Starting to plan your summer getaways?  Quick thought for the day – consider hiring a local photographer to capture images of your special vacation or trip this summer.

When we lived in China one of the best things we did was hire Gangfeng Wang, a well known Shanghai photographer, to take some photos for us.  Of course we took a zillion pictures during our time there, but these images are certainly some of my favorites.  Having these professional pictures also made it much easier to pull together a great looking photo book when we returned home.

In addition to taking great pictures of your entire family, local photographers often know interesting locations that help capture the culture, environment and feel of your vacation spot.  The Internet and local hotels are two great places to begin looking for photographers.

I feel compelled to insert an American Express-esque comment here about the cost of your airfare, hotel, meals and entertainment compared to the price of an hour with a photographer and a memory captured for a lifetime.  Yep, priceless.