I’m wondering if I’m being a bitch about my friend taking photos all the time. We went on a nature hike & she basically made me take pictures of her the entire time. Not to mention we arrived late, so it wasn’t cool that close to the closing time, I was her personal photographer. I know she would be upset if I said no & I wanted her to be happy, but I realized after us hanging out, it made me irritated. Am I wrong for feeling this way?
6 comments
Let her know ahead of time you want a media free trip while you are communicating with nature.
You should tell her what you just told us. I would be pissed off too
I take quick photos here and there when I’m somewhere interesting. But for the most part my phone is away and I’m enjoying the scenery with my own eyes and being present with whomever I’m with.
Asking someone to take pics turns the experience into a means to an end – they want to use the pics to increase their social media clout. On top of that, they’re benefiting themselves at the detriment of your own experience trying to enjoy the scenery.
Your priority is being in the moment, your friend’s is capturing the moment. Neither of you are wrong, but you brought different unspoken expectations to the hike.
You can certainly be annoyed at what she’s doing, but you can’t really be upset with her for doing it if you didn’t let her know at any point that it was bothering you. That’s not fair to anyone.
Let’s switch the roles; now you’re the one who wants to take the photos. You’ve been looking forward to this trip for awhile, and now that you’re there your friend won’t help you with any shots. Now you didn’t get any of the photos you wanted. I’d imagine you’d be pretty annoyed.
So yeah, communication error. I think your frustration is fair, but be careful not to get angry at someone for not being a mind reader, prophet or fortune teller.
My mom can be like that too. I don’t like stopping everywhere for a photo session and I’ve seen that it generally hurts her feelings too. I wish I had advice but I definitely empathize with how annoyed you feel.
So, your post is incorrect then.
You’re not upset by the number of photos your friend wants, so much as it seems you’re upset at being made personal photographer.
And why does her getting upset matter more than you getting upset? You need to fill your own well if you are to share any with others.
Let her know she can take her own photos next time.