SusanM

"and then what? Put it down on the sidewalk in Times Square and hope nobody walks between you and the camera?"

J62, I still take the selfie by extending my arm and pointing the camera at myself. The difference is that without the timer it's almost always bad, because your finger moves taking the shot, often causing the camera to move, and your expression may or may not be "camera ready." With the delay, you can get all your limbs, appendages and features arranged just so

sabukmk

Don't ask just anyone. If you'll ask a shady looking guy, you may lose your phone.

fourfortravel

I have to agree with others that this is not a great idea. Embrace the (perhaps) terrible iPhone selfie; your travels should be more meaningful than "perfectly" curated snaps in front of this monument or that attraction.

Nelson

Ask someone who is carrying a nice looking camera to take your picture. They are usually obliging and there is a better than average chance the picture will actually be good.

jmoyogi

Good point!

schlegal1

Take your selfie stick, enjoy it, use it as you wish and take lovely photos of yourself wherever you please. Make wonderful vacation memories that you can enjoy later with both nostalgia for a great trip and perhaps a laugh at your then-trendy-now-outdated hair or clothing. When the stick won't do, follow the suggestion of asking other tourists to trade off (you take theirs, they take yours). We've been to NYC and had no problems asking others in these scenarios.

Be mindful of others and show courtesy when you are using your camera and it will be fine. All the hand-wringing here about selfie sticks and being in the way and being seen as self-important do not matter; just treat others with courtesy and respect as you take in the sights however you choose and it will be nice. Have a nice trip.

janisj

>>All the hand-wringing here about selfie sticks and being in the way and being seen as self-important do not matter;

tom42

hey, that's exactly what I was thinking. I was just too lazy to write it.

suze

If I were going to be handing something over to strangers on a regular basis, I'd take a little PowerShot digital camera. Unlikely to be stolen, but if it is you only lose photos... not your smartphone and all the information you have stored in it (probably planning the rest of your trip)!

When I travel solo I just don't bother. Or waiters in a restaurant are a good bet.

5alive

For another perspective, we have been going through my grandparents' old travel photos.

The only ones we really want include them in the photo. Maybe we keep one related photo here and there to give context. If we want a photo of just Westminster Abby, etc, there are far better ones online.

Restaurant table shots are interesting, Suze. As time goes on, these remind of us of a past era. The food on the table. The restaurant decor. The other diners.

I wish I had college photos of the restaurants we ate at by campus.

​​​​​​
​​​​​

suze

Ah, for all those reasons as well. I like it just because a waiter isn't going to say "no" or steal your camera or phone -haha.

nelsonian

Schlegal I too agree with everything you have written. It's fantastic to have yourself at Central Park, standing in front of your favourite Broadway show sign, etc etc. Why would you not do this?

Bitter

Leave the selfie stick at home. Interact with other tourists or, heck, humans. Offer to take their pics and vice versa. I did this in NYC in January. My pics of another traveler are on an instagram somewhere (b/c she asked for my info, which I didn't share. lol) And fwiw this isn't the NYC from decades past. I felt very safe during my trip with so many people around.

tom42

Another poster stole the words right out of my mouth. I'll take a few pics here and there of just scenery or buildings but I generally find it a little boring to go back and look at those photos. I much prefer the photos with people in them.

janisj

People have taken photos with people in them for many many generations (and have asked other people to take their pix) -- LONG before a selfie stick was the figment of anyone's imagination.

NeoPatrick

J62

"whole pork knuckle in ...." aka Schweinshaxe

That's twice today that memory has shown up on a Fodors today
Help me plan our first trip to Prague, Dresden and Berlin!

november_moon

yep. My husband alway gets asked to take people's pictures when he's out with his camera gear. Even better is to ask the traveling companion of the fancy camera person, because you know that person is just hanging around waiting anyway

Fra_Diavolo

English author Geoff Dyer writes (in his book on photography The Ongoing Moment): "I'm not a . . . serious photographer; I mean I don't even own a camera The only time I take a picture is when tourists ask me to take one of them, with their camera. (These rare works are now dispersed around the world in private collections, mostly in Japan.)

tom42

I get it. You don't like selfie-sticks. I've never used one but if someone wants to use one, I couldn't care less.