It is completely possible to travel to different countries without telling the world what you’ve eaten for breakfast! In fact, that’s what people did when before Social Media websites became such an important part of our lives. Now, a week-long vacation means taking more than 500 photos with your phone and posting about half of them on Facebook and Instagram. Everyone is busy posting pictures of everywhere they’ve been and everything they’ve eaten; it gets quite boring for others who are following your photographs. 

You can travel and not post about everything that you’ve done, seen, eaten or experienced; or, you can take a few important photographs for yourself and for sharing with the world so that it neither gets boring nor too repetitious. 

If you don’t like taking too many photographs but still want to keep a few memories for yourself, here are some photography ideas for you that shouldn’t be missed. 

  • The “Signature” Pose 

Just like the “Come with me” pose that went viral all around the world, you can create a signature pose for yourself. If you are traveling with a friend or a partner who is extremely patient and helpful, you can ask them to take your photo while you make your signature pose in from of an important monument of the country you are visiting. It can be anything: a dance pose, a “heart shape” made with your fingers, a kissing photo with your significant other, blowing a kiss with your hands, a jumping photo – anything!  

If you are traveling alone and using a selfie stick or a drone to take your photos, you can still do this, but with an easier pose. You might not have a lot of time on your hands to take these photos, nor a lot of space in front of busy monuments, but your “signature” poses can still make these important photographs not to miss in any country. 

Besides, if you travel frequently and plan to cover a whole wall of your home with your travel photos, you can do a compilation of similar photos but in completely different settings. 

  • Photos with a Placard 

Just like a signature pose, you can take photos all over the world holding a placard advertising something that you believe in, a particular word that is meaningful for you, or even your name! How’s that for an idea? Holding a placard that says “John was here” or “#travelgoals” or even “Peace on Earth” anywhere you are in the world – could be a wonderful way to mark your footsteps all around the globe. 

  • Photos Representing Something 

If you want to represent your country in these photos, you can do so by holding a flag of your country in your hands, or wrapping it around your shoulders! This can be a great way of letting your friends and family members know that you are thinking of your home even when you are away from it. 

In the same way, you can represent anything else in your travel photos. If your parents had always wanted to travel but couldn’t make it, you can hold a photo of them in a country they’ve always wanted to visit. Alternatively, if you’re traveling to the locations they’ve traveled to in the past – for their honeymoon or for work – you can hold some specific photos of them standing where they had stood decades ago. It can be a nice tribute to your parents, something they would absolutely love. 

  • A 360-degree Photo 

When you are someplace extremely beautiful and picturesque, there’s no need to take hundreds of photos of the same place because you love everything! A single 360⁰ photo is all that you need to capture the whole place in a single click. Most cameras have this option nowadays, as well as most cell phones. 

With a 360⁰ photo, you are representing a whole place with a single photo, and everyone loves to see it. Although you can’t print and frame one of these photos for your wall, you can definitely post them on your Facebook account. You can even choose the starting point of these photos so that your favorite part is always at the front. Take a high-resolution photo and you can feel like you’re back in that place every time you look at that photo. 

  • Local People 

Take and post photos taken with local people whom you have bonded well during your travels. If you’ve loved their hospitality, appreciated their service or enjoyed their food a lot, ask permission to take a selfie or a photo and post on your walls. That way, you are actually advertising them to future clients and customers. Choose to do this with local café owners and small fruit vendors – people who might appreciate more clients in the future. Share these photos publicly with something heartfelt and moving, along with the name and location (with their permission, of course), and other people in your friend list or people who follow you might want to visit them as well. 

  • Click your Interests 

Whatever your particular branch of interest, i.e. books, music, food, architecture or history – find out everything about it hosted in the country you are visiting, and take photographs. If you love reading, look out for vintage, privately owned bookstores and take photos, and post on your social media sites along with a review of how you liked it. You can do the same with shops that sell musical instruments, vintage clothes, antiques, vintage records. If you love reading biographies, choose one belonging to a resident of the country you are visiting and seek out a location that is meaningful to these personalities. 

  • #Bookstagram, #Foodstagram 

If you love taking photos of your meals or your books, you can join a group of similar-minded enthusiasts to share your pictures with. Using the hashtags #bookstagram and #foodstagram, you can share your pictures with the whole world to see. If you want to make your photos unique, you can try taking photos of books you’ve bought from the country you are visiting, with a view of an important monument or landscape. 

You can do the same with food. If you love experiencing new cuisines and new food, other people also interested in doing the same would love to see your photos. 

Of course, any photo that you want to take or share with the friends of your journeys is completely your choice. You can take hundreds of photos of the same place or one in each city. However, these are simply some ways to take memorable photos during your travels that can stand out from the rest, help other people, preserve your memories and maybe even inspire others to travel.