We’ve started hiring photographers to take family photos on our big family trips and it’s my favorite thing ever. I’m sharing all the photos today from our trip to Seattle last month, plus a few tips to finding a photographer if you want to do the same!
Outfit Details:
ME: Sanctuary Jeans, H&M Sweater, J.Crew Coat, Target Hat, Steve Madden Buckle Boots
B: Timberland Boots c/o Rack Room Shoes, Abercrombie Kids Henley, Abercrombie Kids Jeans, J.Crew Hat (borrowed from me)
FOS: Timberland Boots c/o Rack Room Shoes, Buffalo Plaid Shirt, H&M Pants, Target Beanie
SANNY: Highland Creek Boots c/o Rack Room Shoes, Old Navy Thermal, Gymboree Pants, Amazon Beanie
Hiring a photographer when we travel has been the best thing ever
Over the last few years I’ve started hiring photographers in locations when we travel. Often it’s for a blog partnership and we need photos for a campaign we’re working on, but I also like to squeeze in family photos that show our family in this new, fun location.
I love that it takes the pressure off of me to get great photos of our trip on my own, and we end up with spectacular pictures in cool places.
We used these family photos from Seattle for our Christmas cards
The first time we did this was our trip to San Francisco in 2015 and they turned out so great! We ended up using the picture of us on the trolley for our Christmas card and I loved how SF it felt.
So when we decided to do Thanksgiving in Seattle this year, I decided to hire a photographer there so our Christmas cards had a Seattle feel to them.
How we found an out of state photographer
To find a photographer, I just posted on my instagram stories, asking for recommendations, and got a ton of suggestions. We went through those, reached out to a couple, and ended up hiring Victoria Redko.
I also heard great things about flytographer.com, but I haven’t used them.
A mini photoshoot is really all you need, and costs less
We shot one blog campaign and family photos, so our shoot was just under one hour long. We found a location that had fall leaves, evergreen trees, AND a gorgeous view of the skyline all in one park, so we didn’t have to go to multiple locations.
Sanny melted down in the last five minutes, but one hour ended up being just about right to shoot both things. If you were just doing family photos, I’d say you’d need only thirty minutes, and many photographers will do mini shoots that are only 20-30 minutes and less expensive.
Honestly, it’s one of the best investments for me, and these are photos I’m going to cherish forever!
