Do you struggle to get great photos of yourself? So do we!
Like many of you, we take most of our family photos when we’re away from home on vacation or while out and about taking photos for the blog.
Unfortunately, like the rest of the world, travel restrictions kept us at home for most of this year and we didn’t take as many photos together as we usually do.
However, even when we travel, it’s often hard to get a good family photo. Sure, we can get a stranger or friend to snap a shot of the four of us, but the photo is usually out of focus, or one of us is cropped out of the shot.
Flytographer review
So, I was thrilled when Flytographer reached out to us for a hometown photo shoot. Flytographer lets you hire a local photographer almost anywhere in the world, but because of current travel restrictions, we decided to go for a hometown photo shoot.
I didn’t want this year to go by without some good family photos.
As a mom, I love to have memories of our family to look back on every year. Kids can grow so much in a year!
Our kids are at their early to mid teens. It’s a time where they’re morphing from children to young adults, and the changes in how they look in a single year can be huge.
What is Flytographer?
Flytographer is a vacation photography company.
The idea for Flytographer was born when a fellow Canadian, Nicole Smith, from Victoria, BC was on a work trip in Paris back in 2011. Smith wanted good photos for a memory of her trip, but she was unsatisfied with blurry pics from strangers, and awkward selfies. After a lot of searching and dead ends, she eventually hired a local photographer on Craigslist.
The frustration that came from that search lead to the idea for a vacation photography service, which became Flytographer. Today, Flytographer is on six continents, and has over 500 photographers on the payroll.
Our experience with Flytographer
From begining to end, our experience with Flytographer was great.
We booked a 30 minute session with Danika, a photographer in our hometown of Kelowna BC.
It was an easy choice. Danika’s portfolio on Flytographer was exactly what I was looking for – someone who knew the best local areas for photos, and had tons of positive reviews. Her style of photography was a perfect match with us, since her photo gallery is packed with candid photos of happy people with beautiful mountain and lake backdrops.
Once we booked our 30 minute session, Danika reached out to us right away to set up our location. She asked what we wanted in our photos, and came up with a few great suggestions for our shoot location. I was impressed that she came up with a few location ideas that I’d never considered, given that I’ve lived in Kelowna for almost six years!
I wanted to get photos of each of the four of us individually during the shoot, plus a couples photo of Charles and me, and a few photos of the kids together. I was really worried that the 30 minutes wouldn’t be enough time, but Danika worked her magic, and seemingly effortlessly fit all of those groupings into the 30 minutes with time to spare.
How much does Flytographer cost?
A 30 minute photo shoot runs $285 USD. The shoot is at one location, and you’ll get 15 photos (though our photographer sent us more). The cost includes all digital files, so you’re free to print or use the photos any way you want. You can also get 60 minute, 90 minute, and two hour photo shoots.
Flytographer’s even given us a special promo for our customers!
See Flytographer’s prices here.
How does Flytographer work?
Here’s how it works. Got to Flytographer.com, and search for photographers in your destination.
Read the reviews, look at their gallery, and choose a photographer.
Then, request an afternoon or morning booking. You can even request a specific type of photoshoot, like a hometown photo shoot, a vacation shoot, proposal, modern headshot, or even commercial photography.
Your photographer then gets back to you with a choice of meeting times, and suggests meeting locations.
The day of our shoot, Danika was there exactly on time. She came ready with all of her equipment, and plenty of great ideas for poses and backdrops.
We spent our 30 minute photo session walking along a gorgeous pathway surrounded by wildflowers, overlooking Okanagan Lake. We chatted with Danika and she stopped us at various places on the path to take photos.
The 30 minutes breezed by, and when we were done she’d taken photos of myself and Charles individually, photos of the kids individually, photos of both kids together, and couples photos of Charles and me.
Once the shoot is over, you’ll get your photos, delivered electronically, within five days.
Does Flytographer offer gift cards?
Yes! You can get a Flytographer gift card for a 30 minute, 60 minute, 90 minute, or 2 or 3 hour photo session. It’s a great gift for weddings (think honeymoon trips!), graduation, thank you gifts, or a unique travel gift.
Flytographer on Dragons Den
If Flytographer sounds familiar, it may be because you watched their pitch on TV’s Dragon’s Den. Flytographer’s founder, Nicole, pitched Dragon’s Den in Season 10. For our American friends, Dragon’s Den is essentially the Canadian version of Shark Tank, where entrepreneurs pitch their companies to successful venture capitalists to secure funding.
See the Flytographer pitch update on Dragon’s Den on CBC.
Would you try Flytographer, or another vacation photographer? Let us know what you think in the comments below.