25 Perfectly Timed Photos That Will Make You Look Twice

Possible Camera Used: GoPro HERO 10
Where to Buy: Target
Avg. Cost: $350*

When appropriately choreographed, perfectly timed group photos have the potential to turn out very well. Unfortunately, a few problems plague 99% of synchronized group photos, resulting in disaster more often than not. At least one person doesn’t understand the concept of “jump on 3,” and it’s impossible to please everyone. 

And I'll Huff and I'll Puff ©u/Geo-NS/Reddit

Destinations worldwide have become popular for the photo ops they offer tourists. Some travelers have traversed the globe looking to tick locations off their bucket lists. The best way to do that? A perfectly timed picture as a memento of each magnificent place.

Possible Camera Used: Fujifilm QuickSnap Flash 400
Where to Buy: Radio Shack
Avg. Cost: $10-$20*

Subway stations and bus stops have been the locations of some of the best perfectly timed photos. In many cases, a public transit photo’s greatness is attributed to the wide range of interesting people one comes across. Coming in a close second in the category of perfectly timed transit photo assists are billboards. 

Nose Touch @shopify/Pinterest

Billboards are the silent assassin of perfectly timed photos. The stars of the pics rarely know they’re involved. That is, not until they’ve seen a snapshot of themselves sniffing a giant finger on their best friend’s META page.

Possible Camera Used: iPhone 8
Where to Buy: eBay, Garage Sales
Avg. Cost: $100*

Going to the zoo is meant to be a fun and magical experience in which visitors lay their eyes upon animals they never thought they’d see. Some zoos even have exhibits allowing patrons to feed and/or ride animals like camels, elephants, and ostriches.

Ms. Ostrich @meetissai/Twitter

Partaking in an ostrich riding activity is an event that should be undertaken only at one’s own risk. It’s not just a dangerous sport. Ostrich riding is dangerous for your image as well. It leads to too many hilarious photo ops to count, each one having the potential to end a relationship full-stop.

Possible Camera Used: Nikon Z 9  
Where to Buy: Best Buy 
Avg. Cost: $5,500*

Taken by Joe Gogoi/EyeEm, this close-up of a furry squirrel on the grass is adorable. The little critter is desperately trying to catch a peanut (no doubt thrown by the photographer himself) in his surprisingly sharp little claws. The look in his eyes is like a running back catching a Hail Mary in a Super Bowl game.

Almost Got It ©eva9413/Shutterstock.com

Need a solid camera for wildlife photography such as this? The Nikon Z 9 has made quite a few “best of” lists for its ability to catch our furry (or scaly, feathered, or whatever else) friends in great detail. This camera is for serious photographers only—it costs $5,500 at Best Buy.

Possible Camera Used: Samsung Galaxy S21
Where to Buy: Samsung Mall Kiosks
Avg. Cost: $750-$800*

Companies search far and wide for marketing campaigns to help them reach their full potential. In other words, how can they get as many markets as possible? The idea that “sex sells” has dominated the retail market for decades probably won’t change until another method has been found.

Cat with Abs @imgur/Pinterest

Thanks to a purrfectly timed photo a customer posted, Abercrombie & Fitch might have stumbled across the holy grail of marketing. An adorable, cute, and sexy free ad that has the potential to appeal to customers of all ages and walks of life. All this is because of a cat’s instinctual addiction to climbing in bags and boxes.

Possible Camera Used: iPad
Where to Buy: Walmart, Apple Store
Avg. Cost: $450-$600*

Quirky, fun, and sometimes horrific, perfectly timed photos have been taken with historical monuments for as long as there have been portable commercial cameras to take the pictures. Tourists flock to the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramids of Giza, and countless other temples, ruins, and statues to replicate the scenes they’ve seen on postcards or in the movies. 

Catching a Plane @imgur/Pinterest

There probably aren’t many postcards with the image of a statue grabbing the tailed of a plane. It just doesn’t have the welcoming appeal most cities are going for. The next time you fly with United Airlines don’t forget to tick the box for the “statue coming to life” insurance. If it’s on there, it’s there for a reason.

Possible Camera Used: GoPro HERO 10
Where to Buy: Target
Avg. Cost: $350*

Taking photos underwater was one of the dreams everyone had in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but no one ever thought it would be possible. Not only is it possible, but the aquatic world has provided us with some of the most spectacular and entertaining photos. 

Fishhead @Facts Verse/Youtube

There’s nothing quite like being photobombed by a fish. It’s not like the fish simply blocked the subject’s face. No. It turned, posed, and stared down the camera person as if to say, “I don’t remember being you before.”

Possible Camera Used: Samsung Galaxy 20s
Where to Buy: Walmart
Avg. Cost: $1,000*

Whether you live on a farm, work on a farm, or visit a farm, thanks to the animals that live there, life is a series of perfectly timed photos. The moments they capture are usually hilarious — for those in attendance, at least. While most people would expect the best moments to come from universally recognized pets like cats and dogs, the farm’s larger animals hold their own.

Perfect Timing: Level > Alien ©u/Epileptic_Ebola/Reddit

It takes someone who has seen one too many horror movies and has far too much time on their hands to birth the next generation of Alien films.

Possible Camera Used: Canon EOS R6
Where to Buy: usa.canon.com
Avg. Cost: $2,500*

If you’re looking at the gentleman in the center of the frame with the red shirt and extra tall beer, you’re looking in the wrong place. The real hero of the picture is the father further down to the left, whose parental reflexes were on full display when he instinctively sacrificed his arm to save his kid from taking a stray bat to the face. 

#1 Greatest Dad @imgur/Pinterest

Considering how many baseball games are played annually (almost 5,000 from the MLB alone), photos like this don’t come along nearly as often as you’d think. When they do, professional photographers are there to capture everything — like the kid who’s about to be hit having no idea what’s going on.

Possible Camera Used: Sony ZV-1
Where to Buy: Amazon
Avg. Cost: $750*

House pets like cats and dogs have provided the world with some of the best perfectly timed photos on the internet. While some perfectly timed pics are spontaneously unexpected, others are planned. Some pet parents even go as far as to take their fur babies in for professional photoshoots. 

A Good Boy @cbsnews/Pinterest

Pet photographers are actually a thing, but they’re expensive and not much different than the in-house photographers you’ll find at JCPenney or Walmart’s photoshops. Remember, the photos you take of the family pet might end up on a Christmas card one day, so it should be perfectly timed and perfectly adorable.

Possible Camera Used: Nikon D500
Where to Buy: Amazon
Avg. Cost: $1,900*

Capturing all the best moments in sports doesn’t just mean what happens during the game. There are constantly picture-worthy moments; it’s just a matter of how many are caught on film. One of the more entertaining moments in sports is the celebration players and coaches participate in following a big win or a milestone moment.

A Narrow Escape @imgur/Pinterest

The player or coach being interviewed by reporters after a game is usually on the, let’s say, hydrated end of the celebration. Knowing that something is coming makes it easier to avoid. Just ask this Brewers player whose dodgeball skills were fully displayed when this perfectly timed photo was taken.

Possible Camera Used: Sony a7 III
Where to Buy: Best Buy
Avg. Cost: $2000*

All beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In other words, pictures are memorable not for what they are meant to be, but for what people see in them. It’s like looking at the sky on a particularly nimbus cloud-filled evening and watching as the ever-evolving clouds take the form of what you think you see.

u/gurglecat/Reddit.com

Once you see something in a photo, much like when you see something in the clouds, it’s impossible to unsee it. It will always be there. Just like this broken bulb will never not look like a ghost flexing its ectoplasmic arms.

Possible Camera Used: iPhone
Where to Buy: Amazon
Avg. Cost: $800-1,300*

Going on a day cruise along the shores of a paradise-like island is a great way to spend an afternoon on vacation. As is the case with most tours and cruises, there will probably be a few strangers on the boat who tend to get friendlier than is comfortable.

Ride On @MostAmazingTop10/Youtube

The man in the back row of this day cruise is doing everything he can to play it cool while enjoying his afternoon in the sun. The family in front of him doesn’t know it yet, but because of a perfectly synchronized outfit, that man will be part of their stories for years to come.

Possible Camera Used: Canon EOS Rebel T7 
Where to Buy: usa.canon.com, Amazon
Avg. Cost: $600*

Family photos are how future generations can put the names from old stories to faces. Many families opt for classic photos of the group smiling and not doing anything particularly special. However, others go all out attempting to re-create movie moments into lasting memories of their own.

Capturing Treasured Family Moments @imgur/Pinterest

One, two, threeeeee! Who can ever forget the adorably unforgettable scene in SONY classic hit Jerry Maguire when Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger walk with 6-year-old Jonathan Lipnicki as he holds their hands and swings himself in midair. After this perfectly timed photo failure was captured, these parents might steer clear of film recreations for future pics.