'Selfie tourism' - AIBU?

I take 100s of photos, I love photos, mainly of animals, wildlife, flowers pets and my family. Some are shared on social media, wildlife groups or if it’s family my own page. I take loads of photos in a sunflower field. I always do, of the flowers, my family, and any bees that land on them. I also own a selfie stick but it doesn’t get used very often. What I don't do is dress up, edit them and make them look generally false, fake, and not what the actual day is about. I get where you are coming from. I’m not really into seeing fake edited photos, I would rather see the original photo which is the reality however if I want a photo with my son, I have to ask for it to be taken and pose as no one ever thinks to take one.

Nope. It's a public space. No need to hire anything.

I do hate this and wish people had more of a balance between getting one or two nice photos and enjoying the place they’ve visited. But I also find some ‘photographers’ tiresome when they take over public spaces, like those you get at a zoo or museum, blocking the view of all the kids visiting for an extended period of time to get their photos.

I swear some people are just deliberately missing the point. Taking photos of scenery is nothing like taking a million close ups of your own pouting face. What memories are being captured when it’s not even of the background? Just themselves posing. Self absorbed vain airheads.

Sounds great.

Presumably as this is all organised, you hire the space in question, rather than just expecting other people to move out of your way.

Absolutely this, the internet and social media are full of advertising crap and AI fakery and these influencers are making a fortune exploiting the stupidity of people dumb enough to consume it. But are they producing anything of value? No.

I think their days are numbered though because AI will be better at producing these sorts of images than they are soon.

When we went to Keukenof Gardens in Holland, the Chinese were climbing in the flowerbeds for their photo opportunities. Total disregard 😡

Yep. Just got back from Cornwall where I made the mistake if walking through Lands End. Loads of people being photographed or filmed. I find it a bit sad but each to their own. I way too busy admiring and taking pictures of the tunning view and having a wonderful time.

OP, I presume, was not posing though .

I only mentioned this in response to you saying about people who want to a nice photo of themselves:

"I don’t think this is a helpful way to try to improve one’s self-esteem. If one needs to believe they look ‘stunning’ to have value or worth in the world, they are in for a lifetime of expense and insecurity or disappointment."

Just giving an alternative view that taking photos of yourself (or having someone else take them) can be a very healthy thing to do for a person's mental health and self esteem.

Your forgetting that some of these people get paid upwards of 10k a month to do this. While your over here being bitter they have paid off their mortgage

Honestly OP it just sounds like you think your version of taking pictures is more "worthy" than their version of taking pictures.

I'm not at all a instagram selfie picture taken but they were enjoying the lovely field their way and you were enjoying it yours.

That's great. I would lean towards people thinking they are so important, little stars and must let everyone know what they are doing. They need validation.
They were probably all for sm.

@Confuuzed I mean…you’re a photographer so of course you are going to set up photoshoots.

But that’s not really what is being discussed here.

And there is a world of difference between someone having a one-off photo shoot as some sort of pick-me-up after a bad time (it wouldn’t work for me but glad it helps some), and people centring themselves as the main feature every time they visit a famous or beautiful place, often spoiling the view for others, keeping people waiting and generally being self-absorbed.

And I still believe that a focus on looking ‘stunning’ is overall quite damaging, especially to young women- because for some of them it is literally the only thing that matters. 😕

So you wanted to take photos and see complaining because other were, just checking my notes, ah yes, taking photos?

They’re a different type of photo but it boils down to the same thing.

There's a difference in taking quick snaps and selfies to setting up photoshoots trying umpteen variations of poses. Generally people can keep flowing through a place for 20 seconds of photography, but people wanting photoshoots want to take more space to not have others in the background and take a prolonged time to faff about it.

If they're doing it in a safe, accessible space out of the way, there's no issue. If it's a busy place, blocking paths, or obstructing other people's access to the place, it is an issue.

20+ years ago, I used to go hill walking and take trig point photos at the top- easy enough with a timer on my old film camera. While you'd see people on the peaks it was still a bit of a niche hobby. If a place was too busy, you'd find somewhere else to park up and chanfe your plans. With insta-tourism, accessible places with nearby road passes often get overwhelmed by people wanting to pull up, have a short walk, take their insta-shots, often crowding together at times like sunset/ sunrise for maximum aesthetic appeal and leaving dangerously obstructed roads in their wake.
A related trend is "fly camping" people going "wild camping" without respect for the environment they're in, not spreading the load sustainably and failing at "leave no trace".

None of the 20 year old women I know are vain and irritating like the tourists I see out and about. Though we all met while backpacking so perhaps I just mix in those circles.

I really don’t think this is what people are talking about though. It’s the people prancing about taking entire photo shoots of themselves, stopping everyone else enjoying the actual sight they’ve come to see, making everybody stay back until they’ve finished, and not even appearing to once look at or enjoy the actual sight themselves - it’s like it’s just a prop in the background and the main attraction is their own face.

I love a bit of Instagram and I’m not some ancient hag, but the experience of travelling/visiting places has been TOTALLY changed by this over the last decade. I’m not bemoaning the presence of other tourists, or harking back to a time when you’d be the only person there, but it used to be that at you’d be a crowd all looking at and enjoying the sight together, if that makes sense? It just feels different now that so many people are just there to take pictures of themselves.

Humans have always been interested in their appearance and capturing attractive images of themselves - though that’s something that was historically the preserve of the rich and powerful who could get paintings and statues.

So you could say all the smartphone era has done is democratise this instinct - only the privileged few could pose for an oil painting, anyone can pose for a selfie.

But I do think the dominance of the “selfie” is warping our culture in a way that’s unhealthy because it increasingly seems to be an obsession with the superficial to the detriment of connecting with people and places in a deeper way.

@Candlesandmatches in between jobs? Not much going on?

I'm probably going to out myself to anyone who knows me. I am an amateur portrait photographer.

Obviously i am not taking selfies, but i am taking photos of women in public locations so this is more a commentary on wanting nice photos of yourself and what that says about a person.

Wanting a beautiful photo of yourself doesn't automatically make you vain or self obsessed.

I've seen first hand, dozens of times, the difference a beautiful dress, location, and a stunning photo can make to a woman's mental health and perception of herself. I don't photoshop. I don't care if my models posts their photos online. If they do, more power to them - the vast majority are so thrilled that they do post them. I do it for free. I'm not aware that we get in the way of people who want to photograph a flower.

I have probably done about 100-150 shoots over the past few years. I have worked with multiple cancer survivors who wanted to celebrate the end of their treatment. I've worked with women who have survived abuse. I've worked with old women, fat women, young women, thin women, middle aged women, professional models, normal women, menopausal women, pregnant women. Basically - any women who want to feel good about themselves and feel empowered.

We've shot at beaches, parks, castles, meadows, woods, stately homes.

If anyone saw one of my shoots happen, a lot of people here on this thread would judge the fuck out of it. You'd probably think i was just someone taking a photo of a vain, self obsessed woman. Thankfully that doesn't happen in real life. People keep their views to themselves. Nobody who sees our shoots happening knows why we are doing it but they might think my subjects are vapid, vain and self obsessed. In reality, when passers by sometimes ask what we are doing, then they often tell me their story and want to shoot with me too.

What i would find more sad is that someone would judge another person for doing something that made them feel good about themselves when it has no bearing on their life at all, past having to wait a minute to get their own picture at a scenic spot.

As for my children, they're fine, don't worry about them. My children see me using my skills to help all kinds of women who have been through stuff to feel good about themselves. They are more than happy to help me scout locations and find outfits for my client closet. They think it's brilliant.

Next time you see someone trying to get a nice photo of themselves - maybe think about other explanations other than they are just doing it for Instagram likes.

You name changed because worried that thread will be outing

is that because you have whinged to loads of people in RL about this OP?

Aw you sound delightful