a mountain pic, for example, to lead the viewer's eye right through the photo to the peak.

Many a landscape can do with a human figure, too, to give it life and scale; you can make them anonymous by not showing their face, if you want. No matter how majestic that mountain, alone it might leave the frame echoing with emptiness.

10. Only human

Dwelling still on the benefits of people, your travel portraits, done well, are likely to be among your most popular shots.

But how many of us have baulked at snapping that fantastically photogenic snake charmer, market trader or artisan because it just seemed too intimidating?

The secret is to break the ice with your subject with a little small talk or, failing that, a simple smile, before you ask to take their portrait. If you learn only a few words of their language, include the ones for, “Could I take your photo, please?"

When they consent, try to position them in a setting – in their shop, perhaps – that says something about them.

And always focus on their eyes. They're the window to the soul, don't you know.

11. Living colour

Been to India? All the colour – in the saris, the spice markets, devotees' body paint – can make you giddy. Morocco (try the ancient carpet-dyeing factories of Fez) is a colour trip, too.But if you're going to shoot in colour, try to take pictures that are  about  colour, that explore a hue.

Find a forest of pink flamingo legs, a national flag's red stripe matching the carmine of a woman's lipstick, human figures weaving through a uniformly coloured crop field.

Although who said you had to shoot in color? It's neglected but travel themes can look superbly atmospheric in contrasty black and white.

12. Have it surgically attached

Lastly, take your camera  everywhere  when you travel – to restaurants, a nightclub, even the bathroom. The most priceless shots are also often the one you never saw coming.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published

Check this box to add yourself to our email list.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

More stories that might interest you

The world’s most spectacular tidal and seaside pools, new york’s best boutique hotels, ten beautiful french beaches you need to visit, road tripping in portugal: 5 of the best routes, the best beaches in the balearic islands, 10 magnificent uk castles you can actually stay in, 10 of the best dog-friendly hotels in the uk, 11 amazing houses to book now for summer, the best spa hotels for a relaxing staycation, tbilisi is sizzling right now: 8 reasons to visit the rome of the caucasus, 8 reasons why you should be planning a trip to oman.

Ron Stauffer

The Scourge of Travel Blogging: Fake Photos

Have you seen these pictures on Instagram of the breathtakingly-beautiful Hindu temple in Bali, Indonesia? People pose between stone posts with mountains in the background, with a mirror-smooth reflection of themselves coming from a lake below. Isn’t it stunning? Doesn’t it make you want to stop what you’re doing and get on an airplane and fly to Bali right now?

Me too. I’ve been looking at images like these for months now, appreciating how gorgeous the other side of the world can be, and feeling like I’ve just go to go there someday. I mean, look at those pictures! Have you ever seen anything so spectacular in your life?

Trouble is, those photos are faked. Every… single… one of them. Yes, it really is Bali. Yes, it really is a Hindu temple. Yes, those are real stone walls. But that perfectly-still reflecting lake below? It’s a total, utter, and complete fraud.

According to Lifestyle Insider , the reflection that gives such an otherworldly magic to these photos is—literally—a tiny glass mirror held by the person taking the pictures under an iPhone. These photos taken were paid for by the tourists who stood in a line, some for hours supposedly in order to participate in the sham photoshoot.

Do you feel tricked? Confused? Do you wonder how that’s even possible? See for yourself: a writer with Fortune Magazine took a trip to the exact spot, and noted how the site looked completely different in real life.

Proof that Instagram influencers have ruined everything👇 My hopes & dreams were shattered when I found out the “water” at the Gates of Heaven is actually just a piece of glass under an iPhone 😭 pic.twitter.com/oiahI5VCIo — Polina M. Pompliano (@polina_marinova) July 4, 2019

In case you couldn’t tell, this makes me really mad. Maybe unreasonably so. After all, people can take whatever photos they want, and do whatever they want with their own money. So why do I care? A few reasons:

• Almost nobody discloses the fact that these photos are, in fact, manipulated.
• Nobody (that I can see) discloses the fact that they stood in a line, and paid for these photos.
• It shows how desperate people are to impress others on social media. They’ll go to extraordinary lengths to trick their “viewers” or “fans” into a false sense of wonder.
• Destinations like this are already gorgeous enough! You do NOT need to try to make it look any better artificially, and doing so actually detracts from the location’s reputation and can, in fact, harm tourism.
• It creates (even more) unrealistic expectations in an industry that’s already rife with misleading and deceptive advertising.

If you want to see the fraudulent images, view them on Instagram . Otherwise, here’s a a comparison between what people prefer to portray versus what’s real:

Fake Photo of #gatesofheaven

Real Photo of #gatesofheaven

On an important note, I do not fault the enterprising locals for coming up with the idea, or for profiting from it. Kudos to them—that’s a totally friggin’ brilliant move.

I do, however, bitterly resent the fact that there’s enough demand for taking inauthentic photos from tourists who want to satisfy their desires to showcase a pretend, online version of themselves and adding #blessed #bestlife #lifeisgood #wanderlust tags.

Seriously: are these people so pathetic that they reason they went to Bali was to take (doctored) pictures? They’re missing the whole point—taking fake pictures to share with people who aren’t there is NOT the point of travel!

Perhaps I’m a bit oversensitive since I know that I would have received an “F” in my photojournalism classes in college if I had ever submitted photos like this in a project. I would have been sternly reprimanded and maybe even kicked out of the program altogether because it’s dishonest to represent reality through photography in this manner.

Yes, again, I know that Instagram is not journalism school. But I also know that professional photojournalists, after school, are held to an even higher standard, and they would be fired from their jobs if they published work like this. And, in this day and age where social media is filled with professional travel “influencers”—people who are literally paid to share their experiences traveling—aren’t they in some sense photojournalists? Aren’t they professional photographers to some extent? Why don’t we hold them to the same standard, or any standard?

This, to me, is an especially egregious example of the dark underbelly of the “amateur” travel industry. Since there are no industry codes of ethics as far as I can tell, a lot of manipulation, post-processing, and ad fraud is slipped into the news feeds and photo streams of unsuspecting fans.

In my opinion, the offline world of photoshopping supermodels for magazine covers is unethical because it makes people (women, especially) feel like crap because they portray an outrageous and unrealistic expectation of beauty.

This is just a digital version of the same unethical behavior, which makes people (like me) feel like crap because it portrays an outrageous and unrealistic expectation of travel.

Seriously, think about the people who went to to Bali and got there, only to discover: “I’ve been tricked!”

This game of extreme sensationalism and deception has got to stop. It will hurt travel, tourism, and travelers in the end unless we demand change.

If you find this content valuable, feel free to subscribe to this blog via email using the form below. You’ll get an email alert each time something new is posted. You can always unsubscribe, of course.

Type your email…

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

How to Fake Wow-worthy Travel Pictures

Welcome to Sugar, Spice & Glitter! Please note, this post may contain affiliate links. For more details, see our Full Disclosure .

Welcome back to Sugar, Spice & Glitter! Please note, this post may contain affiliate links. For more details, see our Full Disclosure .

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company. All opinions are mine alone. #ShareTheLyrics #CollectiveBias

Last month, I shared a fun photo tutorial on how to create text out of a picture for a scrapbook or travel shadow box . You guys loved it and asked for more travel photo tips, so I thought I’d share some before and afters on how to take your travel pictures from drab to wow!

I just returned from an awesome trip to Santa Fe which is a gorgeous city that is hard to capture in pictures.

Normally when travelling, I bring my DSLR camera, but for this trip I made sure to take some pictures with my cell phone because I figured that was more relatable . (And I don’t blame them – carrying a heavy camera is not for everyone, and I cringe every time someone knocks into it!)

Today, I’m going to share how you can use free photo editing software available online to improve your travel pictures with some before and after examples and the steps I took to get those results.

While I love tasting and experimenting local cuisine, it’s fun to have travel traditions and road trip staples that you can look forward to. My dad always had Coca-Cola in the cooler when we’d do road-trips when I was a kid so it’s part of my family’s travel traditions. (And as a result, I think it’s in several of our family’s travel pictures.)

When we got to Santa Fe, my friend Stacey and I got some travel supplies – including some Coca-Cola.

Santa Fe has these gorgeous terracotta-colored buildings framed by spotty sienne mountains in the background. This was a shot taken with my cell phone on our way to supper – and while you can get a sense of the architecture, the beautiful colors are gone and there’s a harsh contrast between the light and shadow.

To edit this picture:

• I increased the blue balance (+42) to bring out that gorgeous sky
• I increased the exposure (+65) to brighten up the picture
• I increased the contrast (+14) to create visual depth between the buildings and the mountains
• I reduced the highlights (-100) to reduce the harsh sun
• I reduced the whites (-100) to also reduce the sun’s glare

I love taking pictures of the food I enjoy while travelling – I’m a total foodie and I love experimenting with cuisine that I haven’t tried or can’t get locally – and trying out tried and true classics that have just slight variations across cultures, but the problem with taking pictures inside a dark restaurant with overhead lighting is dark pictures with a yellow tinge.

• I increased the blue balance (+34) which helps balance the yellow tone
• I also increased the magenta (+17) which would remove or neutralize any green
• I increased the exposure (+65) to brighten the picture
• I reduced shadows (+20)
• I reduced the white balance (-100) to reduce glares
• I increased saturation (+11) to make those colors pop!

This picture was washed out because of the bright sun at that time of day. The building was a gorgeous terracotta in person, but looks faded in this picture.

• I increased saturation (+53) to bring some color
• I reduced the orange luminence (-12) to make the orange a bit lower-key
• I increased contrast (+34) to make the building stand out against the sky
• I reduced the exposure (-25) to reduce the washed out look
• I increased shadows (+37) to create depth

When you’re taking a picture, usually you want to keep the light source behind you – whether that’s a camera light or the sun. However, sometimes you have no choice because what you want to take a picture of (a pretty bench in front of some gorgeous pueblos) has the sun behind it. This can lead to over-exposed pictures that don’t really show the subject well because everything is washed out.

• I reduced highlights (-100) to reduce the white glare
• I reduce the exposure (-12) to increase the details behind me
• I increased the saturation (+27) to bring out that background

It was nice to take a break on our hike through the gallery district of Santa Fe and Share a Coca-Cola with my friend – who also has her own memories of Coca-Cola on family road trips and stashed some in her bag for the walk.

I was really sad when this picture was just not capturing the majesty of the view I had in front of me – but luckily, I knew that if I got as clear of a shot as I could, that I could recreate what it was that the camera was actually seeing in post-processing.

• I reduce the exposure (-100) to bring some color back
• I increased the contrast (+25) so you could see all of the layers of distance
• I increased the shadows (+72) for depth
• I increased the saturation (+18) to bring out those beautiful mountains

Pin these tips for how to edit your travel pictures for stunning photos:

What kind of traveller are you? Are you all about taking pictures or living in the moment? (Are you able to balance both?)

For more ideas on how to preserve your family travel photos, check out our DIY Travel Shadowbox :

Similar Posts

10 car maintenance tips & skills all moms need to know.

Chocolate Almond Bread (with Video)

Where to Eat in San Juan with Kids

Citywalk Cowfish Family Review

Things to do in Frankenmuth, Michigan with Kids

Disney’s All Star Movies Resort Review (with Video)

One comment.

Great tips! It also looks like you had an amazing time, I love that Coca-Cola is a delicious part of your memories that you can continue on today!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Goodbye Instagram envy: This photo app will make it look like you're anywhere in the world

If it’s not on Instagram, it didn’t happen.

Now, a photo editing website and app is providing a service to make it look like it did happen--even if it didn’t.

Krome Photos connects their customers with designers to receive an edited photo within hours for $12 or less.

Want to fool your friends and followers into thinking you're a globe-trotter? This is one way to do it. 

“You name it and we can do it,” the company says on its website. “Anything is possible.”

Anything, including standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Colosseum in Rome without the $1,000 or more round-trip price tag.

Travelers can now book tables and event tickets on Instagram

It works like this: Customers select a photo, choose a background from Krome’s LookBook, make any special requests ("make me looked tanned please"), and place the order either from their smartphones through the app or directly on Krome's website.

Krome can merge multiple images, swap heads, correct color, change backgrounds, and remove or add items.

The company was founded in 2015 but recently received $2.3 million in seed funding to expand its services.

“I started Krome Photos because I couldn't get the photo editing and creative design treatments I wanted for my own photos without waiting too long and paying too much,” says Eduardo Llach, CEO and founder of Krome Photos. “Now that Krome exists, I don’t have to stay up late at night editing photos for my friends and families.”

For a look at a few before and after photos, take a look at the photo gallery above.

A YouTube influencer faked a luxurious Bali vacation with a photo shoot at Ikea, and all of her followers fell for it

• YouTube star Natalia Taylor wanted to see if she could trick her followers into believing she went on a luxurious Bali vacation. 
• Taylor and photographer Ally Amodeo staged the entire photo shoot at an Ikea store.
• They left Ikea receipts in some of the photos to see if Taylor's followers would catch on. 
• Amodeo told Insider she was "really surprised" that all of Taylor's followers believed she was in Bali. 
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories .

When popular YouTube star Natalia Taylor posted pictures of her luxury Bali vacation, her followers showered the posts with thousands of comments and likes. 

From the Champagne bottles and envy-inducing pad, to the tropical wallpaper and picture-perfect tub, Taylor's trip looked like the classic Instagram influencer holiday. 

But Taylor wasn't actually in Bali at all . The photos were all taken at an Ikea store down the road from her Los Angeles home. 

Insider spoke to Taylor's photographer Ally Amodeo about how they pulled off the shoot, left Ikea receipts in the photos, and what they learned from the Instagram prank. 

Taylor wanted to see just how easy it can be to fake a luxurious influencer vacation to her 331,000 followers on Instagram.

"It's been said that life on the internet isn't always what it seems, especially in today's day and age," she told her YouTube followers in a video revealing the prank . "And today, I am putting that to the test to see if I can fake an entire vacation by posting false photos and Instagram stories." 

"The point of this video is to see if you can really fake it until you make it," she added. "So many influencers nowadays have been caught in the act pretending to be at a destination when they really weren't, and it's just either Photoshop or it's not even them. So today I'm going to test my followers and see if y'all are gonna fall for it. Don't believe everything you see on the 'gram." 

Taylor knew Ikea would be the perfect spot for her fake Bali photo shoot, and not just because it was "right down the road" from her house.

"I always thought it would be funny to do a photo shoot in one of those little rooms and see how real it would look, because they set them up to look so cute," she said in the video. 

"You could almost mistake them for a hotel or Airbnb , they really are that well-decorated. They don't look like store displays at all." 

Taylor said her goal was to see how many photos she and Amodeo could take in the displays before "we get kicked out or it gets a little too awkward for our own good."

Amodeo told Insider that she was "a little bit nervous" going into the shoot, wondering if she'd be able to get a clear shot at Ikea during a busy Sunday afternoon. 

"We were also expecting to get kicked out right away," she added. "We were hoping that we'd be able to hit the locations we had planned on, but knew the gig could be over at any minute." 

As soon as they walked in, Taylor spotted the perfect display for her first batch of photos. But she admitted that things got awkward — fast.

"There's other customers staring at you, wondering what you're doing, you're trying to avoid interrupting people's shopping experiences," she said in the video. "But most of all you don't want to get caught by anyone that works there. That's the golden rule of shooting in stores: Don't get caught, or else you will get kicked out." 

Amodeo told Insider that she initially thought she would be distracted by the shoppers around them, but quickly got into the zone. 

"Once I started taking photos, I almost forgot that people were watching at all!" she said. "At one point, there were a couple of Ikea staff members watching us and we just figured we would get the shot anyway — which worked out because they ended up not caring at all!" 

There's a reason why Ikea staff didn't stop Taylor. The Swedish furniture giant told Insider that it "encourages creativity."

"At Ikea, we love to see our customers engaging with the iconic room settings we feature in our stores," a spokesperson told Insider. "One of the things that makes Ikea so unique are the many different reasons customers come to visit — from craving a Swedish meatball or planning a kitchen makeover to taking engagement photos, and even pretending to be on a dream vacation." 

"No matter the reason, we're happy to provide an inspiring destination for our fans IRL and on the 'gram," they added. 

As they took pictures at each display, Taylor also made sure to film clips that she could use on her Instagram stories to show off her "vacation."

"That way I could post on my Instagram story like a video of the room, as if I was actually there," she told her followers. "Just to make it seem a little more real." 

Amodeo said she and Taylor picked very different displays so that the photos didn't look too similar to each other, despite being shot just minutes apart.

"Natalia's dress and makeup were a statement, so we knew that we had to try to diversify our shoot as much as possible." she told Insider.

"It went really smooth for all of the challenges we were facing! I was so excited when we did not get kicked out and were able to get all of the shots we wanted." 

After wrapping up the shoot, Taylor and Amodeo began editing their photos. But they didn't want to wipe away all the Ikea evidence.

"We wanted to hide most of the tags in the background, while still leaving little Easter eggs here and there for people to catch on to us," Amodeo said. 

In one of the first photos Taylor posted, the Ikea receipt can be seen in the mirror's reflection. 

"To be honest, I'm surprised people are falling for this when clearly, if you look at the picture and you zoom in, the Ikea tag is there, plain as day," Taylor said in her video. 

And in another picture, both an Ikea iPad and receipt are visible in the shot.

Taylor noted that if anyone had zoomed in on the receipt, they could have clearly read the word "Ikea."

Taylor also thought that the shots of her "outside," which were actually taken in front of drywall, would be extremely obvious to her followers.

"That looks nothing like a patio, I don't know who I'm kidding," she said as she posted the image on Instagram during her video. "I think you can tell these were not taken outside. Let's just hope that no one notices." 

Taylor also uploaded Instagram stories to show her "journey" to Bali and make the trip look even more believable.

"The timeline needs to be that I'm getting ready to go on the plane, and then I'm on the plane, and I'm landing at the airport," she said. "I literally took pictures and videos from the internet for this, I looked up #Bali and found it and used it." 

"Now, I know that's not right," she added. "But the point of this video is to show how easy it is to trick people into thinking you're someone you're not. So, for today's sake, we're doing it." 

As Taylor began posting the photos, she noticed that both her followers and close friends immediately believed she was in Bali.

With the exception of one follower who questioned whether she had used Photoshop, no one called Taylor out for the Ikea photo shoot. 

"Maybe it's just me, but it seems painfully obvious that I'm not in Bali," she said in her video. "I'm not even posting any of the iconic Bali photos of me on the beach, and I'm getting away with it. That's insane." 

Amodeo told Insider that she was "really surprised" that all of Taylor's followers believed their photos . 

"I thought more people were going to call us out," she said. "But it was exciting to know that we were able to successfully trick thousands of people into thinking she was on some tropical vacation, while we were only down the street from her place!" 

Taylor believes no one questioned her photos because she has a "really good relationship" with her followers.

"I can't believe you guys trust me that much, I really love you," she said in the video. "I really appreciate you for not putting me into question — when maybe you should!" 

"Because this could be happening all the time ," she added. "I'm starting to question everything and everyone. Don't trust everything you see on the internet. Sometimes people want to lie about who they are as a person, and it's not hard to do apparently." 

Amodeo agrees that people should be more weary about believing everything they see on Instagram. 

"I think Natalia does a great job of being honest with her followers about the life she lives and stays true to herself on social media, but I do not at all think that most influencers do," she said. 

"I know that influencers pretend to lead lives that are not realistic for them, and I think we can be naive to believe some of our favorite influencers at times. After all, it was pretty easy to trick thousands of people into thinking Natalia was on a tropical vacation." 

• Visitors have discovered that a Bali tourist attraction popular with Instagram influencers is actually a fake photo op
• Influencer criticized for editing the same clouds into her travel photos says she never tried to keep it a secret
• The influencer who faked a broken ankle to get a free business-class upgrade says he'd do it again
• Ikea is hosting in-store sleepovers in New York and LA in March — and you can bring a friend along

• Main content

To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

0, text: error()">

Let's fight boredom together!

Become a member

0, text: error(), css: errorCssClass">

Password reminder

Please provide your email address and we will send your password shortly.

If there's a Bored Panda account associated with , you'll receive an email with instructions.

If you don't receive an email, please check your spam inbox, or enter your email address again .

Please enter your email to complete registration

Activate to continue

Your account is not active. We have sent an email to the address you provided with an activation link. Check your inbox, and click on the link to activate your account.

• Relationships

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here .

• Partnership
• Success stories
• --> -->