How to not look like a tourist

Anyone who thinks of herself as a “traveler” would flip if you even insinuate that she is being a run-of-the-mill tourist. I couldn’t always tell the difference — this was back when we didn’t have the luxury of spying on other people’s adventures via the Internet, when we were all only concerned about what we did, what was happening in our lives. And I’m not entirely convinced that there is anything wrong with being a tourist (because I do it shamelessly, without much effort), but I’ve seen people get offended. It has something to do with being seen as juvenile versus being seasoned, wearing tropical-print button-downs with khaki shorts and Birks with socks versus being up-to-blogger-standards chic, rushing and panicking at the airport as opposed to calmly sipping coffee in some corner, catching up on work stuff while waiting for a flight. While this seems like a snooty, unnecessary delineation, it has to be made. You gotta level-up at some point, refine your travel skills, add some salt and pepper to taste, so you never have to find yourself treading the tourist-y route (as in stuck in a bus with a bunch of foreigners in hats, headed to a jade factory at eight in the morning) again. At the very least, you’d have better photos. When you can finally, truly call yourself a “traveler,” keep it to yourself — because nobody will like it. It would be best not to write it down on your Instagram profile (as in Name: Writer, Traveler, Lover of Life, Blessed, Emoji, Emoji, Emoji). And most of all, be nice to the tourists. You were once them, but hopefully in better clothes. For now, let’s take a trip down IG lane and see how the seasoned are doing it.

Stop and smell the blossoms.

Instagrammer @telerouge is a blonde based in Japan and she never shows her face. What she shows though is Japan in real life — it’s as if she just sits and waits to capture the perfect moment, like this one.

Have a photogenic, pop star BFF. Bring her.

Karlie Kloss and Taylor Swift on what Karlie describes as an “epic roadtrip.”

Don’t be so pose-y.

Photobomb your own photo. Invade the place, the space, and the frame like Eva Chen who drops one on Anna Dello Russo in Paris.

Know the rules before you break them.

Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars) says to hell with the rule of thirds by putting boyfriend Patrick J. Adams (Suits) right smack in the middle of the frame.

When in Vietnam, do as the Vietnamese do.

Blogger Kelly Framel a.k.a. The Glamourai, wearing an ethnic-print pajama-inspired number.

Embrace the weather.

@donalrey is an Instagrammer living in Brooklyn, NY, but she takes photos of her city like she’s seeing it for the first time. Here she documents the polar vortex on the East River.

Take pictures of your food.

Instagrammer @naksher takes a photo of his dinner, but styles it so that it tells it’s own story — one that’s not called “This Is What I Ate.” Lucky Peach-worthy, right?

Sit on the grass.

Here’s another one by Troian — in which the Eiffel Tower looks friendly and real.

Blend in, stand out.

This one is from Lauren Santo Domingo’s IG, in which she takes friend photography to fashion ed levels in Monaco.

De-cheese the jump shot.

Taylor Tomasi Hill shows us it’s possible — her travel jump shots are also OOTDs, and she posts them all the time. The usual elements: nice clothes plus nice background plus big grin plus red hair.