When the pull to escape to far-flung beautiful places feels more like a dream than a reality, try being a tourist in your own hometown! 🏡 Scheduling a night on the town where you do all the corny tourist activities is a way to feel like you are travelling and gain a new appreciation for your own hometown at the same time. This is a golden opportunity to really explore your own city and nearby areas—all those glorious natural and urban wonders you haven’t got around to visiting quite yet. And staying close to home doesn’t mean you can’t make memories and capture great photos either.

Here at Flytographer, we easily connect people with trusted photographers for fun photoshoots and have captured over three million memories worldwide. Today, we asked our photographers to share five reasons why a photoshoot in your hometown is just as important as when you book a shoot in Paris, Tokyo, New York City or wherever your travels take you. 📸

TLDR

1. Renew appreciation for where you live: Take some time to fall in love with your hometown all over again.
2. Support your local economy: Help keep your city’s economy cycling by booking a local flytographer in your hometown!
3. Make a new local friend: Connect with a local in your city to bond over shared experiences and add new hidden gems to your list.
4. It’s time together with your loved ones: Now you can all get in the picture! There is nothing more important than the people you love.
5. Make memories in the place you spend the most time: Capture memories where you made the most. ❤️

Photo: Gan in Singapore for Flytographer. Naveen and family capture memories in Singapore with a hometown photoshoot at the Gardens by the Bay.

1. Renew Appreciation for Where You Live

The routine of our daily lives often makes us immune to the beauty and charms of our neighbourhoods and cities; we get so used to seeing the same things every day that we miss details that we would notice when we’re on vacation. 🔍 Take some time to get out your front door with no other purpose than to soak up your surroundings—your street, your favourite coffee shop, your neighbourhood, or even venturing out to the “main drag.” Your city is full of meaning for you; why not get hometown photography that shows off your pride of place? You might fall in love with your cityscape all over again. ❤️

Photo: Hector in London for Flytographer. Alexis and partner capture memories in London with a hometown photoshoot at Tower Bridge.

2. Support Your Local Economy

When you book a flytographer, you support local artists wherever you travel and close to home because each of our photographers is local to the area. So hiring a local flytographer to capture your memories helps keep your city’s economy cycling. Supporting your neighbours and fellow city-dwellers by getting in their viewfinder means everyone in your community can boost each other up and keep the vibrant life going in your city’s core.

Photo: Janine in Edmonton for Flytographer. Jillian and friends capture memories in Edmonton with a hometown photoshoot in Manchester Square.

3. Make a New Local Friend

Part of the magic of travel is meeting the locals who can give you an insider’s point of view, but the great thing is that really cool people are found everywhere, including right where you live. Hiring a photographer from your city means connecting with someone you can really bond with over shared experiences, and they will have their own great local recommendations for favourite restaurants, shops and streets that will help you discover some hidden gems to add to your personal go-to list! 🥂

Photo: Anna in New York City for Flytographer. Bridget and family capture memories in New York City with a hometown photoshoot at Brooklyn Bridge & DUMBO.

4. It’s Time Together with Your Loved Ones

It can sometimes be so difficult to see the special people in your life because everyone is always so busy. Planning a photoshoot guarantees everyone will make time and show up ready to have fun. In addition, you may not be able to travel to faraway places with your three best friends or your whole extended family, but a local shoot means you can all get in the picture and capture those precious memories you might not otherwise have had. Plus, outdoor photography is a better experience because you will have the city in the background, fresh air around you and everyone will feel happier! There’s nothing more important than the people you love and documenting this time in your life when you can all be together in one place is priceless. 🤗

(Be sure to check out our Photo Style Tips for Family Pictures Outside, too!)

Photo: Scheherazade in Dubai for Flytographer. Viveta and family capture memories in Dubai with a hometown photoshoot in the Dubai Desert.

5. Make Memories in the Place You Spend the Most Time

Kids grow up, families change, and we all get older (and hopefully wiser). The vast majority of your time is spent in your hometown. Booking a shoot where you live will capture those memories in the very spot you made most of them; it will also preserve them for future generations, who may be in different cities and fascinated with the life you lived where you are now. Adorn your walls with memories by creating a gallery wall for your living room or updating the frames around your house (Flytographer print options include fine art prints, canvas, photo books, holiday cards and more!).

Looking for tips for your next outdoor photoshoot? Check out our blogs about our favourite outdoor photography ideas and our outdoor family photo ideas for all ages!

Photo: Aly in Victoria for Flytographer. Ian and family capture memories in Victoria with a hometown photoshoot in Saxe Point Park.

Capture Your Home-Sweet-Home Memories

So, whether you drop a random pin on your city’s map to locate a new-to-you neighbourhood or pack the car for a local weekend getaway, the benefits of making memories close to home are deep. A beautiful gallery of pics to capture these special moments is worth everything.