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Is there a word for "photobomb" in Japanese?

In English, to photobomb someone is to spoil a photograph (of a person or thing) by unexpectedly appearing in the camera's field of view as the picture is taken, typically as a prank or practical joke.

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映り込み is one option, but if you want a more catchy and specific word, there is a word 見切れ【みきれ】, which is a noun form of the verb 見切れる.

見切れ

見切れ、見切れるとは、メインの被写体以外のもの(特に見えていてはいけないもの)が画像、映像、視界などに入ることである。舞台や映像業界の用語。

For example, Origami Cyclone is an anime character who is a serious "photobomber", and he is known as 見切れ職人 ("Artisan of 見切れ") in the Japanese version.

See this article for another example.

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  • 「写りこみ」と「映り込み」の、どっちがいいんでしょう。。。
    – chocolate
    Commented May 27, 2019 at 12:26
  • @Chocolate まあ…どちらでもいいのでは…多分…
    – naruto
    Commented May 27, 2019 at 21:40
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I couldn't find a word on the web that is exactly similar to "photobomb". The closest thing I turned up is 写{うつ}り込{こ}み. As in, 知{し}らない人{ひと}が私{わたし}の写真{しゃしん}に写{うつ}り込{こ}んだ (A stranger photobombed my picture).

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  • I've seen 写り込む and 写り込み used in reference to distracting or unwanted reflections, people, or objects captured in a photograph by chance or due to the photographer's error. I don't think I've seen them in reference to someone deliberately getting into a shot as a prank – until just now, when I Googled フォトボム and found some examples of people using 写り込む/写り込み in explaining the (essentially foreign) concept of photobombing (e.g., eigaland.com/topics/?p=3685). I'm not sure a sentence like the example you've provided would necessarily be taken as a reference to intentional "photobombing."
    – Nanigashi
    Commented May 26, 2019 at 1:42
  • Great link :) It's too bad there is no direct translation, since (intentional or unintentional) photobombing is a very specific concept and it's useful to be able to explain it with a single word. Another possible translation could be 入り込む.
    – peacetype
    Commented May 26, 2019 at 2:03
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    Oops – sorry; I guess I lost part of the URL when I pasted it. Here it is: eigaland.com/topics/?p=3685. And while I'm at it, here's one with [写真の]背景に写り込んだ人 referring to people who ended up in the background of a shot by accident (what I think is the usual meaning) apptopi.jp/2018/09/19/meitu-human-erase
    – Nanigashi
    Commented May 26, 2019 at 2:36
  • That's a great reference too. I just found in my dictionary for 写り込み a definition of, "unexpected appearance of something unwanted in a photograph". Which exactly describes situations like what that app you linked to is intended to fix. Although it's not quite the same as someone intentionally photobombing. It may be there is no exact translation for that. Maybe you could say that somebody intentionally got into a picture, わざと写真に写り込んだ.
    – peacetype
    Commented May 26, 2019 at 17:43

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