Family Photoshoot in Amsterdam | The Lightbox Tales Review

As I was booking my Airbnb accomodation for Holland and Belgium, Airbnb suggested activities and one hour photoshoot session in Amsterdam stood out. It’s a great idea because this photoshoot would be in time for Baby EX’s second birthday, and we love the one we did for her first birthday.

Moreover, taking family photos in Amsterdam would give us a special and pretty souvenir for our three-week long Europe trip. Good thing we did it because this was really a good trip to remember and the photoshoot captured our memories and highlighted the essence of our first Europe trip.

Prior to Photoshoot

Those photographers we liked on Airbnb were all fully booked for our travel dates. Hence I went to Google and found Celia of The Lightbox Tales. Loved her portfolio and her rates were reasonable, so I contacted her for details. Fast reply with a detailed pricelist and FAQ. Throughout our communication, she was very prompt and patient in answering my queries about the locations, dates, length of the shoot, etc. She was also flexible in our somewhat last minute change of dates.

Engaging Celia turned out to be a fantastic decision! We signed up for the “Escaping Routine” package that equates to 1-hour photography session. With a toddler, I think this is just about the right amount of time. With her being a toddler, it’s too much hassle for a half hour and her patience isn’t enduring enough for 1.5 hours.

Our package comprises of 3 locations (she’s quite flexible about this), 1-2 outfits (we didn’t have time for outfit change), and 30-60 edited photos. Her website has pricing estimates, but email for detailed pricing plans. The prices change every now and then, depending on the season, and type of shoot (couple, solo, or family). Get a 10% discount if you quote “JoogoStyle”. 🙂

Because of a super bad experience with an absconded home contractor, I negotiated the payment terms with Celia– paying her more upfront, and then the remaining after we received the photos instead of on the day of photoshoot.

One of her preferred payment mode is TransferWise (an awesome platform we didn’t know before). You can get a free transfer on TransferWise with my referral link: transferwise.com/u/xues6

Actual Day of Photoshoot

Celia proposed to start at 8:00AM to 8:30AM to capture the morning sunlight. We almost changed it to a later time due to the cloudy forecast (it’s usually accurate during our stay in Netherlands), since there’s no point to rush out early for nothing. But good thing we didn’t change!

The sunlight was so beautiful, as seen in our photos. This awesome lighting made up for having to wake up super early to prepare and travel an hour from Rotterdam to Amsterdam.

Once at Amsterdam, hubby went to book a slot at the Lovers Canal Cruises tour, which apparently was unnecessary. And I would NOT recommend doing their tour. Anyway, since we’re running short of time, Baby EX and I went ahead to meet up with Celia first at Jordaan, along the canal of Amsterdam.

Hubby was supposed to join us shortly after, but because of some miscommunication on Google Maps, he joined us half an hour later! So half of the session is just of Baby EX and me. So you can imagine we had quite a lot of photos together and of course, our solo shots.

It’s quite a feat to pose solo while juggling with an active baby photobomb-ing me and a stroller left standing on the narrow cobbled streets of Amsterdam. But glad I did get a few good ones!

When hubby joined us, we sneaked in a few couple shots too. Of course, while being lovey-dovey, we were also eyeing our daughter to make sure she didn’t fall into the canal waters.

We got a 3-in-1 photoshoot – solo, couple and family! 😛

Celia’s style is to capture moments as we interacted with one another. It’s something that I like too. Without the posing, there’s an air of authenticity. But being old school, we couldn’t help but to pose! Regardless, she was open to us posing, whichever we wanted or were comfortable in.

Hence, for this natural style of photo-taking, she made sure we felt comfortable and relaxed from the beginning so to capture the most authentic and heartfelt moments. That also means trying to connect with Baby EX.

I was trying to be natural in our interactions, but I was still conscious of her and thus had some awkward poses. Lol. Good thing she managed to capture sweet moments of us as we walked from point to point, when I was less conscious.

Celia led us through a suggested route and recommended spots where we could take photos. We could also at anytime tell her where we preferred to take our photos. All the locations she suggested turn out to be Instagram or Pinterest worthy.

We had a great time chatting with Celia during the session too – learning that she’s from Spain and a bit of her move to and around Netherlands. 🙂 The one hour photoshoot passed by quickly and my two year old warmed up to Celia nicely by the end too!

But Baby EX suddenly got cranky nearing the end. Turned out she was tired from the photoshoot and early wake up time, thus the crankiness. She napped almost immediately after we parted ways. It’s not easy to be a baby model. Hee.

At least, she had fun taking photos with her mini camera too. 😛 We forgot to take a photo with Celia, but Baby EX managed to take a photo of her in action! We all had a good time and enjoyed the photoshoot session.

Celia sent us the photos by the end of the day and out of goodwill, gave us more than what’s stated in the package. Amazing service! 🙂

Most importantly, the photos turned out GREAT! Although I wished Baby EX smiled more for the camera, I have to accept that she’s an act cool baby. Haha. I got many people telling me how nice the photos are. We too absolutely loved the photos and thanks to Celia, we are able to keep these memories in print.

Would highly recommend Celia and The Lightbox Tales if you’re looking for an affordable and high quality photoshoot in Amsterdam. Thanks, Celia!

www.thelightboxtales.com

p.s. Remember to quote “JoogoStyle” for a 10% discount!