'Excuse me, do you mind taking our picture?' Almost every time we take a walk past a London landmark someone stops us with this request. They then line up their pose in front of the famous backdrop (Big Ben, London Eye, a red phone box, Tesco) and strike their pose. 'Take two please. Just in case!'

Why do we insist on capturing a picture of ourselves wherever we travel? 'To prove we were there' is the most common reply you're likely to hear. But who are we proving it to: ourselves? Surely we can remember where we've been (although Paul Theroux might disagree if he believes his own over-used quote about tourists not knowing where they've been); our friends? Surely they don't require proof of the authenticity of our travel adventures, if indeed they care in the first place. So why do we do it?

I'm sure that part of the photo-mania that takes place at any famous photo stop is fed by those around us. Stand at the Trocadero in Paris and watch hundreds of people adopting the most ridiculous of poses in front of the Eiffel Tower and it's almost guaranteed that you'll soon be copying the masses. Whether it's a deadly serious photo or a ironic take on others' poses the result is the same. Those around you will inevitably observe and copy.

Peer pressure is certainly part of it: Everyone else is posing in front of the Taj Mahal. You'll probably never come back and if you don't take one now you'll always regret not having a photo of yourself here. Then there's the feeling of association that the picture brings. Look at that people-free photo of Sydney Opera House ten years later and it looks no different to a postcard. Now pull out the one you asked that strange American couple to take for you. You can remember the favourite fleece you wore (the one you left on a bus in Auckland the following month); you remember how brown you look after overdosing on sunshine up in Queensland; even the partner with you in your photo may be no more!

A photo connects a person, a place and most importantly a time. It acts as a gateway to a set of memories that can be otherwise locked away in our long-term memory. When we look at that photo taken at the Statue of Liberty in 2000 it's up to us whether we notice first that awful pair of glasses we had at the time or whether we observe the Twin Towers still standing tall in the background. The memories that our photos provoke are deeply personal and the same picture can tell a thousand stories. Putting ourselves in the middle of that picture just adds another layer of context to that captured moment. 

So perhaps we should include ourselves in our travel snaps. As for the silly poses, I'm not so sure about those...