More often than not I come home from vacation and think to myself that my photos did not do the trip justice. There’s either a feeling that I wish I could have captured in the moment or I wasn't able to capture the details in the photos that I saw when I was there in person. However, I'll then notice that a celebrity or someone I follow has shared a photo on Instagram of the same exact location and the picture quality is much more clear or there’s a special feeling that you get when viewing there “in the moment” photo rather than the numerous selfies that fill my camera roll.

Before traveling to Europe this past May, I knew that this trip I had to capture those special moments. Memories and photos have always been really special to me my whole life, so this time was no different. With all of the time, planning and savings that went into this trip, it seemed only appropriate that Aaron and I would want to capture those special moments to bring home and look back at for years to come. We won’t have the means to travel back to Italy any time soon and if we are fortunate to return, how cool would it be to see how our favorite spots have either changed or stayed the same.

Unless you know someone who knows someone, it can be really challenging to find a photographer in another country. Naturally, I began my photographer search on Instagram for all of the cities that we were traveling to in Italy and Spain via hashtags, like #venicephotographer. Unfortunately, I did not have very good luck. The time difference and language barrier made it tricky to communicate. Plus, we had very specific dates and times as to when we would be available in certain locations. With the prices that they were charging, it made me a little uneasy as to how we would exchange the money and the photos. Thankfully, my friend Anica told me about Shoot My Travel!

Shoot My Travel is a service that helps people like me find great photographers around the world. They treat you like a celebrity and provide lasting memories long after you get back from the vacation. By taking out all of the hassle that goes along with finding a photographer, you can focus on the vacation itself. Here’s how it works…

1. Pick Your Destination - This was actually the hardest part for me. Aaron and I decided to go to Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Ibiza and Barcelona for our trip and lucky for us all cities are amazingly beautiful. From the photos I’d seen and the stories I’d heard of Venice, I was really interested in doing a romantic photo shoot there. Before I officially decided, I looked through the different destinations that we had the most time in, which was Venice, Florence, Rome and Barcelona. I knew that I wanted the shoot to be closer to the beginning of our trip because I wanted to be sure that our nice dress clothes didn’t get too wrinkled and I didn’t want to have to worry about indulging in Italian food. After looking at all of the photos that were shown from each of these locations, I knew that Venice was the perfect spot. The photos showed a very typical Italian experience and also very romantic. Since it’s just Aaron and I on this trip I thought that was perfect!

2. Pick Your Photographer - Since starting TFK blog and being exposed to a variety of photographers and photography styles, I had a good idea as to what I was looking for. I really prefer a photography style that is a little earthy, not too dark, but not too light, and one that really highlights the natural details and colors of the surroundings without too much saturation. The tricky part about Shoot My Travel is that they only show a few photos from each photographer and usually the photos are all from the same shoot. I had a hard time understanding if the photos are a true example of the photographer's style or if the photos were a greater representation of the people being photographed. Since Shoot My Travel is connecting people with these photographers they do not share Instagram or contact information for the photographers so that you don’t directly contact the photographers to discuss a separate deal. Since Shoot My Travel is a service to connect photographers with buyers, they obviously need to be paid for this service. I ended up moving forward with the photographer who was most similar to my style and also available on my prefered date and time.

3. Pick Your Package - Shoot My Travel has a great selection of packages to choose from. If you are traveling by yourself and don’t want to bother other tourists to take your photo all day long you can book “You + The City” for a 1-hour shoot. This is perfect for my blogger girls - holla! Aaron and I ended up doing a 2-hour shoot, which is great for couples. These will be our holiday cards this year and definitely framed around the house. If you are traveling with a large family or a group of friends, I would suggest doing the 3-hour shoot in order to have enough time. Or you can always add on extra time or extra photos to any package. Lastly, the surprise proposal shoot seems like the most popular package for Shoot My Travel. Having a hidden photographer there to capture that special moment is a memory that will last a lifetime.

Article by: The Foxy Kat

 📸 Captured by Shoot My Travel photographer, Kseniaz, Venice, Italy.