HOW-TO
How to Photo-bomb
By Rosalinda Luna
Photo-bombing, though it might sound dangerous, is not quite as destructive as you may think. The phenomenon, which began in olden days when bored painters’ assistants would create shadow puppets that were forever captured in the background of portraits, can liven up an otherwise dull photo.
For a little background, photo-bombing occurs when someone inserts him- or herself into the photograph of someone else or a group as the photo is being taken. Have you ever had that perfect photo of yourself, but lurking in the background is some drunk stranger making a stupid face or throwing up a gesture of some sort? If the photo-bomber (in this case, the drunk stranger) was sophisticated enough, he has placed himself in the photo so that no matter how hard you try, you can’t crop him out. Well, if you want to be that random moron or accidental creep and you feel like your beauty and sheer class can make a picture better, here’s how to start photo-bombing:
- Cut a hole in the box … no, actually, to begin the perfect photo-bomb scenario, you must find the perfect prey – a group that needs your beauty to enhance their otherwise lame picture. You may ask yourself, “What does this perfect group look like?” Typically, it is a group of friends that will, inevitably, be taking many pictures to capture the happenings of that particular night, so they remember what happened tomorrow morning.
- Decide what type of gesture or expression you will make in the picture. It varies from random creep faces to exposed skin and/or your attempt to look like an intended part of the photo.
- Wait for the perfect moment. When you see that group gather for a pose and the camera is pulled out, make your move. Normally, a last-minute pose, drink in hand, goofy face, makes the best … or worst photo-bomb.
- Wait for a reaction. People are either going to be extremely upset that you ruined their perfect group photo or think you’re hilarious and invite you to join their group. The outcome is a direct result of how you handle their reaction. Here are a few examples of a typical negative or positive reaction:
- “Dude, what do you think you’re doing, bro?”
- “You just ruined our picture, yo!”These are both negative reactions. If you hear something like this, run away as fast as you can to avoid the risk of being punched in the face by men with giant class rings, highlighted hair tips and popped collars.
- “Hey! I just did that last week to somebody!”
- “Wow! That turned out to be an awesome picture!These are both positive reactions. If you hear these, go with it. You may have just made yourself some new friends and perhaps scored yourself a date for next Saturday.
Photo-bombing is not always done on purpose. Alcohol is a cruel mistress, and sometimes it helps contribute to a series of events that make for hilarious and/or disturbing photo ops. If you look through enough MySpace photo pages of people in their 20s, you just might see some of these ridiculous moments. But what those people don’t often think about is just how many ridiculous moments of theirs are caught on somebody else’s camera. This is what’s called the unavoidable-accidental-photo-bomb.
There’s really not a lot of direction I can give to you to complete a successful accidental photo-bomb. These are classic moments that can never be created purposely. If it happens that you end up as the photo-bombing star in someone else’s photo, you can be sure it will be something that will give those strangers hours upon hours of laughter or frustration. The good news is, you will most likely never know that this picture exists. Of course, there’s always the chance that your background photo-bomb was just so classic and unrepeatable that it gets posted on a photo-bombing website or other places on the Web.
Photo-bombing can be a fun way to meet people, get beaten up and/or have a good time. Follow my simple steps and you’re sure to have a great picture ruined, or enhanced, by the end the night.
E-mail the author: Rosalinda Luna
