One of the questions we often get from parents, seniors, couples and others about our destination session offerings is: “Why should we do a destination session?” Its a fair question, so I will use this post to explain why we offer destination sessions to our clients and why you might want to consider one for your portrait session.
Once in a Lifetime Experience!
Destination sessions are about the experience you have in another location while visiting different sites, touring, eating and yes taking pictures. It is something that you will remember the rest of your life. We could certainly create pretty images at a local location, but that is “normal”. When was the last time “normal” had a significant memory in your life? Think of the last time you had a portrait taken and where it was taken at. Is it a significant memory? Does the location factor into it at all? Chances are if you are like more people, you went to a local park and did portraits there. While the portraits came out great you and were happy with them, there really isnt a memory attached to it. In 20 years, will the location have mattered? No, you value the image that was created and hanging in your home, the location was just a the pretty place you picked.
Now imagine for a moment if you had that same portrait session in Paris, Iceland, Greece or even a place like Colorado. The location then becomes part of the story behind the portraits. Every time you see that portrait on the wall, you will remember your trip and the experience that you had and you will remember it far longer than if it were just a “normal” session down the road. You will remember the travel to get there.. You will remember the smells of the location.. You will remember the food, how many tourists there were, how things were different than you are used to and so on.
The trips we provide are about that creating that experience and not about the portraits. Yes, we will be taking portraits, but the portraits are the result of the experience. They are what we create to represent that experience, but the trip is first and foremost about the experience that traveling provides. We want to provide you with something that you will remember forever!
Amazing Portraits!
Wait.. Didnt I just said it wasnt about the portraits? Yes, that is correct. Its about the experience, but the portraits become what we use to portray that experience. Every time you see your portraits on the wall or in the album you will instantly remember the experience you had on that trip. The portraits give us the reason to go, the experience is the most important part and the portraits are the way to remember that trip years down the road. Think of it like a sandwich. The most important part of a sandwich is what is between the bread. Its the meat, the toppings, the dressing, etc. Without those things, you are just holding 2 pieces of bread. The experience is the meat and toppings of the sandwich. The portraits are the bread that hold it together.
The location becomes an integral part of the portraits we create. While it is true we can provide you with images you will love and cherish with local sessions, there is just something different about images with well known landmarks in them. Take the image of Olivia in the red dress. I could have done something similar locally. It would have looked good. She would have loved it.. but it wouldnt have been on a rooftop in Santorini. The location sets the image apart. The process helps create the experience.
Which do you think is more memorable; doing this at a local park or doing this on a rooftop of Santorini? Which do you think has more impact? Which do you think creates the “wow” factor? Destination sessions allow us to create those “wow” portraits that you will be excited to display or share on social media. simply due to locations that are different and beyond the norm. The location become part of your story. The location allows you to get images you otherwise wouldnt be able to get. It all comes together to allow us to create some amazing portraits for our clients.
Spending time with a loved one!
Parents! Did you know that in a few short years (or even less than a year for parents of seniors), your children will be leaving the nest to spread their wings in the real world? I’m sure you dont need me to remind you that your time with them is limited. Once they leave to be on their own, your time with them is even more limited as they begin their lives without you. Yes, they will still visit. Yes, they will spend holidays at home, but it wont be the same as them living under your roof as they did the previous 18 or so years. Soon they will have their own families that will begin to take their focus. Soon they will have their own families in which they will vacation with. What parent wouldnt want to maximize the time they spend before their children leave? Go ahead, grab the tissues!
Destinations sessions give you an opportunity to travel one more time with your child. They give you an opportunity to experience other parts of the world with them. It allows you more time to create memories you both will cherish years down the road. It provides more dinner conversations years in the future when they visit with their families. You both can recall that trip you took for the portraits… and as mentioned above, you will have some amazing images to share with them.
Excuse to Travel!
Most people want to travel and see other parts of the world, but many feel traveling just to travel is not a good use of resources. Destination sessions give them a reason to travel. There is now a reason to do it that goes beyond just wanting to go. The portrait session gives them a reason to go. Its a justification to invest the money to do the trip.
Also, this makes traveling easier. Many people dont want to travel because of the amount of planning it takes to do a trip. They dont know how to navigate airports. They are nervous about getting lost. Planning gives them anxiety. With our destination portrait sessions, you do not need to worry about any of that. The trips are planned for you. I am there to help you navigate a new city, help you travel through airports, train stations, etc and help you make the most of your trip without you having to worry about the details.
Cheaper Trips!
Our destination trips are significantly cheaper than most expect. I put together the cheapest trip possible to many of the most famous locations. To give you some ideas on costs for our trips, here is a list of some recent trips and the costs (not including food) to do them.
- Paris: $450
- Iceland: $600-$850
- Greece: $850
- Colorado - $165
- Las Vegas - $115
- Ireland - $1000
That is a small sampling of some trips we have taken. As you can see, those are pretty cheap prices to travel to those locations. To up the WOW factor, those prices above include airfare, lodging and transportation. All of the international trips include multiple days, usually about a week. Say what?!?! Greece for $850? Yup, that trip was 7 days during spring break. Crazy huh?
So as you can see, the trips we put together are pretty cheap considering the locations. I spend a ton of time finding the best airfare and lodging deals for each trip so that you dont have to worry about it. :)
Here are a couple of reviews from a recent trip to Iceland
“I’m not sure if words can describe what this trip meant to us...What started as Senior pictures for my daughter turned out to be more than you could ever imagine. We made memories, met new people, saw gorgeous sites and genuinely enjoyed our time together. Curtiss isn’t just an exceptional photographer, but an extremely knowledgeable tour guide. He even made traveling practically painless, which I would have never believed possible. We would do it again!” - Tabitha
“This might hands down be the best experience we have had. It’s no secret that Curtiss takes amazing portraits, but beyond that the experience was something we will always cherish. We got to see the most gorgeous landscapes I’ve ever seen in my life and my daughter felt like a celebrity having her portraits taken in these grandiose locations in gorgeous dresses while bystanders came by to see what was going on and started taking her picture paparazzi style. Julie isn’t quite a senior yet, this was just a mommy and daughter trip, but it was so nice to be there with the other moms and our daughters and spend that time with our girls in these AMAZING locations. Curtiss was such a great tour guide.. not to mention exceptional photographer. I saw some sneak peeks of the pictures he took and words can’t describe how beautiful they are!” - Emily
As you can see from the reasons above, destination sessions provide an unique opportunity for your portraits. But you likely have a few more questions, so I will cover some of those below.
Are the pictures included in the price for the trip?
Yes and no. I do not charge a session fee to take the pictures while we are there, but you would need purchase the prints and products you would want separately after the trip. We invite you to the studio after we get back and that is where you will view your portraits and make your selections. We do not have a minimum purchase amount, so you only order images that you want.
How many trips can we do?
As many as you want. We do not limit how many trips clients can go on. If you want to go on multiple trips, you just pay the costs for those trips and whatever prints/products you want after the trip.
I’m a senior and want to go on a trip. Who is required to go with me?
A parent (or someone over 25) is required to go with anyone under 25. There are several reasons for this.. 1) liability 2) car/hotel rentals 3) gives you someone to be there with you to tour while I may be photographing someone else and 4) just a rule we have :)
I want to go on a trip, but I want to see the sights. Do we do portraits all day?
It depends on the trip. Our one day trips are portrait based and there wont be much time to see the sights outside of the locations we photograph. We are in and out the same day. ALL of our international trips include time to tour. We do not shoot all day on those trips, so once your session is done, you are free to be a tourist the remaining part of the day and other days you arent shooting. We want you to be able to experience as much as possible, so we dont take all day to photograph you. The one exception to this would be Iceland. Since everything is so spread out, a lot of time is spent in a car. So days we do photoshoots, we are traveling several hours by car, so you wont have a ton of tourist time in Iceland, but lets face it, you didnt choose Iceland for the tourist activities. You chose it for the landscapes and scenery and there is a TON of that.
Are there any extra costs to the trips?
Again, it depends on the trip. I try to provide as much transparency as possible. I try to do an all inclusive rate so that you just pay once and airfare, lodging, ground transportation, etc is included. The main thing we do not include is food because that is up to each individual. Each person can decide what they want to spend on food each day. Some people spend more/less than others, so we dont include that in the pricing. There would be other fees like museum admission, souvenirs, etc that you would pay for separately.
Do we stay with a group of people?
Yes, we typically stay together as a group in each location. This is mostly to keep costs down for lodging. You dont have to stay with the group during the day, but most of the time, we share an apartment/condo unit. While we share the common areas, you will have your own bed (or share with your child). You may need to share a bathroom, but we try to get each “group” their own bedroom. Doing it this way allows us to keep the prices significantly cheaper than staying in individual hotel rooms.
If you have any questions or are interested in one of our trips, please visit www.curtissbryantphotography.com/destinations to get added to our mailing list for destination sessions. Cant wait to travel with you!