Tips for Shooting with A Photographer While Traveling

By now, you guys have seen most of the photos included in this post, but I wanted to talk a little bit more about my experience with shooting with a photographer while traveling! I have only had two experiences doing this, but I think I can offer a fair bit of insight, as I have had excellent experiences both times.

I shot with the fabulous Allie Provost of Prêt-à-Provost when I was in New York, and Divina Stennfeld when I was in Austin earlier this year and highly recommend both of these ladies if you are going to be in either city!

Here are some tips when you are looking for a photographer while traveling:

1. Ask for recommendations – If you don’t have your eye on anyone particular that you already follow along with (or even actually if you do) as for recs! Post to your stories, post on Facebook, post in any blogger groups that you are in, asking if anyone has anyone has any inside intel for you.  Take advice from locals in the city you are traveling to, as well as people who have experience traveling to that city.  I don’t usually post in many FB groups, but I figured if I wanted to find the best match for me, I had to! This is how I found Divina and it 100% worked.
2. Do your research – *obviously* Once you receive recommendations, or have a list of potential collaborators, do your research.  Check out their websites and instagram and see if it looks like you would be a good fit. There are plenty of excellent photographers out there but that doesn’t mean that they will always mesh with your vibe.
3. Contact your photog – This is a lot like communicating with a brand! I used instagram DM to communicate with the girls I worked with, and it worked perfectly.  In your initial communication, lay out exactly what you are looking for and the time window you have to shoot and go from there.
4. How to choose a shoot location – Once you have set up your shoot time, date etc, it is likely the photographer will ask you where you want to shoot.  Be sure to let them know what kind of photos you are looking for. If you are looking for evergreen content that could have been taken anywhere, they will give you different suggestions than say, what I wanted. For me, I wanted some iconic spots from the cities I was visiting so I asked the photographers what they recommended. Both of the girls I work with gave me a variety of options to choose from when I told them what I wanted, which was super helpful!
5. Be prepared for a change of clothes – You obviously want to get the most bang for your buck so you should try to fit in more than one look during your shoot. It seems annoying to have to tote a bag with a change of clothes & shoes with you, but most photographers are prepared for this! {In Austin, I rode a Bird Scooter 3 miles in heeled combat boots with my LV Neverfull on my shoulder and felt a bit ridiculous but it was totally worth it.}  Most photogs will help keep watch over your bag while you shoot and help you find a place to change between looks.

Edited vs Unedited Photos – Both of the girls I shot with asked if they wanted me to shoot with my memory card, so that I could have access to all of the photos, or if I wanted them to shoot and edit a handful of shots.  This is completely up to you, but both times I decided to bring my own memory card so that I could have all of the images afterwards.  If you don’t like to edit your own photos, you may choose the latter, but I know I can be picky and change my mind about photos from one day to the next so I like to have hundreds to choose from.

See more photos from my Grand Central Shoot HERE

See more photos from my New York Public Library Shoot HERE

See more photos from my Austin Motel Shoot HERE (2019)  and with Johnny HERE (2020)

See more photos from Austin HERE (2019)

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