How To Find A Photographer On Vacation / Flytographer Review

A review of our experience with Flytographer, and tips and tricks for how to find a photographer on vacation!

When my husband and I traveled to Playa del Carmen for our one-year anniversary, I knew I wanted to have some professional photos done to capture the trip. We weren’t able to go on a honeymoon, and life had thrown so much our way during our first year of marriage. This trip truly was a celebration of our first year- one we didn’t want to forget.

You can read a review of our resort + tips for packing for an all inclusive resort here!

Today I’m sharing our experience with finding a photographer as well as some tips and tricks for a photoshoot in a foreign place!

1. Do Your Research

Once you have your location, the easiest thing to do is Google “Photographers in _______”. If it’s a well known place, you’ll likely get hundreds of results.

The most important part of finding a photographer abroad is reading reviews. Read them, read them, read them. To be honest, it’s the only way you’ll truly know if the photographer is reputable, and what their style is like.

For our Playa Del Carmen trip, I found our photographer through Flytographer. They have so many locations all over the world. I loved that I could select the location, look at photographers in the area, see samples of their work, and read reviews.

2. Have A Vision In Mind

Doing a photoshoot on vacation is different than doing an engagement or wedding shoot. You have to know exactly what you want, because these photographers don’t know you or your style.

My vision for our Playa del Carmen photoshoot was fun and romantic, and Conie’s photography fit that perfectly.

Don’t be afraid to have photos to show the photographer ahead of time- this is your shoot. I loved that Flytographer had a questionnaire for us to fill out that asked us about how much direction we needed during a shoot, if we were comfortable in front of the camera, etc. When we met our photographer, I seriously felt like we were hanging out with a friend because she knew exactly what we wanted.

3. Play It Safe

We learned a few things from our photographer about her previous experiences. Here are a few things to keep in mind!

• Meet in a public place (a give in, but I had to say it)
• Don’t bring more than you need. You don’t need your purse with all your belongings. You don’t want to hold it during the shoot, you certainly don’t want to make your photographer hold it, and you really don’t want someone else walking off with it. It’s so easy to get wrapped up and forget about your shoes and phone that you left up on the beach.
• Outfit changes. If you’re in a tricky spot like a beach or crowded city area, I wouldn’t recommend it. This is totally a personal preference, but I wanted to keep our shoot as stress free as possible.
• Get there early. Oh, gosh. In Mexico, we had a slight miscommunication with Flytographer about the meeting spot. Our taxi driver ended up dropping us off at least a mile away from where our photographer was. After many phone calls of, “I see this building. Am I close?” we finally were able to connect with our photographer. We ended up starting our shoot about 45 minutes late, but luckily the sunset cooperated.
• Take a snack. It had to be said. If you’re prone to hanger, just take my advice on this one. You never know how long your shoot will really go!
• Wear comfortable shoes. See the story above 😉 Or, bring a pair of fold-up flip flops with you. If you’re uncomfortable in what you’re wearing, it will show in your photos. Wear something that you feel your best in, not a brand new pair of heels you picked up during your trip.

I hope these tips and tricks help you plan your vacation photoshoot! If you’re planning a trip to Playa del Carmen, I can’t recommend our photographer, Conie, enough. Like I said, it was like hanging out with a friend we’d known forever! Below are some of my favorites that she captured. I can’t wait to frame them in our home and always have a reminder of everything this trip meant to us.

You can read a whole recap of our trip here.

Thanks for stopping by!