Flytographer

Flytographer is a professional photograph service that connects users with local photographers across 170 cities worldwide to take high-quality pictures of your travels abroad. Rather than having to worry about asking strangers walking by to take photos of you on your phone camera, Flytohraphy allows customers to simply and quickly hire a professional, who will follow you around taking photojournalistic style pictures wherever you may be.

Before making a booking using Flytographer, I found the option to handpick your own photographer by looking at their portfolio and verified user reviews to be an incredibly useful feature. Although the website claim that they have vetted and selected only the very best, it is great to be able to find out for yourself the kind of person you will be getting. Each photographer profile features a short bio, three things they love, their favourite place to shoot in the city, languages spoken and customer feedback. Knowing the languages spoken is particularly important if you are to convey exactly the sort of pictures you would like before starting the photo-shoot.

A great feature that helps make Flytographer easy to use is the instant online chat. There is an icon in the bottom right corner that gives you the choice between four options – “I’m a photographer”, I’m thinking about booking”, “I’ve already made a booking” and “I’m a Travel Advisor” – before presenting more choices to narrow down your enquiry. I found this to be a really helpful addition, allowing you to avoid the hassle of making phone calls or sending emails.

However, Flytographer is without doubt a luxury service and will not be an obvious choice for those simply backpacking or going on a cheap weekend away. Prices start at $250 USD for a 30-minute session, which includes just 15 photos in one location, while two hours is as much as $650 USD.