Travel and photos go hand in hand. After all, photos help keep the memories of your travels alive, plus there’s this thing called Instagram. Whether you’re traveling solo or with a group, you can usually get some pretty epic photographs on your own. All you need is some practice and some excellent travel photography gear!

But sometimes you need someone else to take photos of you, so you end up relying on the strangers around you.

1. Know How You Want Your Photos To Look

Having a really clear idea of what your photos need to look like will benefit both you and the stranger taking your photos.

Taking a few test shots will help you work out where you need to stand or sit for the most epic travel photographs. Which, in turn, will mean that you won’t be asking a stranger to take a few thousand photos of you until the perfect one is taken. Trust us, not everyone has the patience of an Insta-Husband!

2. Check Your Settings

And we mean all your settings (especially if you have a camera and use it on manual)! Before asking someone to take photos of you, make sure you set the lighting and check the display brightness and the focal area.

Alternatively, you can use the auto settings on your camera, which will also help with taking epic photos. Setting the zoom amount you want is also a good idea. Pro tip – leave a little bit of extra room in your shot. You can always crop later, but it’s hard to adjust the surroundings if they haven’t been captured in the first place!

3. Find the Appropriate Person to Take Your Photos!

Yes, there is a strategy to finding a stranger to take your photos!

At popular tourist spots in particular, you’ll likely be spoilt for choice in terms of the number of people around you. Our tips include:

Look out for solo travelers (as they’ll get asking a stranger for assistance with photographs), friendly locals or relaxed-looking tourists (as they’re likely to be willing to take the time to help out).

Look for people who have cameras, and ideally people with a DSLR camera. For two reasons: they’re more likely to understand how to use your camera, and they’re also unlikely to run off with your camera (a genuine concern when handing expensive gear over to someone).

So now that you’ve identified the right person, it’s time to talk to them!