My own Instagram feed is made up of pictures of off-centre panoramas, badly lit food in fancy restaurants and unflattering selfies. Considering I’m a travel editor, my life isn’t particularly curated and I wouldn’t know how to influence anybody other than through brute force.
Which is probably why I’m the ideal candidate for Shoot My Travel, a photographer marketplace promising to capture your holiday in a lovely, social media-friendly way. Just launched in the UK, it promises to make me a travel influencer by taking some fun Instagrammy shots for a couple of hours.
While the Instagram aesthetic has left many travellers (and this travel editor) cold, it’s one that's in demand. Mediakix estimated the social media industry was worth more than $1bn (£750m) in 2017.
I want a slice of the pie. But first – I need help.
Which is where Shoot My Travel comes in. The service matches up travellers with local photographers to create natural, Instagram-friendly shots that are guaranteed to rake in the hits. It was founded in 2015 in Miami, and has done a storming trade across America for friends and couples on holiday in an unfamiliar city. It’s now available in 250 destinations around the world, launching in UK cities including Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cambridge and London. The platform has more than 1,000 photographers on the books, and in the UK it's proved particularly popular with couples and solo travellers.
London might not be Bali or Ibiza – but it was the best opportunity I had. And despite the lack of beach, it’s ridiculously Instagrammable.
I met snapper Tiffany Roubert by Kingly Court off Carnaby Street in Soho – a three-level courtyard filled with alfresco restaurants, bars and crucially, a stone-cold Instagram opportunity. I could see the pounds rolling in from my casual shots posing against the boutique windows already.
We started at Le Bab, a Middle Eastern joint with gorgeous tiles and large windows on the top floor of Kingly Court. A cocktail adorned with cucumbers and strawberries was to be prettily sniffed at and twirled around my fingers. Cubes of pork belly were to be perched on the end of my fork and drizzled, achingly slowly, with sauce. I laughed into the air and smiled in the middle distance and managed about two cute nibbles of it. Is this how influencers eat?
Posing down the side streets of Carnaby was easier and very London – ie lots of strutting and hair flicking and waving my leather bag about.
The flower stand outside Liberty’s was a clear Instagram hit, but the moment I curled one expensive-looking rose into my hand and grinned demurely at Tiffany, the flower girl told me off and we had to leave.
Next up is Belgravia – one of London’s most photographic districts, with quiet streets, huge off-white mansions flanked by Doric entrances and wide sash windows. Which means it’s perfect for posing and laughing at nothing over the photographer’s shoulder while clutching a takeaway coffee, basically.
Baby pink cake shop Peggy Porschen on the corner of Ebury Street and Elizabeth Street is one of London’s Insta hits. There’s a line outside, mid-afternoon on a weekday, for the bubblegum pink pavement seats that sit underneath a floral arch. Everything is pretty and pink and the very apex of everything Instagram. I get a quick snap of me artfully checking my emails and we run off before the poor waiter receives his P45.
We finished with me pretending to call my agent in a dingy phone box opposite Harrods. A red bus stormed past, which only added to the London look.
And in just 90 minutes, I’d learnt to be a travel influencer with the help of a very patient Tiffany and Shoot My Travel. Now I’ve sold all the most glam bits of London to my 703 Instagram followers, I’m available to do some arty beach shots in Bali/Ibiza/Fiji. Please.
Top tips for being an influencer
- According to Shoot My Travel co-founder Valerie Lopez, the most important thing to remember is to “relax and enjoy your time exploring the city”. You’re on holiday, after all.
- Wear something you’re comfortable in – the idea is to look as natural as possible. Trainers always work, as you’ll be walking around a bit.
- Accessories help. A pair of sunglasses gives you something to fiddle with, and a handbag is great to pose with. An iced coffee always looks good to clutch.
- The photographer can suggest the best locations and backdrops for your holiday, as they always know the area.
