Most of us have handed our phone to a partner and expected an Insta-worthy photo in return, only to be disappointed by the result—think awkward angle, terrible timing, or a composition that somehow misses the entire point.
Or we’ve experienced the mild existential crisis of realizing our own camera roll and our husband’s camera roll appear to feature two entirely different women.
Fortunately, support is available. Women across the internet have been sharing some of these photographic mishaps, and they’re both a hilarious reminder that we’re not alone and a masterclass in how not to take someone’s picture (SOs, take notes!).
Below, we’ve rounded up some of our favorites from here and here on Threads. Scroll through them, cringe a little, laugh a lot, and take comfort in the fact that we’ve all “felt cute,” only to regret seeing the finished photo later.
#1 He Says The Wind Was A Bit In The Way
Image source: kateboondar
Earlier this year, Scandal star Kerry Washington gave the internet a moment of pure, unfiltered relatability. The video, captioned “felt cute, may delete later,” begins with a glamorous shot of the actress drinking coffee.
In a lighthearted callout of her husband, Nnamdi Asomugh, the video, overlaid with text that reads “felt pretty then I opened my husband’s camera roll,” proceeds to show a lineup of candid and close-up pics of Kerry. Some show her sleeping, some are selfies she sent him as updates—all are pretty amusing; none are very flattering.
#2 🙈
Image source: olya_filipenko
#3
Image source: _natalia_us
It wasn’t a complaint, just a quick, familiar laugh, and it landed hard: the video racked up 1.4 million views, and in the just over 9,700 comments, plenty of women recognized the same struggle of trusting their own husbands with a camera. Their replies were arguably just as funny as the original post, ranging from @amysahabdool’s “nothing keeps me more humbled than my husband’s camera roll” to @canpor’s “So it’s every husband.”
What stands out among them is how universal the experience is. In one comment, for instance, commenter @raee.allday realized, excitedly, in all caps, that she now had something in common with Kerry Washington herself. And it’s that relatability that, as Brenda Chuinkam notes, “pushed the moment beyond just a celebrity joke.”
#4 An Aesthetic Photo With A Horse
Image source: astafusichka
#5 He Said I Look Like A Seagull
Image source: safary.school
As it turns out, Kerry’s moment is just the famous tip of a much bigger iceberg. “Felt Cute Then Opened My Husband’s Camera Roll” now has around 13.7 million videos on TikTok. Meanwhile, women across social media have been posting their own partner photography fails in countless other posts and threads. And the comments they receive have added to the running joke.
For example, over on Threads, two posts, from @ola_aloolao and @liza.lense, have amassed an array of the most cringeworthy, ill-timed, or downright baffling photos husbands have ever taken of their wives. We’ve included some of the most hilarious ones in this list, but a few themes keep popping up.
#6
Image source: katusha.nv
#7 Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder, Yeah
Image source: krizalesss_
There’s the classic obscured face. There’s the awkward, unflattering angle, and the distorted perspective that comes with it. There’s the poorly timed shot and the senseless framing, the kind that makes you wonder what he was even aiming for. There’s the bad lighting, and the less-than-flattering expression caught at exactly the wrong moment. And then there’s the catch-all category: the glitches, the blurry or out-of-focus shots, and just a general lack of awareness and attention to detail.
Each is the exact kind of photo you hope your husband doesn’t pull up when a colleague says, “Can I see a picture of your wife?”
#8 My Favorite
Image source: antigonnaaa
#9 I Love This Family Photo
Image source: delareinastyle_shihtzu
The comedy of these posts is really driven home through the “photos in my phone gallery vs. my husband’s phone gallery” theme of @liza.lense’s thread. A twist on the classic “expectation vs. reality” meme format, one gallery is curated, well-lit, and Insta-ready. The other, apparently shot by someone who has never once considered an angle, is a chaotic archive of nostrils, mid-blink disasters, and photos that seem to have been taken by someone actively trying to avoid capturing your face.
The juxtaposed photos might show the same woman, sometimes only minutes apart, but they show two wildly different outcomes. It all just depends on who is holding the phone.
#10
Image source: nastya_sidykh
#11 Our First Joint Trip To Italy🥹 As You Can See, I Was A Big Fan Of Wide-Angle Lens
Image source: venice.grl
So what should you do if you’ve been bestowed the responsibility of photographing your partner? First, cut yourself a break. Even the memory cards of professional photographers are sure to house a few duds.
But if you’re serious about upping your game, a New York Times article suggests concentrating on the following:
- Choosing a flattering angle: Holding the phone too low and shooting up toward the chin is a common misstep, since it’s rarely a flattering angle for most faces.
- Paying attention to lighting: Bad lighting in person will translate to a bad photo, so it’s best to have your partner face the light source rather than positioning it behind them.
- Taking your time: Rushing can lead to uninspired shots. Without slowing down to consider composition or lighting, a photo becomes little more than proof that your partner was there.
- Taking more photos: This simply raises the odds of capturing one that your partner will actually like.
#12 Masterpieces That He Loves
Image source: viiikkkst
#13 I Asked My Husband To Take A Photo “So That The Legs Are Visible”
Image source: sierova.n
If you’re on the other end of the camera, you could take a leaf out of married couple Jon Bouffard and Alexandra Madison’s book. For Alexandra, NYT reporter Mark Walker writes, a photo is a small work of art, where the framing, the straightness of the horizon, even a stray strand of hair, all get corrected before the shutter clicks.
To this end, they’ve developed a system that Walker likens to a training program, with Alexandra providing highly detailed instructions before Jon even takes the photo. Sometimes Alexandra sets up the shot herself first, positioning her husband where she wants to stand and taking a reference photo. Then, in a quick, informal lesson in the rule of thirds (aka keeping the subject off-center), she uses the phone’s grid lines to show him exactly where she should be framed in the final shot. And voilà.
Beyond that, Jon’s wry advice to all the husbands and boyfriends out there is simple. “Suck it up,” he says. “This is never going to end.”
#14 Here Is Our First Meeting With The Child At The Maternity Hospital 😁
Image source: pokate_toys
#15
Image source: fouksman.tv
#16 A Masterpiece
Image source: veereestiuk
#17 I Think It’s Incredible
Image source: olgashkaraba
#18 Girls, I Asked For A Panorama To Be Taken Of Me
Image source: daryna_ly
#19 Emergency Room
Image source: zaverukha.k
#20 My Time Has Come To Show This Masterpiece
Image source: anastasiia.a13
#21 This Photo Is Already 8 Years Old, And I’m Still Laughing And Can’t Understand How It Was Possible To Take Such A Photo
Image source: oksana_sych
#22 How Did He Manage To Do That, It’s Still A Mystery
Image source: tatyana____manzhos
#23 Asked To Take A Photo In The Pool. I Still Dont Understand How He Did It
Image source: kriss.shytjakova
#24 He Says: I’ll Take A Picture Of My Princess While She’s Sleeping
Image source: natalia__ratkina
#25 I Saw Such Last “Pearls” On His Phone
Image source: pavlyna_ph
#26
Image source: innerlinnnok
#27
Image source: zapax_perfume
#28 Took A Photo Of Me Eating Activated Charcoal
Image source: melaniewould
#29 Me In My Phone Gallery vs. His
Image source: liza.lense
#30 My Favorite Photo That My Husband Took
Image source: ola_aloolao
#31
Image source: orlandoeys
#32 It’s Some Kind Of Ability To Take Ugly Photos
Image source: me.mariposaa
#33 He Loves Me Very Much
Image source: narasti_dp
#34 My Beloved Took A Photo, He Passed Away In 2023, I Will Cherish His Masterpieces Forever
Image source: yevheniiaprkhmnk
#35 At First, I Didn’t Understand Why He Told Me To Put My Hands On My Belly
Image source: an.ovc
#36
Image source: mirkevichi
#37
Image source: iryna_baziuk
#38
Image source: olesyabreus
#39 My Birthday:
Image source: anastasiiiia_k_
#40 He Said “I’ll Take A Photo With The Effect, Thanks…”
Image source: frio_lina
#41
Image source: dzurinets
#42
Image source: liliit.lim
#43
Image source: n.llavr
#44 If You Think He Took A Few Photos, You Are Wrong, There Is Only One
Image source: syrota_ua
#45
Image source: ihor_ilkov
#46
Image source: b_bberezhanska
#47
Image source: a_sharypina
#48 Just Says “Don’t Move” And Silently Clicks Something, And Then This
Image source: _dianaesthesia_
#49 Me In My Phone Gallery vs. His
Image source: s_lebedevva
#50 Me In My Phone Gallery vs. His
Image source: polinkarusalka
#51 Me In My Phone Gallery vs. His
Image source: lilodrobilo8
#52
Image source: assem_baigeldi
#53 Got Dizzy While Choosing A Photo
Image source: olesya_shpu
#54
Image source: haruu._._._
#55 The First Photo Is Expectation, The Second Is Reality
Image source: katja_2655141
#56 How I Take A Photo Of Him & How He Takes A Photo Of Me
Image source: olya_livar
#57 A Photographer From God
Image source: ella_kozhukhowska
#58
Image source: onlyperemoga
#59 Master Of His Craft
Image source: anastasiiaustych
#60
Image source: yuliia_kul
#61
Image source: ga.lia3598
#62
Image source: bogdan.prokopenko.s
#63
Image source: jule_creativemama
#64
Image source: tatyanaa.st
#65
Image source: o.demn
#66 This Is My Boyfriend’s Favorite Photo
Image source: shikarichan
#67 Our Favorite Photo From Paris
Image source: ysvob_93
#68 Asked To Take A Photo Of Me With A Diploma Against The Background Of The University
Image source: guliezh
#69 My Boyfriend Says “I See It This Way”
Image source: kumanovska.n
#70 My New Favorite
Image source: murka.v.tattoo
#71 Me And Our Son, My Husband Loves To Take Pictures Of Us Sleeping
Image source: irychka_
#72
Image source: _mollekylla_
#73 🤣🤣
Image source: lerok_nau
#74
Image source: klymchuk_katua
#75 My Favorite Photographer
Image source: makeit.psy
#76 It Won’t Get Any Better
Image source: maryana_denysyuk
#77
Image source: de_photki_ua
#78 Me In My Phone Gallery vs. His
Image source: sestrenka_ta.chto_suka
#79 Me In My Phone Gallery vs. His
Image source: georgievna_908
#80
Image source: _shikhanova
#81
Image source: yankefamssen
#82 Me In My Phone Gallery vs. His
Image source: chakchakololo
#83 Me In My Phone Gallery vs. His
Image source: katerina.efimova0
#84 When My Husband Takes Pictures, I Have No Working Sides And I’m A Dwarf Because He’s Very Tall
Image source: n.kvicky
#85 One Of The Recent Ones
Image source: tatiannabocharova
#86 Now My Favorite
Image source: _alekseevaaaaaaaa
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