We made so many great memories on our very first Disney Cruise to the Bahamas and one thing that I knew as soon as I booked the trip was that we needed to do a family photo shoot while on vacation. There’s no hiding that I love photos and I wanted to make sure to capture our very fun trip as well as shoot our baby announcement!
And to make sure that you are prepared for your next vacation, I’ve included my best tips on getting the best family vacation photos that includes choosing your photographer and how to prepare your family for the photos.
Finding the perfect photographer for your vacation
Our first stop on the cruise was Key West and I knew that would be the ideal place for photos! Normally I would ask friends for referrals but since I don’t know anyone in that area, I had to do my own research.
Google is a great jumping off point but I found that the people at the top of the google search ended up being more expensive than I wanted and did not mesh with my style as much. I am thankful that I’m so active on instagram so I could spend a ton of time looking through hashtags and tagged photos of key west in order to find our photographer. Romi was not only so nice but super helpful and offered great tips and suggestions for photos and locations.
How to search for photographers on instagram
On instagram, to easily search for photos use hashtags that are relevant to what you are looking for. For me, I used #keywest #keywestflorida, #keywestphotographer #keywestweddings (since most wedding photographers will also shoot families) #keywestphotography #keywestfamilyphotos. I looked through SO many photos to find the style of photography that I loved and then I sent them a DM through instagram to enquire about pricing and availability. Quite a few were booked as we were traveling at the peak of wedding season for the area but when I asked for referrals or recommendations, everyone was so kind and happy to refer another photographer that might work for us.
Why hire a professional photographer while on vacation?
I am a huge fan of family photos and we do at least 2 photoshoots a year. Kids grow so fast and I love to look back at our photos and see how much my daughter has grown.
Vacations are especially important for me to have photos and although we take plenty of photos, most of the time it’s either my husband and my daughter, me and my daughter but it’s so hard to get the 3 of us together! Asking a stranger to take your photo can be risky in that 1) they may run away with your camera or 2) the photo just turns out awful.
The memories we made on the cruise were amazing but having these photos as a keepsake really make it that much more fun to look back on. We took plenty of candids and fun photos on our own. And we bought the photo package on the cruise, but these photos we took with our photographer are hands down my favorite photos of the trip and I will always treasure them.
Hiring someone to take your family photos might seem a bit much since you’ll be spending so much on your vacation, but splurging on professional photos while on vacation is 100% worth it to me and something that I purposely save up for!
TIPS TO TAKING THE PERFECT FAMILY VACATION PHOTOS
- Find a photographer who is local to the area and has good reviews: Since most family vacations will consist of being in a location you won’t be familiar with, you will need to rely on your photographer to suggest a great location for the photos. Along with checking out the photographer’s website I also recommend to check their instagram, facebook and any online reviews which will give you a bigger story of their work and if their clients were happy with their photos/service.
- Coordinate outfits before the trip: when you pack, make sure to note which outfits will be for the photos. I try to coordinate our outfits with complementing colors and what the background may look like. I knew we’d be shooting by the beach, but we are not a casual kind of family so I wanted something that would be dressy but also be beach-y.
- Prep your family ahead of time: I’m sure you guys know what I mean when you mention family photos to your husband and kids. It’s definitely not something that excites my husband and although my daughter loves to take photos, an hour of taking photos for a 4 year old is a bit much. I let them know on multiple occasions exactly what day of our cruise we were dong photos and what I expected out of them. I swear, setting expectations makes it so much easier for everyone in our family.
- Do your research and be clear with your photographer on your expectations: I emailed my photographer exactly what kind of photos I was looking for. I had researched the kind of photos that I had seen in Key West that I loved and shared with her what kind of backgrounds and photos I wanted. I hired her for her photography style so it wasn’t about getting that exact photo as I still wanted her to shoot in her style, but it was more about making sure she knew the kind of backgrounds and poses that I wanted.
- Note any special occasions that you want to capture (pack props if necessary): I was about 4 months along at the time and knew I wanted to announce my baby news with the photos so I let our photographer know that when I booked her. I had packed a that was easy to pack and blow up. If you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary, it’s a great excuse to capture the occasion and it’s so easy to pack small props to add to your photos if you want.
- Schedule and timing: Family photos should not take up more than an hour so it’s not a lot of time to take away from your vacation. Because we were on a cruise, we also had to adhere to the cruise ship schedule. I had to make sure that timing was right and we would have time to take all the photos I wanted. We had selected 2 locations and then I wanted to make sure to get some photos of us with the cruise ship as the background so I made sure to stay on top of timing while at the shoot.
If you are curious about the Disney Cruise itself, I’ve got another post to come to recap the cruise and my tips to get the most of your Disney Cruise. Check back for the post or subscribe to my newsletter (and get a cute free printable!) to keep up with all my latest posts.
I hope you found these tips helpful! Leave a comment below or follow me on instagram and DM me if you have any questions!
