Selfie Fails: These People Forgot to Check the Background of Their Photo Before Posting

By: Kate Row | Last updated: Feb 08, 2023

We are all taking and posting photos all the time. It’s become almost second nature to snap a pic of anything you find interesting. But as we all know, the internet is forever!

These people shared photos online without checking the background. And we’re pretty sure they learned their lesson afterwards. Check out these photos and what’s going on behind the scenes of the images. You might be surprised by what you find.

Cats Will Be Cats

You can always count on cats to be in the places they’re not supposed to be, especially in the most inopportune moments. And we’ve learned that mirror pics tend to hide secrets in the background.

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Source: colski08/ Reddit

This is yet another piece of proof that bathroom mirror pics are not always the best idea. We’re not 100% sure if the cat is looking for something he lost in the toilet or if he’s going for a refreshing beverage.

Three Is a Crowd

Two is company, but three’s a crowd. That saying has never been more true. If you’re searching this photo for what is out of place, look right in between this couple for a spooky surprise.

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Source: reddit

You’ll find two eyes staring right back at you! The best part of this photo is that apparently the original poster had it on their refrigerator for years before they realized the little peek-a-boo in between them.

Once You See It…

Once you see it, you won’t be able to unsee it. We’ll give you a hint: It has something to do with that man in the background. He’s innocently sitting in the background but it appears like something else entirely.

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Source: lamebook

The woman’s belt blends right into his pants so it looks like he’s riding her like a horse! All he needs to complete the look is a cowboy hat!

"Babe, stop!"

A selfie mishap like this makes us cringe a little. Obviously, he was caught in the act since there is clearly no girlfriend here. Likely, this “girlfriend” does not exist at all. But we do have to say we’re impressed by the flexibility and ability to hold up an iPad with nothing but his toes.

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Source: Madagoscar/ Reddit

This is not a skill that everyone possesses. Still, we’d recommend that he checks mirrors more thoroughly next time he wants to lie in a post. Better yet, don’t lie at all!

Bathroom Selfies For the Win

Here is another perfect example of why we don’t take selfies in the bathroom mirror. You’re bound to catch something that you didn’t mean to. And once it’s posted, it’s posted for all the internet to see and enjoy.

Source: boredpanda

This poor young woman caught herself in a pretty vulnerable position. We can only hope she learned her lesson after this one. Selfies are for outside of the bathroom.

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Dad Photobomb

If you take selfies in your house you run the risk of your dad photobombing the experience. We can only imagine this girl’s reaction when she looked at her photo of hearse;f only to see her dad joining the party.

Source: 22 words

It’s a dad’s job to embarrass his daughter! We love that he posed for it and everything. That’ll teach her to not spend so much time taking selfies.

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Go Team!

Practicing gymnastics with dad is all fun and games until someone lands right on their head. These ladies just so happened to be taking a picture right at the perfect moment to capture the disaster.

Source: Get_stamosed/ Reddit

While they’re all smiles in this photo we assume the moment after this was snapped was less of a joyful moment.

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Flexing on Grandma

It’s become something of a cliche to flex your muscles for a photo. But, to each their own! What makes us laugh about this photo isn’t the man in the forefront at all. Rather, it’s what’s happening in the mirror.

Source: somecards

Grandma looks to be extra supportive of her grandson. So much so that she is willing to take some photos of him for his dating profile. What are grandmas for if not to help you flex?

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Check Every Mirror

One thing we’ve learned about mirror selfies is that it’s important to check EVERY mirror before you click “post” or “send”. She might have been careful to make sure there were no embarrassing items laying around on the counter.

Source: Unew/ Reddit

But, it looks like she didn’t notice that small mirror in the corner catching a very unflattering angle up her nose. Or, maybe she noticed it and just thought it was worth posting to make us all laugh.

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Trip to the Zoo With Grandma

Going to the zoo with grandma sounds like a perfectly innocent daytrip. See some animals, eat some ice cream, and learn about animal behaviors and habits. 

Source: somecards

This girl wanted a simple picture with these amazing giraffes, but they gave her a little more than she was bargaining for. They gave her a lesson in how baby giraffes are made. The photo is priceless!

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Don’t Look Back Grandma and Grandpa!

Grandma and Grandpa are nothing but smiles in this photo by the lake. They might not be so delighted if they turned around and saw the scene playing out right behind them.

Source: reddit

In actuality, there are two couples featured in this photo. One smiling for the camera and one completely unbothered by the fact that they’re being filmed.We can’t help but wonder what the grandparents’ reactions were when they realized their innocent photo was not so innocent.

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Cart Down

We have a few unanswered questions here. Obviously, we’d love to know how that golf cart ended up on its side. Did the man in the forefront hit a ball so hard that it tipped the cart? Unlikely.

Source: reddit

But, we also have to wonder why the man is set up to hit a golf ball that simply isn’t there. Maybe he’s just deep in concentration. That would explain why he isn’t concerned about the cart falling on its side.

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A Proud Father

It looks like this dapper young man is all dressed up for his school dance. What father wouldn’t be proud of this stellar look? He’s all grown up with a pink pocket square and a checkered vest to complete the outfit.

Source: reddit

So, we’re not surprised that his dad wanted to take a picture of his son. But we don’t think he meant to be in the photo as well since he’s not as dressed up.Thanks a lot, dad!

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Business On Top

We’ve heard of business in the front and party in the back. But have you heard of business on top and party on the bottom? Obviously, this man did not plan on having his bottom half pictured. 

Source: reddit

That’s the great thing about photos. You can show only what you want to show (as long as there’s not a mirror behind you. This man wanted to show off his snazzy coat but failed to realize he’d be showing off a little more than that.

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Furry Photobomb

This is a photobomb you can’t even be upset at! Maybe this pup was tired of the girls taking pictures and wanted some love! Or, he might have just wanted to show off for the camera like they were.

Source: reddit

Regardless, this has to be one of our favorite unsuspecting photobombers both for his timing and his pose.

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"No More Selfies, Sister"

Younger siblings have to endure a lot from their older brothers and sisters. Sometimes, this means posing for a hundred selfies at a time. But for this younger sister, enough was enough.

Source: Ziptoro/ Reddit

We’ve never seen such a clear expression that says “I’m over it” in our lives. But she’s got that finger up as well in case the message wasn’t clear enough. Ha!

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Giving the Locker Room Something to Talk About

We do have to wonder if the locker room is the best place to take a group photo. Sure, the entire team is present, but you might end up catching something hidden in the background that you weren’t planning on.

Source: supersonicmonkey/ reddit

We see lots of smiling faces here but we have to imagine they were laughing even harder when they looked back at their group selfie to see one particular player in the background. They couldn’t have waited for him to shower off before snapping the shot?

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Stealing the Show

When you get proposed to you don’t want anyone else stealing the show. Clearly, this little guy didn’t get the memo.

Source: Reddit

But, we can’t really blame him. It looks like he’s just excited to have a front-row seat to all the action. Of all the photobombers in the world, this one has to be our favorite.

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Voldemort, is that you?

While we have seen people capture some pretty peculiar things in the background of their selfies, this one might be the most unexpected and… evil. These girls wanted to snap a picture of their picnic at the park.

Source: Ukarm/ reddit

What they got instead was photographic evidence of Voldemort’s existence! We’re not sure what he’s doing lounging around when he has a mission to destroy Harry Potter. He should be heading back to Hogwarts!

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A Very Scary Bunny

At a glance you wouldn’t see anything wrong with this photo. It’s just a run of the mill family photo of two brothers hanging out with the Easter Bunny. But, this photo has the potential to be the premise of the next big horror film.

Source: reddit

We’re not sure if the man inside the bunny suit meant to look this scary or if it was an accident. All we know is that if we were those kids we’d be running for the hills with fear! We commend their bravery.

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Kids are the best because their reactions to things are always completely unfiltered. You know they’re telling the truth from their obvious facial expressions, even if it hurts a little. Such is the case here.

Source: Ronisneat/ Reddit

This man was on his way to a Ke$ha-themed party when he took this quick selfie in the car. Luckily for us, he happened to capture his daughter’s reaction in the back of the car. She looks awfully concerned. Maybe she doesn’t even recognize her dad here!

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The Revealing Coffee

Most of us need our morning coffee to get moving for our day. This particular cup of coffee is revealing a lot about how this person really feels. 

Maybe next time they should do a check of the photo before they hit “post” to avoid this kind of embarrassment. We wonder if someone let them know about the little hidden message in their morning cup of Joe.

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Photobomb from Jason Voorhees

It’s nice that Jason Voorhees took some time out of his busy schedule of terrorizing people to come congratulate this happy couple. We wonder if he’s on the bride or groom’s side of the aisle.

Source: reddit

Or maybe he wasn’t incited but just thought he’d stop by. Whatever the case, he certainly adds something to this romantic photo of the happy couple. Hopefully he didn’t scare any guests away.

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Let Me In!

We imagine this pup was waiting forever for his owner to let him in but she was too busy taking photos of herself to notice! So, he had no choice but to make himself a little more obvious.

Source: pinterest

She might have been too busy to notice at the time she was taking the pictures, but we can only imagine her surprise when she looked back on them and saw her dog’s photobomb. That’s quite a face he’s making.

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Creepin

The look on this dog’s face really says it all. He seems frustrated that she’s so focused on her selfie while he is clearly focused intently on the ice cream. Priorities!

Source: Reddit

We like to think that she shared with him because who could resist that face? Hopefully, she didn’t spend too much time taking selfies before they were able to enjoy the treat.

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The Judgement

We don’t think we’ve ever seen a better example of a generational divide. This young man just wanted to take a quick mirror selfie and it is all too clear that the man next to him is not impressed.

Source: Luke Spinelli/ Reddit

Whether he is annoyed that he is in the photo or just confused about why someone would want to take a picture in the bathroom is unclear.

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The Perfect Family Photo

This cute family almost achieved the perfect family photo. The fall leaves, the coordinated cozy outfits, all three children looking at the camera, and they even got the family dog in the pic!

Source: someecards

But, they probably didn’t plan on the dog doing its business while they were capturing a sweet family moment in time. Well, at least they’ll always look back on it and laugh!

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Peek a Boo!

When you see it… We’ve seen a lot of mirror selfies capture things in the background that were not intentional but this one is downright scary!

Source: Reddit

Something (or someone) hiding behind the shower curtain is what horror movies are made of. We just hope this was a friend playing a joke on her and not a stranger that made their way into her home uninvited.

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It Might Be Time To Clean

We’re not here to judge because we can all say that we’ve let our rooms get a little too messy. But, when you start attracting critters you might consider taking some time to pick up the mess.

Source: og_pocahontas/ reddit

If you look closely you might see that she is not the only one captured in this photo. It appears a rat has found its home in her room as well. Our guess is that he’s after those marshmallows on the floor.

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Secrets, Secrets

Gender reveals are all the rage and have only become more and more elaborate as the years go on. Lots of people like to keep the gender of their baby a secret until they reveal it in some spectacular way.

Source: someecards

This person is obviously not too great at keeping secrets because the gender is right there in the photo. Oops! This probably wasn’t the “It’s a girl!” moment the couple was hoping for.

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Football Game Photobomb

Sporting events are some of the best places to photobomb. People are always taking pictures in the crowds and there are tons of opportunities to sneak into the background of someone else’s photo.

Source: someecards

We wonder if these girls were disappointed when they looked at their photos to see this young man ruining all the pics. They might have thought the photos were ruined but we think it only makes them better!

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The Door is Giving Her Away

People are becoming experts at identifying photoshop. One of the major giveaways is when something is warped in the background. This woman definitely got caught in the act because she pretended like she had no idea what the commenters were talking about.

Source: someecards

The door behind her is completely warped, as is her arm. Busted! She feigned innocence as if she had no idea what they were talking about. This is another reminder to check the background before posting!

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Source: Seeing Double

This man didn’t realize what he had captured in this photo until he looked at it much later. He was trying to get a picture of him at a conference.

Source: naptownfellow/ reddit

What he got instead was himself 20 years in the future! We wonder if the two talked and hit it off. We bet they would have more in common than just their style.

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Photobombed By the Queen

Of all the people you could catch in the background of your photo, one of the last ones you might expect is the Queen of England herself!

Source: Jaydetaylor/ Reddit

She’s all smiles in the background of this selfie and we bet the girls in the forefront of the picture were smiling just as brightly when they looked back on their selfie to see the happy accident.

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Vacation Family Photo

This is another example of family photos not going exactly to plan. This family took a beach vacation and wanted to commemorate the trip with a family photo! But, the surfer behind them had other plans.

Source: someecards

We can’t be certain if he did this on purpose to make us laugh or if he actually just fell off of his board at the exact right time. Either way it’s a funny photobomb we’re sure the family could appreciate.

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Comic Relief

We’re not sure if this is comedy or if this is just plain gross. The friend in the front was all ready for a cool picture of him and his friend by the water but the guy behind him had other plans.

Source: reddit

It looks like he needed to relieve himself but we sure hope it was just a water bottle and this was a prank. If not, he sure knows how to ruin a photo!

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Driving Privileges Revoked

We can definitely see why this person’s driving privileges were revoked. If you’re not sure why,  take a look just beyond the letter he’s holding.

Source: reddit

This person is driving 40 MPH while reading the note about all of his driving penalties! It’s no wonder he’s getting his privileges revoked. Drive safe out there!

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A Sneak Attack

This series of photos sends a shiver down my spine. That monster spider came out of nowhere! You can see in both of the girls’ faces that they slowly start to realize that the moving black speck is a real life spider.

Source: jair townsend/ reddit

We can understand why the girl screams because it is awfully unsettling that it crawled out from right under their heads but we want to tell her to close her mouth. What if it crawls inside?

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Baby Overboard

At a glance there is nothing too abnormal about this image until you take a closer peak at the background. The man in the foreground probably did a double take when he looked back on the picture. What is that man holding the baby doing?

Source: reddit

It appears he is about to throw the baby over his head! We’re sure he was just playing with the kid and all was well but this photo was captured at the exact right time to make us stop in our tracks.

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Where’s Waldo?

We thought Waldo was supposed to be hard to find! He’s right in the middle of this photo clear as day. You can’t miss him!

Source: someecards

The real mystery is why this man was dressed as Waldo at the restaurant. It doesn’t look like anyone else is dressed up so we can’t assume this was taken on Halloween. Maybe it’s just his daily outfit!

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Wait… What’s Your Name?

Everyone loves a team jersey! It’s the best way to show support for the team or player you love. But, we must remember that when we take photos in the mirror, letters will be read in the reverse order.

Source: small joys

This girl’s name is Lana and she’s number 1! Get your head out of the gutter if you thought it said anything other than that.

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Your Mirror Betrayed You!

This young woman was seeking to have a photo in which it looked like her boyfriend was trying to sneak a photo of her. “No, babe stop!” But, once again, the mirror betrays her and we see this photo for what it really is.

Source: boredpanda

She took the photo herself. Not to mention, she was on the toilet when she took the picture so we can all see that no boyfriend was involved here.

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Standing Out

We can’t be sure why all these ladies gathered at the beach. Maybe for a photoshoot? If that’s the case we can’t imagine that they planned on having that little visitor in the background.

Source: somecards

His speedo doesn’t exactly blend in with the rest of the crowd pictured here. Was it coincidence that he wound up in this photo or did he walk back and forth more than once? You decide what’s more likely.

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Catching a Private Moment

Note to self: When you do a photoshoot at the beach, make sure you check that there aren’t any overly-loving dogs around. And if there are, maybe don’t post the picture.

Source: Reddit

We imagine this girl doesn’t want to look back on her vacation photos to find a couple of dogs caught in the act, but here we are!

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