As a travel blogger, I’m keen on focussing on creating trip reports and reviews of hotels, airlines and restaurants. Part of that process involves taking pictures of whatever it is…thus leading to the hard (and most awkward) thing any travel blogger has to do.
Sitting in a crowded airport lounge, I really want to take pictures of the seating options and food displays. However, there’s packed crowds and passengers milling about everywhere – and I feel awkward needing to take pictures, not wanting to look like I’m trying to snap photos of any one specific person.
It’s almost bound to happen, but there’s always someone starring right at you, wondering what your doing. You’re in line to grab a drink, or some cheese from the food spread, and you’ve got your camera phone precariously in your hands to as not to look conspicuous, but still hold it steady enough to capture a clear shot – and the guy behind you is wondering why in the world you are taking a picture of a plate of cheese and a glass of wine. What’s even worse is trying to take a picture of food on a plane – the person sitting next to you is wondering why you just turned on your overhead to take a picture, and then shutting it back off again. Or, not eating until they pass around the bread basket so you can get a complete shot. 🙂 Yeah, first world problems, I know…
Maybe it’s only a “problem” I have, but it strikes me every time I’m trying to review a public space, that this thought pops into my head. In any event, I felt it musing enough to write about it and throw it out there in case you happen to see me along the way somewhere and I’m taking pictures faster than the Paparazzi.
Fellow travel bloggers, please chime in. Do you find this equally as awkward to do as I do?
Jamie Larounis is an avid traveler, blogger and miles/points educator. Traveling well over 100,000 miles a year and staying in hotels for over 100 nights, he leverages miles, points and other deals to fly in first class cabins, and stay in 5-star hotels. The Forward Cabin shares his experiences, musings, reviews, tips, tricks, resources and industry news with you, the fellow traveler.
It’s definitely awkward. I always hope that there will be a time where the lounge isn’t as busy, but that only works if I’m at the airport early. Heading to a corner or taking discreet photos while you are sitting down can at least minimize how much you stand out. One thing I do tend to do is shoot photos using a square image size (perfect for Instagram) or vertically, which at least allows me to just look like I’m holding a phone the normal way. I also will take several photos of the exact same thing so I have backups if the first photo ended up blurry. In the end, as far as lounge behavior goes, it’s not that bad. Everyone is far more likely to notice the super-important business person yelling into their cell phone.
I was recently looking at the COVR Photo Lens Case which allows you to take photos while holding the phone normally like you are browsing. Might be worth a look. http://covrphoto.com/ And of course Google Glass is an inconspicuous way to shoot, though costly.
I have a question though. I am a commercial photographer and my work is used by cruise and resort clients for brochures, websites, etc. As such, I can not sell for commercial use any image which I do not have releases without risking future legal actions. For me, just because I can take a photo does not mean I have the right to use or sell it.
The photo shown on this page was taken on private property of a woman with a dog and other guests and employees mingling, all of whom likely had a reasonable right to privacy. For me to use this image, I’d need a property release from the hotel and talent releases from each person in the shot as well as, yes indeed, a property release from the owner of the dog to use his image. Do bloggers fall under the first amendment rights use and are you considered a “news” source? Or are bloggers commercial business owners, and the rules and regulations for commercial use of images now comes into play? I even have magazines that hire me now requesting releases for images even though they are considered media. Just wondering what the risks are in relation to bloggers using non-released images.
Being in Asia, it is slightly more acceptable – that being said I find it incredibly awkward in a luxury hotel lounge or an airport lounge.