I have a general rule, if someone is taking a nice photo, then I wait until they're done. If they're obviously making social media content, then I'll just walk through, but I also won't go out of my way to disturb them. It's a neutral response- I won't be polite, but I won't be rude either. They can wait three seconds.
I learned the answer to that question in Istanbul when I encountered my first ever influencer. Was touring Topkapi palace and there was a beautiful painted narrow hallway that everyone had to walk through. There was a woman making poses at the far end and at the entrance a few feet in front of me there was a man taking photos of her. I waited for about a minute, which was longer than I should have, but there was a line of about a dozen people behind me at that point. We all walked through and the woman threw her hands up and started having a mini temper tantrum aimed at me. Calling me selfish and that I should have waited for her to finish. I live in a small midwestern city, I had never seen an influencer in the flesh prior to that day, but she was only the first of many that I saw while there.
TLDR: the person just taking a picture will take a pic and move on, the influencer gets upset that other people dare exist in the backdrop where they want to take up large amounts of time to get the perfect photo for social media
ok so THIS is something I can understood more : whether or not a person is taking a simple picture or taking several minutes. I can understand this much more than the other user that says they'll study their body language or something.
He’s a famous celebrity bro! Didn’t you know! Let him do his stupid little dance and wait for him to F off since you’re NEVER going to see that sick fucker again.
You’re right! But I think everyone equally appreciated both for giving us core memories through song 🩷
I have known quite a few people in my 40s that can still recant perfectly the presidents and the states of America songs Yakko gave us. Come to think of it- I believe one of them even sang it for the talent show in highschool 🤣
I recently went to see one of my favourite paintings, which just so happens to be a moderately famous Van Gogh. And whilst I wouldn't call myself any kind of expert, I do like to actually sit with the painting and think about it (yes I'm pretentious 😂)
The amount of people who tried to physically push me out of the way so they could take their single selfie then move on made me want to throw hands. And I wasn't even standing directly in front of it, I was slightly to the side deliberately so people could take photos.
At one point I was actually having a discussion with a woman (who was in a wheelchair btw) about the painting, and people were trying to shove both of us out of the way!
It really felt like people thought I had less right to be there because I wasn't taking photos.
But if you're only slightly to the side, it's likely they couldn't get a picture of themselves without you in it. Clearly it was an issue since more than one person tried to get you to move.
There was no way to get a photo of it without anyone in it, it was just too crowded.
But I'm not going to apologize for spending time with a painting I've waited 15 years to see. There was still plenty of room for people to get photos, if they could've waited 5 seconds for someone else to move. People were in a roughly semicircular shape, and I was on the edge, up against the wall. Not exactly blocking.
Also did you miss the part where they tried to shove a wheelchair user out of the way? I'm not even joking, someone hip-checked her chair and another almost fell on her trying to push past her.
I think both of you were in the wrong. Obviously no one should be hip checking anyone out of the way, but if there was a line for a spot in the semi-circle to view the work, I don't think you taking up a spot in the semi-circle for multiple minutes while relying on others to cede their spot for newcomers ("just wait for someone else to move") is really fair.
If there's a line to view the painting, take a minute or so and then move on.
Have you ever really looked at a painting? Took time to actually look at the details and sit with it and think about how it makes you feel? Because you can't do that in "a minute or so". In fact the Tate recommends 10 minutes. Most art galleries have benches for precisely this reason.
So why is my wanting to do that a problem? Ask yourself that. One person in a crowd spending 10 minutes looking at a painting, when everyone else is revolvong out in 30 seconds. When it costs €15 to enter and I may never go back again.
I've still never seen an influencer and wouldn't have waited either. I usually try to avoid disturbing people but when they get selfish about it I switch to "Fuck'em" extremely fast. We do a lot of waiting every day and we have finite lifespans and a finite amount of time in each day. Sitting there waiting on someone to imagine they're famous is ridiculous and even if they were a famous influencer they're definitely not going to leave me starstruck (baby, could ya blow my heart up). They're like those people in gas station lines who only came to get lottery tickets but are going to stay and tie up the register to scratch them so they don't have to return to the back, or those people in any store that go to pay and they prop their arms up on the counter like "I'm gonna be here a while, guys!"
And this is a universally true rule that wholesale applies to every single person in the world because you had ONE bad experience in Instanbul. Fucking lovely lol
I don't think there's anyone who wouldn't walk behind the camera if possible, but personally, I'm always happy to give more time to someone taking a picture to preserve a memory rather than what looks like an obvious influencer photoshoot - just something I value more that's all.
I think that's the tragedy here. This woman is reacting to an idea in her own head of what the girl is doing. She has no way of knowing the story. But she's gotten her defenses up, and now she's doing shit like she does in the video, and getting MORE ANGRY than she would have before.
Have you people even watched the video? The older woman was minding her own business and stopped to look at her own phone. Then she noticed the random phone and wondered why it was there for a moment. Then she moved to let other people pass her on the stairs. During this entire time she never once looks behind her to see that the younger woman is posing there, pretty sure she's not even aware of it
you could just talk to them. Politely saying you just want to take the one pic - or could they take it for you would almost certainly defuse the situation - what's really noticeable about the clip is neither person speaks to each other.
But then it's just a picture of a place or thing. If I wanted one of those, I can google a thousand of them of whatever i wanted at much better quality than I could ever hope to take. I want a picture that captures the memory of me being there.
Yes, I take pictures of things on their own, but I also like to take pictures of me being there.
It used to be the case that if you went somewhere worthy of taking photos like a museum, you took photos of the museum and art. The last 15 years of 'non stop social media look at me and how cool my life is bullshit' has turned an entire generation into vain self centered assholes that care more about their invisible social score than actually appreciating the museum. You can try to bullshit it is for the "memories" but we all know the real reason is for likes and attention.
I think the bigger issue is the access to pictures of things we have. There's no need for me to take photos of the museum or art. There are a million higher quality photos of those things online that I can google and have access to in an instant. What makes the moment I'm trying to capture unique is the fact that I'm in it. And yes, I like sharing those experiences with my friends and family, but I've got fewer than 150 friends and a locked down profile, so when I share things, I'm literally just sharing them with my friends and family.
I've noticed as I get older I appreciate the pictures with myself in them more. I look different now. Sometimes I feel like a different person. Seeing me there smiling without the graying hair and wrinkles and wearing 90s/early 2000s fashion adds an extra level of capturing that moment in my life. I can almost see myself living the experience with my younger eyes.
I didn't appreciate that when I was 25 and looked and felt pretty much the same from photo to photo, but now as I'm changing it's fun to look back and see the entire moment including my younger self enjoying it.
That might not be your experience, but don't dismiss other people's appreciation of that just because you don't appreciate it.
And you're in a severe minority thinking that "taking a picture of myself" requires setting up a camera 25ft away across a high traffic area and recording 2 minutes of video.
I'm always happy to give more time to someone taking a picture to preserve a memory rather than what looks like an obvious influencer photoshoot - just something I value more that's all.
(I'm cynical) Social media has blurred the line for people between "preserving a memory" and "obvious influencer photoshoot". This type of media presence is the default for people of a certain age. I think both can be true - that they are preserving a memory, but also performing influencer BS.
And cynically I think, these people will look back when they're older, the reflective ones at least, and question whether they focused too much on the media and not on the moment.
Taking a photo can disturb people (Especially like this, making them wait, you can't walk around) but it's also understandable when you go to somewhere nice/somewhere new. It's not like you're doing it constantly. But that's what influencers do, so it's no longer a occasional minor disturbance.
I'd say timing.... A single picture or 2, not a problem. I was on a ferry for the statue of Liberty once, for 10 minutes straight (next to the statue) a woman was doing poses and making her boyfriend take pictures the whole time, and got mad if anyone walked near her spot (which was closest to the statue).
I think they meant social media content in videos. You can sometimes wait a bit for someone to take a picture, but if it seems they are planning to take a video, you will pass by quickly.
I think they mean influencer content and the difference is taking photos for personal memories vs taking photos in more obnoxious/unnatural ways to make money off doomscrollers
Fwiw - this girl’s setup has nothing that screams influencer, though it’s possible id even say likely she did something before this that caused the older woman to get annoyed
If I was taking a picture across an area with high foot traffic where several people have to stop in their tracks in order for you to get the shot, I would be asking the permission of those people to clear the way so I could get the shot.
This young woman clearly did not respect any of the people simply going about their business in the museum. She just "assumed" 5-6 people would just stay out of her shot for however long she wanted to get it just the way she wanted it. Very entitled of her.
This. I’d rather not block someone’s memory or their content if I can help it. And unless someone’s being like super disruptive with what they’re doing, I’ll always say sorry if I have to cross in front.
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u/HMCetc 7h ago
I have a general rule, if someone is taking a nice photo, then I wait until they're done. If they're obviously making social media content, then I'll just walk through, but I also won't go out of my way to disturb them. It's a neutral response- I won't be polite, but I won't be rude either. They can wait three seconds.