Over on one of my Disneyworld message boards we’re sharing our photos that have been photobombed. The general consensus seems to be that it’s funny in small doses, but anyone who makes it a point to photobomb every chance he gets is being a world-class jerk. Others have taken the stand that photobombing is at best an act of being an uninvited guest, and at worst an act of vandalism.
One histrionic (IMHO) mom had this to say about her degenerate husband and son who love to photobomb:
Really? Someone’s commemorative Splash Mountain photograph is ruined if two men in the back have their tongues out or are picking their nose?
I consider it photobombing when you see someone taking a photo that doesn’t involve you and you make a conscious effort to be in the photo, usually doing something dumb. Even though I’ve seen some funny photobombs and could imagine a situation where I laughed at a personal photo someone 'bombed, in general I’d say it’s a jerkish thing to do. People usually aren’t as funny as they think they’re being in these circumstances.
For a ride photo like Splash Mountain, everyone on the ride is part of the photo and I wouldn’t consider it photobombing to do something dumb as the picture is being taken. It’s not anyone on the ride’s photos; it’s everyone on the ride’s photos.
Some people just can’t pass up the chance to deliver their favorite punch line. For some people, that’s photo-bombing.
A guy in my WoW guild was physically incapable of not replying “The cake is a lie” if somebody mentioned cake in guild chat. The first few times, hah, funny, Oroborous. After a few hundred times? Not so funny.
It depends on what the photobombers are doing. If I’m with my family at Disney World, take some pictures of my nephews standing with Goofy, and later see on the picture that some stranger in the background is waving at the camera or giving a thumbs up, I don’t think that’s a big deal. But if they’re flipping the bird, shoving their finger up their nose, or making some other kind of lewd or immature gesture, that’s jerkish.
I had a family member who thought it was just hysterical to flip a bird in family pictures. My late mom, who was legally blind, had no idea that he was doing it. Huge jerk move.
Hadn’t heard the term before this, but it appears to be another synonym for “being an asshole.” Call me a prescriptivist, but don’t we have a rich enough vocabulary for that already?
I agree - if it’s harmless background stuff, I don’t care much. With amusement park ride photos, I expect a lot of silliness, so no worries there either. I think I would be annoyed if someone was doing it to ALL my photos.
Voted “yes but only just”. Like many things that are a bit rude, it can be hilarious, and with digital cameras it’s trivial to retake most photos. There’s a few exceptions, but they’re not usually family snapshots.
Just as eskimos have 40 different words for snow and (in the universe of lame jokes) tribes of cannibals have 40 different words for death by anal rape, people of the internet have 40 different words for being an asshole. It’s just a matter of what your culture decides is worth recognizing nuances of.
On the other hand, I once saw a video of a guy running around in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa giving high fives to all the people posing in that “holding up the tower” pose and it made my day. Seriously, put a big smile on my face and a song in my heart. But that’s because the people were mostly delighted.
It’s cut and dry for me. Just like any other time you are in public, you subject yourself to the public. Barring any law-breaking activity, you are fair game. Sure, you can wish that someone would show some reasonable decency, but you should never expect it.
Exactly. When I take pictures at tourist sites or in public, it is my job as a photographer to make sure I’m in no-ones way, and that no one needs to wait untill I’ve finished taking my gazillion pictures of my friend in front of that landmark.
I actually think people are nowadays too polite and too willing to wait patiently in line untll they can pass the guy with the camera.