London - Forget dodgy selfies and blurry scenery, one company is hoping to revolutionise bad holiday snaps, by sending a professional photographer to capture those perfect moments.
Travellers who want to look like A-listers in their holiday pictures can hire a local photographer to “paparazzi” them on their trip, producing a magazine-worthy set of prints at the end of their stay.
The Flytographer service isn’t just aimed at Paris Hilton wannabes. Couples are also encouraged to hire snappers to capture the perfect proposal and even celebrate their honeymoon.
The concept was dreamt up by entrepreneur Nicole Smith, who was frustrated at the terrible selfies she was taking with an old friend on a trip to Paris. When a photographer acquaintance offered to take “candid” shots for them, she decided it would make a good business idea.
The company is the latest to cash in on the rise of the “braggie” – the perfect holiday photo posted to social networking sites to make friends jealous.
A recent poll found that 5.4 million people in the UK post bragging photos within 10 minutes of arriving on holiday, for example, as well as of hotel rooms, in bars and nightclubs and even of their bed. Seven out of 10 additionally admitted to tweaking photos before uploading them.
Others cropped out parts of their bodies they didn’t want in a shot, and men were found to be the worst offenders. Flytographer claims to have professional photographers in more than 60 cities worldwide, with experience taking pictures for Vogue, Rolling Stone and Getty Images.
A short 30-minute “storyteller” session costs from £150 (R2 600), while a two-hour Romp Around The City costs £360, with 60 digital shots provided at the end.
The pictures can be a mix of candid shots or staged photos in iconic locations. Each shot gets a location landmark: a cobbled street in Le Marais, a glimpse of a Venetian canal or a view of Manhattan so that the scenery remains a part of the memory. – The Daily Mail