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Let’s start with a cliche: It’s time to start thinking outside the box with your travel photos. We know you don’t want your vacation pics to look like everyone else’s, so we’ve come up with a few clever spins on seven of the most tired and predictable stagings. Here they are, complete with tips on how to fix them.

1. THE CLICHE: “I crush your head,” a.k.a. the perspective trick. It’s no longer clever to interact with a monument in the distance, like in the classic Pisa pic below. Everyone does it.

THE FIX: Instead, take a photo like this image by photographer Martin Parr of legions of tourists posing in the exact same way. It’s funnier, and more refreshing.

Photo: Barney Moss/Flickr

Photo: Barney Moss/Flickr

Related: Pro tips for taking awesome food photos on vacation

2.  THE CLICHE: Your ugly feet…somewhere gorgeous.

THE FIX:Hey, your feet are ugly, my feet are ugly, everyone’s feet are ugly. No one wants to see your feet. Instead take the same picture—without your feet in it.

Photo: Baciliforme/flickr

Photo: Baciliforme/flickr

3.  THE CLICHE: The jumping picture. I have to admit—this jumping picture looks pretty cool. Your jumping picture will never look this cool because you probably don’t have an advanced degree in Photoshop.

THE FIX: If you still insist on taking a jumping picture, pick a spot with a simple, beautiful background. That means no castles, wrought iron fences, trees or busy street scenes. Also: Work that pose!

Photo: @dsny_globalparkhopper

Photo: @dsny_globalparkhopper

4. THE CLICHE: Peace sign with duck face.

THE FIX: The only way to fix this is not to do it.

PeaceSignDuckFace

Related: 9 great underwater selfie photo ops

5. THE CLICHE: Photo looking out of the airplane window like the one below. I’ve done this, you’ve done this, we’ve all done this.

THE FIX: Copy photographer William Eggleston’s image and find something interesting in the foreground (like your fancy cocktail) to include in the photo. Amazing light helps too.

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6. THE CLICHE: The “copycat.” Recreating a famous photo.

THE FIX: See number 4.

Photograph: Cristiano Maia/flickr

Photograph: Cristiano Maia/flickr

7. THE CLICHE: Statue groping. What is it about life-size sculptural art that turns otherwise decent people into total weirdos? We’ll never know. But let’s keep it clean, people.

THE FIX: Find a funny or clever way to interact with the art: Use what’s there and work with that, like this guy.

Related: It’s the summer of Chicago. We’ve got five indisputable reasons

headBat

 

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Tagged: Photo essay

Note: Orbitz compensates authors for their writings appearing on this site.

Martha Williams

Martha Williams

Martha is a Midwest-based photographer, blogger and co-creator of the Craft Cocktail mobile app. She also documents Chicago's fashionable (mostly) female cyclists on her blog bikefancy.com, and is currently the Photo Editor at Time Out Chicago.
Martha Williams

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