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When we travel, the one thing we always wish we could afford to do is to hire a personal photographer to take photos of us together. We both enjoy photography and we basically take turns taking photos of each other when we are traveling, but getting a shot of us together is somewhat of a challenge.

Walking across the street with a view of Central Station Amsterdam in the background

We shoot all of our own content and if you see a photo of us together, it’s either taken on a tripod or we asked someone to take it for us. The tripod approach doesn’t always work especially in big cities where it’s not only a nuisance but can also be dangerous (ex: someone knocking over your tripod and camera or someone snatching your equipment). We also do the most common approach where we ask a friend or a stranger to snap a photo for us, but the chances of the photo coming out the way we would like it is 50/50. We’re a little picky with our photos (aren’t we all to some extent?) and when we ask someone to take a photo of us, it’s usually just one take. We don’t want to be ungracious and ask for multiple takes because we know they want to move on and go about their day.

Classic view of bikes everywhere in Amsterdam

On our most recent trip to Amsterdam, we decided to hire a professional vacation photographer on a site called Localgrapher. It’s where you can hire a personal vacation photographer or videographer anywhere in the world. It’s like having your own personal paparazzi and not feeling bad about it at all. We wish we had known about this service sooner because our experience was amazing. All of the photos in this post were shot by our Localgrapher.

SELECTING YOUR PERSONAL LOCALGRAPHER

Walking back to our hotel at the Kimpton De Witt — Walking back to our hotel at the **Kimpton De Witt**

Choosing and meeting your photographer is a very simple process.

Step 1: Find Your Desired Location

We were heading to Amsterdam so the first step was to input our destination on the site. They literally have photographers all over the world from Memphis to Azerbaijan.

Step 2: Choose The Best Localgrapher

In this step, we answered a few questions to get the best possible photographer for our occasion:

Q 1: Who are you looking for?
Photographer or Videographer

Q2: The occasion for my shoot is:
Wedding, Solo Traveler, Secret Proposal, Bachelorette, Maternity, Honeymoon, Fashion, Couples, etc.

Q3: I prefer communication in (the booking process will be in English, but you can choose a photographer who also speaks another language):
English, Mandarin, Dutch, German, etc.

Q4: I would also appreciate:
Birthday Props, Make-up, Drone Photos/Videos, etc.

You’ll see many alleys like this in Amsterdam

Strolling through the beautiful neighborhoods

Once you answer those questions, you then are directed to a list of photographers that fit your criteria. Each photographer has a full profile where you can get a short bio about the photographer and their shooting style, as well as a portfolio of their work.

With the answers we provided, we had a list of seven photographers to select from. Every one of them had an amazing portfolio, but the photographer that stood out to us was Victoria. Her portfolio consisted of images of people in their natural element; whereas, some of the other photographers we reviewed had a portfolio full of engagement and wedding photos. They were all beautiful images, but we weren’t looking for a wedding photographer and preferred a lifestyle photographer. Victoria’s aesthetic was exactly what we were looking for: natural, spontaneous, and an eye for framing people in beautiful surroundings.

We dined at this pancake chain and Crystal loved it.

REASSURANCE

We submitted our request and the next step was to wait and see if she was available for the date and time we selected. We put in our request just days before our trip and were a little nervous that she wouldn’t be available. We did have a second choice for a photographer just in case, but lucky for us, Victoria was available.

Iconic beautiful canals throughout the city

We received an email from Michelle, Localgrapher’s booking agent, confirming our shoot and informing us that Victoria would email us directly to arrange all the necessary details (meeting point, time etc.). Michelle was also our point of contact should we have any questions or issues. She also reassured us that once the photoshoot was over, she would reach back out within four days with a link to our online gallery. We really liked this aspect of Localgrapher as it was reassuring to have a middle person guide us and make sure we were happy. We think the turnaround time of four days to access our photos online is very fast and they guarantee this!

OUR LOCALGRAPHER, VICTORIA

A little bit of window shopping just around the corner from our hotel

Shortly after receiving an email from Michelle, Victoria sent us an email to confirm our date and time. We responded that we wanted to meet in our hotel lobby at 8AM and briefly explained that we wanted to take photos around the hotel if possible. We were staying at Kimpton De Witt, which was right in the heart of Old Amsterdam and Victoria replied that it was the perfect area for a photoshoot.

DAY OF THE SHOOT

Victoria arrived right on time and was in the lobby waiting for us. We did a quick introduction and then off we went. She was ready to go and seemed really eager to start shooting. We really appreciated that she was quick to get things going since our photo session was for one hour.

The alleys in Amsterdam. They were inviting and such a stark contrast from the grim alleys we often see in the states.

Like what we are wearing? Scroll to the end of this post for direct links to our outfits.

As soon as we stepped outdoors, Victoria immediately started shooting us. She wanted to capture us in our natural element as opposed to a posed shot. This was exactly what we wanted and Crystal and I like to call this “paparazzi style” shooting. We chatted as we walked from one location to to the next and once Victoria got the shot, we would continue walking around the area. We loved that she captured us walking around Amsterdam with the classic visuals of what Amsterdam is known for: the row of bicycles, the pancake restaurants, the beautiful canals, the various alleys, the Dutch architecture, and more.

The sun was rising behind these buildings so we had to get a shot on our phone.

She shot us in a natural setting like when we were crossing the street or even when we stopped to capture a photo of the sunrise on our phone. This is the type of photography we prefer as it’s less posed and actually a pretty accurate representation of what we explored during our time in Amsterdam. The hour went by pretty fast, but we felt that an hour was just the right amount of time for a private photoshoot.

AFTER THE SHOOT

Four days after the shoot, we received an email from Michelle with a link to a photo gallery of our photos. Our photoshoot package included 35 edited hi-res images and we had a total of 77 photos to select from. We couldn’t have been happier with the images and were pleased that we had plenty of photo options to pick from. Once we both looked and marked our favorites, we were able to download the images directly to our desktop. If we happened to love more than the 35 images, there were various options to pay for additional images. If at any time we wanted more photos or (*knock on wood*) lost them, Localgrapher keeps a backup of them for two years at no extra charge. There is also an option to have your photos printed and delivered if you are looking to frame your memories.

Another alley shot right in front of a cheese store

PRICING

Ok, so now you are wondering if this is going to cost you a fortune. Nope. The packages they offer are very reasonably priced. There are a number of packages to select from and the one we picked was called the “Silver Package”. It’s their most popular package at US $350 and it includes:

best for couples
60 minutes
35 edited hi-res photos
2 years backup
4 work days delivery

Localgrapher also offers 100% Money Back Guarantee if you are not happy with your photos which is an exceptional guarantee. I don’t know of any photographer that would offer this guarantee once the shoot is done. It just goes to show how much they trust the photographers they represent on their site.

FINAL THOUGHTS

We are so so happy with our photos and are glad we booked the private one hour photo session with Victoria. The site was easy to navigate and they delivered on everything as promised. It’s nice to see that these private photo sessions aren’t just for secret proposals or engagement photos. It’s for all types of occasions and for anyone or groups who want to capture a special moment. Whether it be for a solo traveler or for a family who wants images for their next Christmas card, there is a photographer on Localgrapher who will capture those memories. Crystal occasionally travels solo, so she’s considering the “Bronze Package (which is ideal for solo travelers), on her next solo adventure.

SOME SHOOTING TIPS FOR YOU, “THE MODEL”

We prefer to shoot early in the morning as there is less people out and about during this time of day. If you are a little shy and tend to get nervous when people start staring, pick an early time.
Sunset is a great time for photos since it’s the time of day where nature’s natural filter does its wonders. However sunset is a popular time to shoot so there will almost always be more people out at this time compared to sunrise. Remember, you want your facial expressions to look natural. If you are worried about others seeing or watching your photoshoot, perhaps avoid this time of day. Sometimes the nervousness in your face can show up in photos.
Wear something that you love, but make sure you are comfortable as well. When you’re uncomfortable somehow the lens finds its way to capture that uneasy look.
Relax and have fun with it! This is your day and you paid for this session, so make the most of it.