Frequently asked questions

Luminaria matches you with a vetted local photographer, videographer or drone pilot in 20 destinations across Mexico. You choose the destination, the kind of session and a date; a coordinator replies within two hours with an available professional and your exact price in writing; and the date is held once the retainer is paid.

Sessions in Mexico start at $130 for vacation photoshoot, and every service page shows its own starting price in US dollars, its length and what is delivered. The exact price for your date and location is confirmed in writing before you pay anything, and nothing is billed per extra photograph.

Tell us the destination, the kind of session and the date on the booking form, and a coordinator matches you with a vetted photographer who works that destination and that kind of session. You can ask to see more of their work, or for someone else, before you confirm anything.

Yes. Every photographer lives and works in the destination you book, which is why they know the hour a beach or a plaza empties out, which locations need a permit, and where to go instead when the first choice is closed or crowded.

Every session price includes the photographer’s time on location, professional editing of the stated number of photographs, and a private online gallery delivered by the date quoted for that session. Permit fees, site entry, venue or hotel charges and parking are not included; where a permit is needed, its cost is named before you book.

Every session type states its delivery window before you book, from 72 hours for villa & vacation rental photography to 8 weeks for wedding videography, counted from the day of the session. Edited photographs and films arrive in a private online gallery that stays available for twelve months.

Overcast skies and light rain are working conditions, and often flattering ones, so a photo session usually goes ahead. If lightning, a hurricane or tropical storm warning, or a closed site or beach makes the location genuinely unusable, the session is moved to a new date at no charge, whichever side calls it.

Yes. A photo session can be moved once at no charge with at least seven days’ notice. Inside seven days the retainer is forfeit and a new one is due, except when the weather makes the location unusable, in which case the move is always free.

Yes. Name the photographer in the notes on the booking form, and the coordinator will tell you whether they are free on your date. If they are not, you are offered another vetted photographer in the same destination before anything is paid.

Yes. Proposal photography starts at $200 for 30 min: the photographer scouts your spot and a fallback in advance, covers the question itself from a distance with a long lens, and takes portraits of you both right afterwards, with the gallery delivered within 5 days.

Yes. Each destination page lists the locations photographers use most, with the hour the light works and the permit rules for each, and your photographer suggests a spot and a time for your date. A fallback location is agreed in advance for sessions where timing matters, such as proposals.

It depends on the place. In Mexico, an archaeological zone run by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), a protected natural area, a municipal beach or plaza, and a hotel or private venue can each set their own rules for professional photography. Each destination page names the authority for its locations; confirm the current rule with that authority before booking, and any permit cost is named before you pay.

A coordinator replies within two hours with an available photographer and your exact price in writing. Nothing is charged until you accept, and your date is held once the retainer is paid. After the session, your edited photographs arrive in a private online gallery on the date stated for your session type.