If you lose your luggage and bags, you’ll usually be asked for a written description (colour, manufacturer, size, etc.) The airport staff will then have to sort through hundreds of bags, trying to find the one that’s yours.But if you can provide a picture of your luggage, the process becomes much faster. It’s easier to find your bags via a picture than by a written description. So, snap a photograph of your luggage and bags, before you head to the airport.

If your children do wander off, you’ll need to give a description to the authorities. Things will go much quicker if you can present a photograph, rather than having to describe your children in words. But wait, wouldn’t you already have a photo of your child with you? Got the kids ready? Now snap a picture of them before heading out for the day. Why would you still need to take a photo of them for every day during your vacation? Simple: it’s easier to identify the children if they are wearing the exact same clothes as in the picture when they wander off.

Some of us need to take a lot of different medication, such as elderly parents who may be with you on the trip. Always brace for the possibility that this medication can be lost. Snap a picture of the medicine and the labels (make sure they’re readable). Show it to the doctor or pharmacist to, again, speed up the process. This is also more convenient than writing medicine names on bits of paper and tucking it into your wallet.

Getting into a hire car or cab? Snap a picture of the car and license plate. There are two reasons to do this. The first is that, sometimes, you’ll need to track down the vehicle after you’ve gotten off. This can be to file a complaint (e.g. you were overcharged) or because you left your wallet / passport / phone… in the cab. A headsup:if you upload your images to a cloud service, such as iCloud, you can access the pictures even if your phone is missing.The second reason is security. If the driver is trying anything strange (e.g. driving you somewhere you’ve never been), you can quickly send the image of the vehicle to friends or local authorities for help.

Got into an accident? Snap a picture for your travel insurer. If you get into an accident, such as with your hired car, you’ll want your smartphone camera on hand. Take images of the accident from multiple angles, and be sure to get the exact position of involved vehicles. Also take photos showing nearby street signs, highway ramps, toll booths, etc. This will give a better sense of what transpired when the accident occurred. Travel insurance claims can be processed a lot quicker, if you accompany your report with relevant images.

This is our favourite. No vacation is complete without a bout of shopping. If you’re buying something for your friends, make use of that camera! Snap a few pictures and make sure it’s what they want. No one is happy to pay for the wrong thing. Also, you can snap pictures of alternative products, for their consideration.

But do be mindful of the shopkeepers – not all of them may approve of photography. Ask before you snap.

Some of us just don’t have a great sense of direction. An easy way to fix that is to “snap and walk” the first few times you wander from the hotel. As you walk, turn back and take pictures of the buildings, or snap pictures of the street signs. If you get confused while finding your way back (GPS is not always reliable), use the photographs as references to find your way back.

Photograph important receipts. You’ll need to provide a receipt for insurance claims if your items go missing. Unfortunately, paper receipts tend to go missing or even fade to the point of being unreadable. Take photographs of high value items that you buy abroad, such as electronics. This can help if you need to make a claim but lack a physical copy of the receipt.

Have international rewards and membership cards? You may not remember to carry all of them when your mind is more focused on packing your skincare. Take photos of your cards and keep them. Make sure your membership number or ID is visible in the photos!

One of our biggest nightmares is losing our wallet, worse still if you are on vacation. Take a picture of your wallet opened, showing just enough of each card so you can identify what each card is. Your phone can’t retrieve your stolen cards – but can remind you of its contents, so you can get cracking with those phonecalls to the right people.

Text: GoBear/ Photos: 123rf