I’m going on my first overseas trip with my girlfriend since we started dating. I worked hard all last year to earn and save money for this trip. It will be our first international trip ever, and I want to make it perfect, memorable, and the best trip of our lives.
I’ve read countless articles online to ensure everything is perfect. It felt overwhelming to the point that my head started to hurt. Fortunately, I found an article that provided a detailed guideline, and it seemed like the perfect guide. My girlfriend and I have been following it, and it has been very helpful so far.
However, I decided to come to this community to seek additional guidance, advice, and tips from you all, just in case the article missed something important. My girlfriend and I would greatly appreciate any travel tips, advice, and guidance you have, as this is our first trip abroad together.
Re: pictures of things that have already been photographed a million times
You want to remember your experience. And although the place you went is certainly part of it, when you are older you will be more likely to want to see you and your SO’s past selves having a good time, than a picture of the sights some photographer has captured much better than you have.
Feel free to disregard this advice if either of you are photographers, whether professional or amateur, as you would probably reap more enjoyment from taking that picture than the rest of us, and are probably way more likely to be the person capturing the place better than the rest of us can. And if it is a unique moment or you really think nobody else has put this sight on the internet already, your choice!
I needed to see it explained this way for it to really click for me. I think the part about the pictures of the sights alone being easily found online was what clinched it for me. I can go “see” that again easily, the scarce part is the part where I am there. A picture of me and a loved one at the sight might be valuable to us two no matter how amateur my photography skills. A picture of the sight probably will not be.
But it’s also relevant that some people already know this and still derive a lot of pleasure from taking a picture of the place themselves, knowing that a lot of other good pictures also exist. If you are one of those people who know that you really like taking pictures of it yourself, feel free to disregard this advice! It’s useful for quite a few people (I think most people?) but not universally applicable. Exceptions almost always exist.
