It's not impossible to get good photos of yourself while traveling alone!  Follow my tips below to get that perfect shot on your next trip!

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1. The Tripod

For all my girls that are a little shy and don't want to ask strangers to take your photos, grab a travel sized tripod and take your photo yourself!  All cameras and phones have a self timer, turn that puppy on and pose! 

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2. The fanciest camera in the area

Find the person who is holding the fanciest camera in the area, and ask that person if they can take a few pictures of you, 9 times out of 10, that person has some really good photography skills and will capture better shots of you than anyone else around.

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3. The group of girls who are there for the Gram 

In most tourist areas you'll always find the girls that are there for one thing and one thing only.... the Instagram shot!  Find those girls, take a look at the kinds of shots they're getting, and ask them to take the same shot for you.  Or if you have another idea in mind, explain your vision and have them try and take that photo of you.  I will say, I've had some katty girls turn me away, and in those situations I simply say "ok, no worries" and walk away with my head up high and ask someone else! 

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4. The Couple

If you see a couple using a selfie stick to take a photo, you can politely ask if they'd like you to take a photo for them, if they say yes, take a few photos for them, ones you'd like for yourself, and then ask them if they can take that same shot for you. 

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5. The Tour Guide

If you happen to be on a guided tour of some sort, become besties with the tour guide! They know the area better than anyone, ask them to take photos for you, and as a courtesy, leave them a tip for doing so! 

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6. The Vendor 

Every now and then, you'll see walking vendors who sell a variety of things: snacks, souvenirs, water bottles etc.  If they walk up to you and try to sell you something and you're not interested in buying anything, you can ask them to take a few pictures of you in exchange for a tip!  I did this with a man selling beer at Lover's Beach in Cabo, he tried to sell me a beer and I asked for some photos in exchange for a tip instead and he walked me all over the beach to the best photo spots and did an entire 20 minute photo shoot.  He made 10 dollars and I got over 20 photos out of it, WIN WIN! 

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7. The Professional Photographer 

This is a little bit of a splurge, but if you can, hire a professional photographer for either a few hours, or a full day!  Given pricing, I recommend doing this in countries where your home currency goes a long way.  I did this in Bali, Indonesia and I found a photographer who charged me $300 USD for the full day, 9am to 9pm!  Given that I live in the US where a two hour session costs me $300, this was a bargain! 

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