The tickets are booked, the bags are packed, and now you’re taking a few last-minute trolls through the internet for fun activities to do with the whole fam on your upcoming trip.
Boy, have you come across the right blog post.
We might be a tad biased in this department, but here are a few of the reasons why using the hour or 30 minutes you have between snorkelling and paddle-boarding would be fabulously well spent on a destination photo shoot.
1. Get Mom, Dad, Boyfriend (a.k.a. ‘Resident Photo-Taker’) back in the photo
You want photos of your family trip or honeymoon in Paris to include the whole crew, not just one of two newlyweds, or everyone but dad (“I’m there in spirit!” he shouts from behind the camera). A vacation photographer takes the memory-capturing burden off any one individual, so everyone can be in the moment and in the photo. That way you can all look back on those memories.
2. Say goodbye to selfie sticks and hello to action shots!
Running, jumping, flossing—a whole suite of dynamic and exciting action shots are possible now that you’ve relinquished the selfie stick or camera phone. Your limbs are free to move about the scene: run through the waves, chase the kids—take epic photos.
3. Capture the destination in photos
It takes a skilled eye (and a DSLR) to create photos that capture the perfect lighting, a beautiful moment between subjects, a balanced composition AND the essence of the location. Instead of a close-up of you and your partner smiling against an indiscernible background, the best travel photos feature the scenic characteristics of your trip: the arched Ponte Vecchio bridge of Florence, the stepped rice fields of Bali, or the blue-domed roofs that bring you right back to Santorini, as if you were there yesterday.
4. So you can unplug and not worry about taking vacation photos
Camera phones have made digital hoarders of us all. We’re constantly snapping and trying to catalogue every moment, a compulsion that’s especially strong when exploring new places. It’s so easy, the phone’s right there, in your hands, all the time! If you book a vacation photographer, the photo-capturing pressure is outsourced. Instead, you can leave the phone at the hotel, totally unplug and just be present with your family and friends on vacation (which is the whole point!).
5. Connect with a local who wants to share their tips
Your photographer is also your on-the-ground local guide, just itching for the opportunity to show you their city. Their favourite spots to grab a pint, or where to find the best street murals for Instagram pics—this is intel you only get by talking to a local.
6. It’s a truly meaningful travel souvenir
Fridge magnets and keychains are often tchotchkes people pick up because they just want to keep a tangible piece of their favourite vacations. Some spirit token that connects you directly to that moment you dug your toes in the sand and looked out at the Mediterranean without a care in the world. But what if you could preserve that moment instead? To be reminded of the time all your friends got together for your bachelorette, or the rare family vacation where your grandparents and all your siblings came too.
7. Photo shoots are ACTUALLY FUN
It’s a special treat to have your photo taken, an indulgence that’s right up there with Himalayan-sea-salt spa treatments and visiting a chocolate museum with edible displays. It’s engaging, it’s active, and it gets you out of the hotel and up close and personal with the city streets/jungle/sacred pagoda. Bonus: this is a great opportunity to get professional photos that aren’t corporate headshots of you in a blazer with your arms crossed. Picture this: you on a mountain, you by a fountain—LinkedIn, eat your heart out.
8. Photographers are your partners in crime for surprise shoots
Surprise proposal photos have got to be some of our favourites here at Flytographer. To pull off these covert operations, our photographers have posed as tour guides or helpful strangers just passing by. They’ve hidden behind garbage cans and palm trees—whatever it takes to capture that surprise moment with the shock and the smiles and the heartfelt tears. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime split-second moment that you’ll love captured on camera.
9. Because posing can be awkward
Photographers know how to get the best photos of you, period. They know how to pose you so it looks as candid as if they were photographing you secretly like paparazzi hiding in the bushes. They can photograph you and your loved one or friend as you are, the way the world sees you, interacting naturally with your environment and accurately capture those moments of pure joy and delight.
10. Photographers know their destination inside and out
Is it possible to get photos of just you and the Eiffel Tower? Your destination photographer knows how (or better, when) to make this photo dream a reality. And if you had your heart set on a photo of you next to Prague’s Charles Bridge, your photographer knows where you can get that view minus all the tourists, along with things like: when is “golden hour” (a specific time for optimal light conditions), what to wear to look best in that destination (ex. bright colours are ideal in grey Paris), and more.
