Picture advice

I live in an area that is pretty rural and there are a lot of jobs available but they want pictures that are hard to get without being noticed. Some of the gas station ones want pictures of basically the whole outside and some of the inside ones want pictures of a slicer or something that is generally in the view of a employee. They also say that you have to take pictures discretely but also have to be of high quality. How do you walk around the whole outside of a gas station to get pictures of both sides of the sign and all four signs of the awning, without being in your car.. I enjoy doing the mystery shops but I am not sure how to get all the pictures people want. Sometimes its easy, but sometimes they seem like they are just asking for you to get caught. Just looking for advice, I do this for supplemental income as I have a second job, but right now my job is stressful as I work for a government agency and am hoping I can get more shops when I know how to take pictures without being noticed.

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I have no real advice, but I can validate your concerns. I live in a city and have no problem taking covert photos. When I have traveled to more rural areas, it does seem a lot harder because there is not nearly as much customer traffic. I find it easier to hold my phone in one hand and turn the camera to take the picture horizontally.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2025 09:44PM by gigishopper.

I just take the required pictures without worrying about being seen. Most employees at gas stations, unless theyre the owners, won't bother you.

I have noticed that in the rural areas, the gas station owner or their family are the ones working. I have even seen their children playing behind the counter.

@wrosie wrote:

I just take the required pictures without worrying about being seen. Most employees at gas stations, unless theyre the owners, won't bother you.

And sometimes it's a customer who notices and thinks you're taking pictures of them. One guy chased me in his truck after yelling at me but I lost him.

@sestrahelena wrote:

And sometimes it's a customer who notices and thinks you're taking pictures of them. One guy chased me in his truck after yelling at me but I lost him.

Agreed. I've had that happen and normally just show them the pictures without them in it.

And I agree with Mom and Pop owned stations. I was tresspassed by an owner of ywo stations.

Small towns/rural areas can be hard, but maybe you can google the location first and see what it looks like. There's a gas station by me that the cashier really only has one way to see out, so I can easily go behind the station and get some of the required pictures. Another, busier gas station is much harder to get pics, so I don't do that store.

I've wondered about this. I had to take a picture today while the manager was looking directly at me. I pretended to be on a video call. Fortunately, I was far enough away that pantomime was adequate for the effect to be convincing. But I'd want earbuds if I were playing that game up close.

One tip that may be useful if it is in a gas station mystery shop (only), is to stagger your time in the store so that another customer ends up right behind you in line. Once you're gone, they're focus is on that customer. Get those tricky photos immediately upon exit. In reality though, only once have I had an employee approach me and honestly I blame myself for being a little sloppy on that one to create that situation. It's really the other customers to worry about, if you're gonna worry.

Park further away from the store, take the pics you can, like a pump pic, the building pic on your way in. Inside, go to the restroom, take those pics. Make your purchase, something small you can put in a pocket or purse, take the pics you can as you go out, like trash cans, signage, forecourt condition while you're walking back to your vehicle. Drive out of the gas station lot and park close, take the pics of the other side of the sign (as necessary), the overall pic, and canopy pics.

In some cases you can pretend you are taking a pic to send to a friend or family member. I've done that for some of the warehouse club shops where you are checking out the people giving out samples. People really do take pics of the products for future reference anyway, so it's not just a mystery shopper thing.

Once you've done the inside mystery visit, you have an idea of where the register counter is/where the cashier stands and if additional employees are present. Then try to take as many outside photos as possible from the side the cashier probably won't be looking towards.

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Picture advice

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