Our Shoot Concierge Jen, husband Will and lovely dog Ella recently spent a weekend in the fun city of Portland, USA. Read about her great experience, including talking Will into his first Flytographer shoot… (*SPOILER: he loved it)

I have a strange confession to make for someone who spends her waking hours working my Shoot Concierge magic to help our amazing team of photographers capture happy people on vacation every day: until I started working for Flytographer I didn’t really think I would ever be keen on having my photo taken.

There are great photos of me as a kid, but around my teen years photos of myself got more and more hard to love. When I met my husband, Will, he was in the same boat. Since then I think I can count the number of photos of us together we actually like on the fingers of one hand… and that includes photos from our wedding day. Somehow whenever the camera comes out my eyes shine a vicious red and my chins multiply, and Will’s attempts to grin look more like upside-down smiles or mugshots.

As a result, we had always thought of ourselves as not terribly photogenic people… there are the odd few photos that have captured us together, but the results are usually somewhere in between lacklustre and terribly disappointing.  Instead, for the past decade my husband has hidden behind the camera, and I have made some kind of ridiculous face so at least the photo might possibly be intentionally awful.  

 Disneyland 2009 —  Not an awful photo. Definitely not an awesome photo.

Disneyland 2009 —  Not an awful photo. Definitely not an awesome photo.

However, after having an awesome Flytographer experience in Vegas this spring with my friend I had have had a serious change of heart on the photo front, and when we planned a long weekend getaway to Portland I knew this was my chance to finally get some photos of us together.

Even Frowny McFrownyson was cautiously optimistic about the possibility of the fabled “Flytographer magic” getting photos of us together that we didn’t cringe at. 

candids in great locations +

relaxing situation +

amazing photographers 

= flytographer *magic*

 

Still, as we were getting ready for our shoot we shared a nervous hug in the elevator. “I just don’t want to ruin the photos because I am too shy,” Will confessed. 

I had prepared Michele, our Portland photographer, ahead of time that Will was going to be a tough cookie, and she came prepared with plenty of reassurance & her long lens ready to sneakily capture us like a Flytographer Ninja. 

 Stolen moments in Pioneer Square — sneakily captured from afar...

Stolen moments in Pioneer Square — sneakily captured from afar…

Michele truly did an amazing job of capturing us!

At every stop along our route she found great spots for us to stop at, and then she snapped away until she captured those perfect moments when our dog was facing the right way (Michele is actually a pet photographer as well as a people photographer!), and my skirt wasn’t being blown unflatteringly by the wind and Will’s frown DID turn upside down! 

If I didn’t see the amazing results from Flytographer shoots across the globe in my inbox every single day, I would probably have had trouble trusting that the end result could possibly include 30 photos of us that we actually liked. Truly, truly truthfully I was STILL a little bit nervous to look at the photos when they arrived in case our photo jinx had somehow defeated the Flytographer magic…

We finally have photos together we adore!
Thank you Michele!!

 She warmed him up by shooting over his shoulder...

She warmed him up by shooting over his shoulder…


 ... and then caught that handsome, elusive smile while pretending the photo was of the dog!

… and then caught that handsome, elusive smile while pretending the photo was of the dog!

Pointers for conquering photo self-consciousness:

 Since we started dating after swapping Apple software tips on our lunch break it was pretty amazing to stumble across an Apple store mid-shoot! 

Since we started dating after swapping Apple software tips on our lunch break it was pretty amazing to stumble across an Apple store mid-shoot! 

Find a fun location

Half the magic of the candid moments we capture is the authentic delight that is being experienced by being in an amazing place. 

Plus, when you’re surrounded by new and engaging things to distract you from the fact there’s a camera somewhere nearby… 

 

 Trying on hats at Classic Collection hat shop & habadashery

Trying on hats at Classic Collection hat shop & habadashery

Relax & enjoy the moment

Unlike most of the times you might have had professional photos before, this is an opportunity for photos in a completely relaxing situation — on vacation! You should really be experiencing zero stress. 

 I never would have looked at this statue and seen a cute photo op, but Michele did! 

I never would have looked at this statue and seen a cute photo op, but Michele did! 

Trust your photographer

Having a professional behind the lens really does make a huge difference. There are dozens of ways in which they have honed their craft to knock it out of the park. Take a deep breath and remind yourself that their job is to make you look your best. 

Check out our whole gallery for more Portland awesomeness!

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