“When it comes to tell a story with pictures, a holiday photographer can help you to capture it in a unique and beautiful way.”

1. know your purpose

Should or shouldn’t you hire a photographer to capture your holidays abroad? Hence the big question.

Before making any decision, I’d recommend you to ask yourself these questions:

• Do I want to discover a place while enjoying an exclusive vacation activity along the way?

• Do I value private local guidance over the average “free tours”?

• Do I want to have travel memories of my vacation beautifully captured at scenic locations?

• Does the idea of having a professional photoshoot adds value to my travel experience?

If you answered “yes” to most of them, you can already guess the benefits of hiring a professional photographer.

Now let’s explore what makes it worthwhile:

A great story to tell

People travel more than ever before, and capturing beautiful pictures of our experiences abroad is something not only exciting, but very useful when it comes to remembering about them.

Experiences that become memories; memories that evoke emotions... Pictures can definitely be a great enhancer of making those memories last.

In that sense, when it comes to “tell a story with pictures”, a professional photographer can help you to get it captured in a unique and beautiful way.

Forget about the “process”

Leaving the process in the photographer’s hands will allow you to focus entirely on yourself and not worry about the pictures.

Forget about selfies! Not to mention those particular “sticks” that helped us to capture those artificial smileys we all end up regretting about.

And finally, it doesn’t matter if you are a family of eight, a couple or a solo traveler: with the help of a vacation photographer, you can finally be altogether in the same picture and, most important, as many as you want!

Capture your destination in pictures

A vacation photoshoot is not only about taking beautiful photos of yourself, but capturing them in relation to a specific location.

Creative shots against blurry backgrounds are nice, but the best travel pictures are those that feature the scenic atmosphere of the place you travelled to.

Using the Baltic capitals as an example: the medieval wall in Tallinn, the gothic spires in Riga or the baroque facades in Vilnius. Great travel memories are related to iconic places: it’s the duty of the photographer to capture you as a beautiful part of them!

2. book a photographer, not a service

Years ago I freelanced for a small photography business where I was asked to take the same kind of pictures at the same locations in order to match their “style”.

After a while, I was allowed to be more creative with my pictures, as long as I didn’t diverge from the company’s aesthetic guidelines.

Choose personal, go unique

Think about any of those vacation photography companies providing the same branded photoshoots in multiple destinations worldwide.

Now imagine booking a photoshoot with one of those companies where you will be assigned one of their team photographers: I am sure you’ll get amazing pictures, but they will be the result of the company’s branded style, not the photographer’s genuine inspiration.

In that sense, whereas an independent photographer doesn’t have to respond to a third-party enterprise, a company’s one will always be restricted to its branded guidelines.

A valuable experience

While writing this article, I navigated through different blog posts and found statements like: “hiring a holiday photographer for a vacation photoshoot is an expense that will forever be worth the cost”.

Let’s be serious about this: a vacation photoshoot is a unique experience that deserves to be paid accordingly, but its cost shouldn’t be measured only in terms of economy, but personal value.

If the experience of having a professional photoshoot is something valuable to you, then including it in your holiday expenses will be totally worth it. On the contrary, i’d say better avoid it.

The price of a vacation photoshoot

Needless to say, an independent photographer will always be more affordable than a company’s one.

For example, a photographer charging over $500 per hour probably has a large amount of expenses that must be covered with such costly price. On the contrary, a photographer charging about $50-$100 per hour can offer a much more competitive price to the clients, as they won’t have to put up with the expenses of big production costs.

In conclusion, a vacation photoshoot is a unique experience that should be priced accurately, but never as a luxury activity in the hands of the few.

3. If you go for it, do it right

Some vacation photography services offer 30 minute-express photoshoots for travelers who are very tight on time. However, a vacation photoshoot should be a fun experience that deserves to be enjoyed in a relaxed and stress-free atmosphere.

Keep it natural

Running from one spot to another just to “check-in” for the picture makes no sense to me. What it matters, in my opinion, is to keep it natural and real. And real things need time.

In my experience, any kind of photoshoot lasting less than 1 hour will force you to:

• Stick to one location.

• Limit the creative possibilities of the photographer.

• Turn the photoshoot into a process.

• Make it rushy.

The advantage of local guidance

A holiday photographer is also a local who can provide you with a valuable, personal insight to your destination.

In that sense, hiring a vacation photographer will give you access to personalized recommendations according to your travel interests and needs.

Also, keep in mind that a vacation photoshoot is usually a customized experience where you will play an active role all the time. In other words, you won’t have to compromise to a strict plan, but to one which has been specially adapted for you.

It’s all about the pictures (and the experience)

Nice photos can make great souvenirs, but great experiences make even greater memories.

I won’t deny that capturing beautiful pictures of your trip should be the main purpose for hiring a vacation photographer.

However, no matter how amazing the pictures are, the most valuable aspect of having a photoshoot is to actually enjoy it. Otherwise, no great shots or compositions will make this experience worthwhile for you.