Yes. Smartphone travel photography is an important part of your family vacation. But these 5 photos are ones you must take before you ever leave home—and keep stored in your smartphone gallery. They will make your travels easier and far less stressful. They might even help keep your kids safe.
5 Smartphone Photos to Take BEFORE You Leave Home
1. Snap a screenshot of your airline boarding pass.
2. Snap a smartphone photo of your parking space.
3. Snap a Smartphone Photo of Your Valet Parking Receipt.
4. Snap a Smartphone Photo of Your Driver’s License and Passport.
5. Snap a photo of the kids.
When I leave anywhere, I check to make sure I have two things: My Dell laptop and my Google Pixel XL smartphone. Why? Because my business and life are stored in those two pieces of technology. Anything else—from a suitcase to underwear—is easily replaced so long as I have a credit card and there’s a store nearby.
So it only makes sense that smartphone travel photography should mean more than taking great family photos during your trip. Take these 5 photos BEFORE you leave home. They will save you time, hassle and aggravation on your travels. They might even help keep your kids safer.
1. Snap a screenshot of your airline boarding pass.
Yes. I use smartphone airline apps to communicate with my carriers of choice, most often Southwest or American Airlines. But there are times when apps stop working. Technology sometimes fails. Or the internet connection is lost.
So now I grab a screenshot of my boarding pass and save it to my gallery. So long as my phone has power, I can quickly and easily access my mobile boarding pass. (Memo to self: Don’t forget your extra cell phone power pack!)
2. Snap a smartphone photo of your parking space.
File this under “lessons learned the hard way.” I had spent the day at Navy Pier in Chicago with the kids and some friends. We were tired and ready to head home. All we had to do was find the car. Unfortunately, that was much easier said than done. I dragged the group from one end of the garage to the other. We finally gave up.
I bought them ice cream cones and sat them down while I found a very patient security guard with a golf cart. He drove me up and down every row of that huge parking garage until we finally spotted the car.
If I had snapped a smartphone photo of the parking spot, I would not have had to rely on my tired brain and faulty memory. I could have shown the photo to the security guard, and he could have driven me right to my car.
I do the same thing when I park in a city. Before I walk away, I snap a smartphone photo of the street signs at the nearest intersection. Then, if I get turned around, I can plug those street names into my Google maps app and it can direct back to my car.
3. Snap a Smartphone Photo of Your Valet Parking Receipt.
I don’t know about you, but my very large purse is something of a black hole. Things go in but they don’t always come out. Valet parking tickets tend to fall into that category. I have learned to snap a photo before the ticket ever goes into my purse.
4. Snap a Smartphone Photo of Your Driver’s License and Passport.
This one my daughter learned the hard way. She lost her wallet the day before she was due to get on an airplane for her spring break trip to Florida. There was no way to get a replacement in time, so she had no ID for getting on the plane. We called the airline and were told that a photo of her license stored on her smartphone would work. Too bad she hadn’t taken one.
But she did have a photo of her passport, something I had her do before a trip to Europe the previous year. It wasn’t enough for her to get on the plane without additional questions. (Turned out she had her W2s in her backpack. For whatever reason, that satisfied the TSA guy and he waved her through security.)
In addition, when we went online to find out what she needed to do to replace her Indiana drivers license, we learned that it is easy—provided you know your driver’s license number. Which, of course, she didn’t because she didn’t have her license! That meant she had to detour to Indiana to visit a Bureau of Motor Vehicles office in person to get a replacement license before she headed back to college.
5. Snap a photo of the kids.
This is something you should do every morning of your trip. That way, if you become separated, it’s easy to show the authorities what the kids are wearing. You won’t have to remember whether Joey put on the green t-shirt or the blue one today.
More Great Family Travel Tips
Do you use your phone for more than taking great family photos when you travel? Share with us in the comment section below.
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Kids get lost. It happens. Having that photo would be essential for providing an accurate description. Brilliant idea.
Same experience about parking space 😀 Yes, lesson learned the hard way.
Take a picture of your hotel adress and everything you plan to visit, just in case ! Especially the location of where you’re sleeping, you never know sometimes it takes hell to find a taxi knowing the way … And by the way for security questions, I’ve read that it’s not a good idea to upload your boarding pass online !
These are SUCH helpful and smart tips Cindy! Photos on our phones can save a lot of headache 🙂
Let me say all of your ideas are great. My children are all over 25, but I think the idea of taking photos of your traveling companions is great. Things happen even to adults. Taking a photo of my passport and drivers license are even good to have as a reference on general principle. When I start thinking about where my next trip will be, I wonder if my passport Will still be within the 6 month window. Keeping a copy on my phone I’ll know.
Lovely tips! I always take a photo of my hotel address in case that I get lost or I forget it! Thanks for sharing.