In pursuit of stolen moments

It's that time of the year where you reflect on the things that happened this year and look forward to the coming year. When it comes to photography, taking selfies when you're travelling is so 2017! The new trend that promises to take 2018 by storm is vacation photography.

It involves taking along a photographer for those picture perfect photographs for Instagram and other social media pages.  

While  this new trend is quite popular in the west, it's just catching up in India. Rohith Sarcar, a photographer, has travelled with a couple of his clients  as a vacation photographer.

He says, "I've been on a couple of trips as a vacation photographer. It's a perfect way for travellers to enjoy their time at the place and have someone capture those special moments without making it look like a staged photograph."

Companies too are taking advantage of the trend and encouraging holiday photography.

Parminder Sahni, founder and co-worker of 'Vsnapu', says, "We are  a startup that have  photographers from across the country. The clients usually approach us when they are  travelling and we assign a photographer for them. With much scope for photography these days, travellers too, are particular about the kind of pictures that they want."

"We thought it would be more of couples who opt for this but we've seen a lot of families also wanting to have  a professional photographer along with them while travelling.  With people being extremely comfortable in front of the camera these days, many don't even realise that they  have a photographer following them around when travelling," he adds.  

In order to capture those perfect moments, the photographers have to be alert at all times.

Rohith explains, "That one moment matters a lot and it's your job as a photographer to capture it. Sometimes it happens when you want to catch a snack break too. But the travellers hired you to take pictures  that they can't otherwise, so you just have to compromise. Nevertheless, the best part is when they are happy with your  pictures."

Arya Balakrishnan and Mahantesh Davanageri  had a wedding ceremony in India but they  wanted to get married in Phuket also. So they took Arjun Thomas, a professional photographer, to Phuket to capture their dream wedding.  

Arya says, "We wanted something special and different to remember when it came to our wedding. I've been following Arjun's work on social media and he happens to be a friend's friend. We took him along and it was such a wonderful experience. He's done a great job with the pictures and we couldn't be happier."

Arjun recalls, "When we went to the island for the photoshoot, we realised that we weren't the only ones who wanted a similar setup. It was great to be a part of their celebration and it was a beautiful location to shoot as well."

He says vacation photography is an interesting concept especially because the travellers can have a good time without worrying about how the pictures will turn out.

"Travelling  today has become much more than just visiting a place. You make sure that you get that picture-perfect moment for your social media followers. While those pictures that you take on your own may be good, the quality that a professional photographer brings in is different," he explains.  

So have you hired a photographer for your  next travel yet?