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et’s face it: When you take an epic vacation, you want some proof. That way, you can relive your holiday memories over and over again. Because half the fun of taking a trip, of course, is sharing stories after the fact. Getting photographs of you and your significant other sailing in the Bahamas, strolling down the beach in Puerto Rico and trekking among Peru’s Incan terraces is priceless. But asking strangers to snap your pics can often be awkward, and the end result, more often than not, is an out-of-focus photo that you’d rather delete. Go the selfie route? Well, that means your face blocks out most of that beautiful background. Problem solved: Book yourself a vacation photographer. HOW DOES IT WORK, EXACTLY? Step 1: Hire a company like Flytographer (flytographer.com), which connects travelers with local photographers in 250 cities around the world, including the Caribbean and Latin America. Step 2: The professional photographer snaps photos of you during your travels (starting at $250 for a 30-minute session). Step 3: An online gallery of edited photos is delivered to your inbox five days after the shoot. Voilà! “Customers browse our destinations to find their preferred location where they can review the portfolios of each of our photographers in that city and choose their preferred photographer,” says Nicole Smith, Flytographer founder and CEO.
“We have seen a desire from clients to professionally capture their adventures.” — Tom Marchant to your honey on top of a building or document your wake surfing session with a friend, they will likely make it happen. Flytographer isn’t the only option. Shoot My Travel (shootmytravel.com) also offers a similar experience. Black Tomato’s Drone the World (blacktomato.com/ us/drone-the-world) will even send a professional drone operator along on your travels. Or you could always opt to go about it on your own and Googlesearch a local photographer. Whichever route you decide on, you’ll land yourself some blockbuster-quality images or video. The other added bonuses: You can kick back and enjoy it all without digging out your phone every five minutes, and chances are, your photographer will have great tips about the best local hangouts. Not to mention, you’ll win bragging rights on social media. In other words, it’s a win-win. WHO’S IT FOR? While these vacation photography companies have a diverse customer base, Flytographer says their service
VACATION PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE RISE Over the past several years, Flytographer has racked up more than 10,000 shoots and planned more than 1,200 proposals around the globe.
is most popular for those celebrating an occasion such as a surprise proposal, a honeymoon, an anniversary or a multigenerational family trip. “We are also seeing an increase in solo travelers,” says Smith. “While people are becoming more comfortable taking their own still photography and footage on their phones and cameras, we have seen a desire from
It’s a custom-tailored experience for each client, which means, if you are looking to propose
clients to professionally capture their adventures,” says Tom Marchant, co-founder of Black Tomato.
HILTON MOMENTS