Photographer’s Prank Makes for Awkward Videos

Photographer’s Prank Makes for Awkward Videos

How many times has this happened to you? Someone grabs a camera and acts as if they're about to snap a picture of you, and you pose, holding still and smiling or making whatever cute or goofy face you want. Then you realize the person is still standing there pointing the camera at you, and instead of taking a picture, they're actually taking a video. Yes, it's an embarrassing moment because you realize you've been holding a pose for a still shot, but you can rebound from it.

Seattle YouTube user Florin Merano decided to compile some of these kinds of moments into a video titled "Are You Taking a Video?" starring his friends. Their reactions are varied once they figure out what is actually going on. A few hold their poses for a while, and then get annoyed. Others just laugh it off.

While Merano's friends seem to be over his photo fake-out prank, he has tons of fans who can't get enough of it. More than 500,000 views have been racked up on YouTube so far. One commenter wrote, "This video is so awkward…" Another wrote, "This is so brilliant!" Merano then took the trick over to Vine, where he shot six-second clips of friends waiting for a snapshot. It's pretty hilarious to watch their reactions.

So the next time you pose for a photo, you might want to make sure you ask, "Are you taking a video?" It could save you a bit of embarrassment, or you could just pretend that you're in on the joke.

[Related: Apple's iPhone Is Killing Off Newspaper Photographers]

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