Short arms do not make for a good family selfie!!
If your family is anything like ours, we like to take lots of photos to remember our experiences while on vacation. Most of the time, our photos don’t adequately capture the beauty of the places that we visit and let’s be honest, despite its popularity, using a selfie stick does not make for a good family photo.
The cover photo for this post was taken on Thunder Cove Beach in Prince Edward Island, Canada in 2013 and it was our first time hiring a professional photographer to take family photos while we were on vacation. The idea came from a friend when we viewed the photos her family had taken the summer before at their cottage.
Fast forward 5 years later to 2018. I was determined to get some great shots of our family in one of the most beautiful places in Canada during our 10 day RV trip through the Canadian Rockies (click here to read more about our epic RV trip), so I hired a local professional photographer to take family photos while we were there on vacation.
PIN IT FOR LATER
I plan to do this again for our next family vacation and here are the top 3 reasons why you should do this too!
#3. Your photographer can recommend great photo shoot locations
For our Alberta photo shoot, our photographer was a local so when I described the scenery that I was looking for she was able to provide us with a few different options that were unique to the area. Despite the fact that it was raining, unusually windy and the coldest day of the summer on the day of our shoot, she was able to capture the beautiful blue colour of Lake Minnewanka (located just outside of Banff) with the mountains in the background that we were looking for.
Photo credit: Jennifer Chabot
#2. Everyone can appear in the photos
I can probably count the number of times on one hand where all four of us are in a vacation photo at the same time, looking at the camera the same way, with all eyes open and no funny faces being made. Since I’m usually the one behind the camera, I’m rarely in our vacation photos but this time we even have a few professional photos of just my husband and I. The last time this happened was in 2007 when we renewed our 10th anniversary wedding vows.
Photo credit: Jennifer Chabot
#1. You can relax and just enjoy being with your family
Despite the fact that none of us like posing for pictures, our photographer made the process comfortable and easy for everyone. I didn’t have to stress about carrying around a tripod, spending time setting every shot up or checking the position or lighting. Our photographer was able to capture photos of us just being ourselves and having fun as a family during our vacation.
I found our photographer Jennifer from recommendations of a fellow Travel Agent and after following her on social media for a few weeks, I knew that she would be the perfect photographer for us!
Her website is http://www.jenniferchabot.com
For tips on how to rock your next family vacation photo session, click here.
Have you ever hired a photographer to take family photos while you were on vacation? Would you spend the money to do it again? Please share in the comments section below.
is a Canadian lifestyle and travel blogger, sharing stories, information and resources about family travel and everyday family life.
Thanks Magan! Way more relaxing and it takes less time for a professional to take them vs. us trying to recreate the same thing on our own.
Great post and thanks for the recommendation! To be honest we never done it and I wish we will. I need to do it in the future so we can have a good one. Thank you for the recommendation.
You’re welcome and thanks for reading this post.
This is a great idea! I never thought about hiring a professional for vacations! Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
You’re welcome Holly
This is a great idea. Definitely helps give a lasting memory!
Yes…we also use the professional photos for our yearly calendar that we make for the grandparents.
This is an awesome idea! Will have to add this to the budget for a few trips!
Thanks Tiffany!
We started doing our family pictures on vacations as well and it’s so fun to have such a pretty/unique setting!
It is!
I think that sounds like a great idea. I would want to do this in Hawaii!
Yes…Hawaii is too beautiful to not have great photos.
What a great idea, I never would have thought to do that.
Thanks Cindy!
I have never thought of doing this, but I love the idea! You get some quality photos from your vacation, and can look back on those memories fondly!
The kids love looking at the photos from our vacations.
I want to do this soon! Great pics!
Thanks Debbie
I am starting to only use professional photos for my blog so I think this is a really good idea. I have taken some really bad photos while traveling!
Me too but it’s nice to have some professionals photos too.
What a fantastic idea! I’m always wishing I could be in the photos more when we take vacations…somehow I always end up being the photographer on our trips.
Me too usually so it was nice to be in at least a few of our photos this time 🙂
I’ve never thought of hiring a photographer while on vacation! (I have a hard enough time convincing my husband to get one at home!) But I love this idea. And, um, #2. Yea. I’d love for EVERYONE to be in the photos. Not just everyone by me. Since I’m the one who takes so many of the photos. LOL! This is fun advice! I love it!
Thanks Chelsea! I’m also always the one taking the photos so it was nice to be in a few of them!
What a great idea! We have done family photos with a professional twice. We used the same photographer for both, 13 years apart. I never thought about doing it on vacation.
Thanks Sabrina
You are right! This is a great time to take the photos!
Thanks Barbara
We were looking into hiring a photographer when we took the kids to Germany a few years back. I looked into Flytographer on the advice of a coworker, but didn’t end up finding anyone local.
Flytographer is great (and I believe started by a fellow Canadian). Sorry to hear that you couldn’t find anyone in Germany. We didn’t use them for PEI or Alberta but used photographers who were recommended by friends and they worked out great.
Great post and suggestions. I have a friend who is a photographer and always good to have that expertise. Thanks.
Thanks Beth
Great idea to capture those moments!
Thanks Suzan
What an amazing idea!!!
Thanks Melissa
I love this idea! We usually ask our tour guide for a picture but we definitely don’t get those great candid shots or a beautiful background.
Thanks Ayesha
Your photos are gorgeous! They certainly show the value of having a photographer to capture those memorable moments.
Thanks Cindy! I could have tried to re-create them myself but there is no way they would have turned out as great.
I never thought about doing this, but it makes sense.
It does!
I love this idea. On vacation it always seems someone is out of the picture (and selfies can look horrible). What a great way to get amazing family pictures that everyone will cherish.
Thanks Susan
Great idea!
Thanks Maya
Great photos are a must!
I agree!
This is great! It’s funny because I read a post about someone who hired a photographer when they were in Venice from Airbnb and I never thought about it!! I’ve always wondered how people take great pictures and this is how! I’ll have to try this one day when I can travel again!
Thanks Myrka! Hopefully the travel world opens up again soon and we can get some more great shots!