Currently Hannah is a performer and travel influencer. She’s currently documenting her life in Tokyo, Japan. Recently, she teamed up with friend and fellow YouTuber, Just Jess to create a parody video that accurately and painfully lays out what a travel influencer actually does. Check it out!

Travel Influencing: Parody or Honesty?

If travel influencers were honest about everything that went into taking those luxurious hotel photos, or even those romantic photos of girl leading boy through the wilderness, would it change our opinion on what they actually do?

The video above features Currently Hannah in the midst of her travels, exploring wondrous waterfalls, living it up in enchanting tropical pools, and yes, leading a faceless hand across a sandy beach. There’s only one thing… it’s all just one big joke! And that hand Hannah is leading around—that’s her friend and fellow YouTuber Just Jess, who actually wrote and directed this brilliant parody piece.

In the first 3 minutes of the video, Jess and Hannah explore all of the ways travel influencers actually take those amazing photos you see on their Instagrams. And Hannah doesn’t shirk from the fact that she, too uses these same techniques to get her shots. It goes further to show that most of the time, social media just isn’t real life. A lot of these videos and photos travel influencers share are artfully staged and perfectly timed.

[Related Reading: Post Production Tips Top 10 Songs | The Best Cinematic Royalty-Free Music For Your Next Travel Video Or Slideshow]

View this post on Instagram

The jungle in this part of Indonesia is LUSH af ? This was the start of our trek down to the Tumpak Sewu waterfalls and if you watched my video about it, you’d know it didn’t stay this easy for very long ? Soon the path turned into rocks, then a dodgey ladder, then a waterfall (yes the path turned into a waterfall at one point and it was awesome). The final destination was obviously beautiful but the journey getting there was hilariously fun ? • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • #wondermore #soft_vision #shetravels #leagueoflenses #createandcapture #reco_ig #lightroommasters #passionpassport #beautifuldestinations #earthfocus #depthobsessed #houseoftones #currentlyhannah #indonesia #tumpaksewu #eastjava

A post shared by CurrentlyHannah (@currently.hannah) on

“I learned so much about myself on this trip,” shares Hannah in the video. “But there was one thing that really stood out to me: you don’t need a storyline to make your travels look epic. All you need is a voiceover with a soft airy voice, and with the right dramatic pauses … it’ll sound, inspirational.”

The second half of the video is Jess talking about what went into making the parody short. It’s really cool to see all of the behind-the-scenes moments captured on film, even if it does make you think a little more critically about some of the travel influencers you may follow. Jess tells the viewers that the video isn’t meant to call anyone out, just to call out some of the common trends we’ve seen again and again among influencers across social media.

So check out the video above. It’s worth it for a good laugh, but also for the behind-the-scenes look. And hey, as much as we regret to say it, you just might learn something useful for your next Instagram-worthy travel photos and videos. Happy influencing!