We love it when people surprise ones they love with a Travelshoot experience - but this weeks surprise was too awesome not to share. Gloria booked a surprise Travelshoot for her parents in Prague to celebrate their first time to Europe, and the photos showcase the perfect parental getaway....
Tell us a little about your parents! What do they do for fun? How many are in your family? How do they like to spend their weekends?
My parents are Korean-Kiwi but lived in multiple different countries in their life together. I (their daughter) and my brother were born in Taiwan and Australia (respectively) - but it was their very first time in Europe, which was to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary, in conjunction with my dad's 60th birthday. They were two big milestones.
Do they love to travel? Give us an idea of the places they have been, and how often they get away..
They haven't been the biggest travellers since having a family so they were quite worried about going to a new country where they didn't speak the language and where everything was completely foreign. We haven't really been away as a family ever, so when I heard they booked this trip, I was seriously surprised. I'm like - is there another place in New Zealand that's named Prague? Haha.
What made you book a Travelshoot for them? Where did you get the idea?
To make sure that their big milestones and their big trip alone without us kids was properly documented. Also, both their eyesight have become quite poor so they didn't even realise that all their travel selfies were blurry! I got the idea because I myself really love photos. Not taken of me per-se but because I travel a lot, I have this strong desire to really document those beautiful moments away with your loved ones. So I knew that this is something I wanted to gift my parents.
Talk us through what they thought of the shoot and how it all went down! What were their favourite parts? Do you think they have fun?
I coordinated the shoot with our designated photographer, and she was super accommodating and open to receiving a pretty detailed and dictating brief - I was really worried that my parents were going to be super uncomfortable, or shy, or not be able to communicate with the photographer, so I tried to do as much ground work as possible. Listening to them rave on about their experience, however, made me realise I had nothing to worry about. The shoot time that was allocated and selected by the photographer was absolutely perfect - their photos look as though they had the whole of Prague city all to themselves - the areas that are usually teeming with tourists for miles were deserted but they had the beautiful backdrop to perfectly accompany their photos. They told me that the photographer was super easy to work with, that she was very natural with helping them pose (if they ran out of ideas), and the selection of photos that they received was a varied range of good close ups to beautiful scenic shots. My mum couldn't believe how young and beautiful she looked and kept asking whether she was airbrushed! I reassured her she was of course, very youthful looking, and that it's the complement of good photography, not blurry selfies that they take on their phones!
Tell us what you think their favourite travel memory would be? What’s been the most amazing thing they've seen, or the place they had the most fun?
I think for my parents, the whole concept of being in Europe was such a different experience. They've obviously been in different countries where different languages were spoken, but probably not outside of Asia. I also think that they had so many preconceptions about Europe being unsafe, or dirty, or susceptible to terrorist attacks being at the forefront of their minds, but actually being there made them forget about all that and really appreciate the beauty of the place, and also understand for themselves why theres a love affair for everyone who's been before. They are actually visiting relatives in Korea at the moment, but Dad told me the other day that he misses the time in Europe, exploring the streets of Prague and Vienna, alone with mum (so cute!)
What country/destination takes the top spot on their travel wishlist?
They want to see more of Europe next time, but with the kids and their son & daughter-in-laws. Especially places in Western Europe where languages I can speak (Spanish and Italian) are spoken and get more of a local experience.
Finally - what’s your favourite shot from their Travelshoot? Why do you love it?
With both of them, I love the one attached below - because it's such a natural shot and they are both looking so incredibly happy. I love it when my Dad smiles like that. I am SUCH a fan of the portrait shot of my mum by herself - it's such a beautiful and natural shot of her that I would love to frame!
