What makes a photo memorable? Is it the lighting? The mood? The angle? Sure, all of those things are important. But! What. You. Really. Need. Is… impeccable timing! In fact, timing and rhythm are what great photos and wonderful comedy have in common. Without them, no technical know-how will save your work from falling flat on its face.
Fortunately, the world’s full of quality photographers who, either through skilled reflexes or sheer luck, take a snap at the right moment and capture a hilarious moment. Upvote your favorite perfectly timed funny pics as you scroll through this list compiled by the hard-working Bored Panda team and let us know which pics you loved the most and why in the comments.
By the way, you’ll find some more amazing photos that were timed so right you’d think the Universe was directly involved in our posts right here, here, as well as here. It was actually French photography legend (and our personal idol) Henri Cartier-Bresson who coined the term ‘decisive moment’ which is the point at which the photo is most significant.
Bored Panda wanted to learn more about the importance of timing in both photography and comedy, so we reached out to professional photographer Dominic Sberna. Have a read through what he said below. Psst, he’s also got some advice for amateur photographers who constantly find themselves missing out on hilarious moments.
Read More: 50 Times People Captured Such Perfectly Timed Pics, They Had To Celebrate It By Sharing Them Online
#1 This Cat Assembling Itself
Image credits: Flums666
#2 Perfectly Timed
Image credits: Jorarl
#3 This Diving Photo I Took Of My Friend Makes It Look She’s Doing A Handstand On Water
Image credits: tencents1010
#4 Caught This Incredible Exploding Meteor When I Went To Rattlesnake Lake In Washington, USA Last Weekend. Zoom In To See The Exact Moment It Explodes In Two
Image credits: chaibhu
#5 Slipped And Fell While Photographing A Wedding Party. Snapped A Pic On The Way Down
Image credits: Chase_Rich
#6 My Girlfriend And Her Friends Tried To Take A Group Photo, Alfie Wanted To Be In It As Well
Image credits: young_filmmaker
#7 Attempted To Take A Cute Picture Of Me And My Dog. This Was The Result
Image credits: ShamPow20
#8 Learning The Hard Way
Image credits: Mustard_SG
#9 At A Bonfire. Wife Instructs Me To Hold My One Year Old Son High To Get A “Cool Shot”. I Think It Looks Like I’m About To Sacrifice Him
Image credits: lava_lump
#10 Lightning Striking Simultaneously On Chicago’s Three Tallest Buildings
Image credits: dhruveishp
#11 She Landed On My Shoulder
Image credits: alsatianson
#12 This Man Saved Our Dog. You Can See Our Cat Jumping Out The Window
Image credits: distriived
#13 My Wife Just Texted Me This Picture Of Our Cat Playing Behind The TV
Image credits: FutonSpecialOps
#14 My Father’s Chair Failing At A Coast Guard Change Of Command
Image credits: jonbees
#15 Love At First Sight
Image credits: imgur.com
#16 The Timing Of This Image Makes It Look Like My Nephew Is A Waterbender
Image credits: KellJoy
#17 This Is The Best Photo My Mom Ever Took Of Me
Image credits: mpgibson19
#18 Never Skip Arm Day
Image credits: Gabesdefig
#19 One Second Before Disaster
Image credits: APurpleTRex
#20 Giraffe’s Shadow Looks Like A Unicorn
Image credits: 3_pac
#21 My Cat Seems To Have Misplaced His Body Somewhere
Image credits: 0MattyJ0
#22 I Snapped This Photo Of A Cardinal Jumping And It Looks Like He Is Floating
Image credits: theprideofVPI
#23 Maybe She’s Barn With It
Image credits: CupOfDog
#24 This Picture I Took Of My Dogs As The Ball Was Being Thrown
Image credits: TigOlBitties80085
#25 The Mythical Annubis
Image credits: Palifaith
#26 Caught My Crow Buddy Mid-Blink, Making Her Look Very Sinister
Image credits: SN74HC04
#27 Wrong Place At The Wrong Time
Image credits: pp0787
#28 Tried To Take A Chicken Selfie And Got This
Image credits: andrewjfletcher
#29 She Kicked The Phone Out Of My Hands At Exactly The Right Moment
Image credits: Sykes92
#30 Nice “Four Head”
Image credits: adellali1
#31 My Friend’s Dog Sneaking It’s Tongue Into His Mouth While He Was Laughing
Image credits: ravennawoods
#32 Just Trying To Take A Nice Picture With My Cat
Image credits: meowspoopy
#33 This Picture My Wife Captured At The Perfect Moment Of Our Cats
Image credits: DizzyApps
#34 I Photographed A White Stag Mid Sneeze
Image credits: The_Oban
#35 Girl Scratches Her Back And It Looks Like A Horror Movie
Image credits: sn0rk95
#36 Just A Typical Family Photo With Our Furbabies
Image credits: xmoana
#37 It Has Since Moved
Image credits: mldljns
#38 I Had Just Finished Saying “I Can’t Believe She Never Falls In!”
Image credits: catbrains420
#39 The Lid Coming Off Jonah Hills’s Drink
“The internet has been very interested in this photo of me dropping my coffee. But we’re all forgetting the real tragedy here. We’re forgetting to mourn this coffee. I didn’t know it long but damn was our time together special. As fleeting as it was. I’ll never forget you.”
Image credits: jonahhill
#40 Thought The Driver Of This Car Was Just Staring Me Down For No Reason
Image credits: EasternKanyeWest
#41 This Girl Looks Like She’s Underwater And Jumping Into Water At The Same Time
Image credits: maskari
#42 My Baby’s First Birthday. We Had No Idea There Was A Sparkler In The Candle
Image credits: saltymcgee777
#43 Years Ago My Brother Lost His Cellphone On A Roller Coaster. We Figured There Was No Way To Know When. Then She Saw The Ride Photo
Image credits: moonshine12
#44 Photo Of Me Noticing A Wasp Nest
Image credits: asdfghjklqwertyuiopzxcvbnmasdfghjklqwertyuiopzxcvbnmasdfghjklqw
#45 What Could Go Wrong If I Take A Picture With This Gopher Snake I Found In The Road?
Image credits: drewstrummer
#46 The Fall Of The Paella
Image credits: Dusty_Machine
#47 My Parents’ New Pupper Misjudged His Jump
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Image credits: scourgeobohem