How to Get Great Vacation Photos of the Entire Family

Last Updated on February 5, 2018 by Jody Halsted

Are great family vacation photos- of the entire family together– one of your goals? Maybe a shot good enough to put on that Christmas card you never send out- because you just don't have any good family photos?

I don't know about you, but I'm often behind the camera catching all the vacation fun. And though I'm trying to teach them, my kids just don't quite have an eye for taking flattering photos of people.

So I end up with a very one-sided vacation story of my family having a great time – and maybe a few shots of me that are blurry, at a bad angle (hello double chins when shots are taken from below!), or just unflattering in so many ways.

This year I decided that I wanted some good family photos (our last official family portrait was when my youngest was 2 – she's 9 now!)

Since we had a short bit of time near Dublin before leaving Ireland, I did some research on hiring a local photographer.

And there were loads of options. But many did studio work… or were so terribly expensive… or were booked… And as I dug through reviews and webpages I could feel myself giving up on the idea of great family vacation photos.

And then I found Flytographer, a network of local photographers across the globe.

Our Flytographer Aoife, making memories.

Family Vacation Portraits with Flytographer

Just so you know: I paid for our Flytographer session….

Setting up our session was simple- I chose the city (Dublin), the photographer (Aoife), the package (60 minute Subtle Chronicler),  and sent in my request, including date, type of shoot, and a request for the photographer to come to Malahide- a village outside of Dublin.

Communication with Flytographer was terrific. All my emails were answered promptly and to say I was excited about having family vacation photos taken was an understatement…

Not only was I excited about having family portraits done (it had been 7 years since our last family photos!) but were were doing our photo shoot on the west lawn of Malahide Castle!

Aoife met us at outside the visitor centre and was as fun and unique as her bio implied. The girls were instantly smitten! She had arrived early and had scouted out some spots for photos. We had a few ideas of our own, and together we created series of photos that show a sense of fun, love, and family.

A Few of Our Great Vacation Photos at Malahide Castle

Lawn games in front of Malahide Castle : Crack the whip.
By Aoife for Flytographer; Dublin, Ireland. All rights reserved. Dancing on the castle lawn.
By Aoife for Flytographer; Dublin, Ireland. All rights reserved. My girls. Love how this shows the tween personality of my eldest and the fun fairy sprite of my youngest.
By Aoife for Flytographer; all rights reserved.

I can't tell you how much we enjoyed our shoot and love our photos! Aoife really brought out our personalities and the results are more than I hoped for!

If you have any questions about our Flytographer experience, please ask! I'm happy to answer!