Book a Photoshoot in Cinque Terre, Italy
Liguria, Italy · · 124 reviews
📍 Cinque Terre 🇮🇹
Looking to book a photoshoot in the Cinque Terre? Hi 👋 I'm Cian (Sarath) — a photographer and marketer who lives an hour up the same railway line, and I'm down in the five villages most weeks. Proposals, couples, families, and plenty of people travelling on their own. A session is an hour's walk through whichever village you pick, and the edited photographs land in your inbox two or three days later. Tell me the day you're here and I'll tell you where the light will be.
First: you don't need to know how to pose. Nearly everyone says some version of "we're awkward in photographs" in the first message, and it has never once been a problem. There's no list of poses and I won't hand you props.
We meet somewhere you can't miss on your first hour in a village — outside the station, or down by the harbour. I'll have been there a while already, watching where the light is landing and how busy the good corners are.
Then we just walk. Most of the first ten minutes is talking, while I work out how you are together: who leans on who, who makes the other one laugh. That's the part I'm actually photographing, so I'd rather it happened than be directed. If you're on your own, it's the same thing with fewer people in it.
Somewhere in the middle we stop at the view the village is known for, because you'd be annoyed if we didn't, and you'll get that photograph. But the ones people end up printing are usually from a set of steps nobody else was standing on.
On a longer session we take the train between villages — each hop is a few minutes, and the walk down from the next platform is often worth shooting on its own. We finish wherever the light finishes, which in midsummer is somewhere around nine in the evening.
Two or three days later a link arrives with everything on it, edited, at full resolution, yours to download and print.
Hi, I am Cian (Sarath) — a marketer and photographer, based in Genova and working across Europe. With Frames I capture the afternoons people actually lived: the walk, the laugh nobody planned, the light at the hour the lanes go quiet. Liguria is home; the rest is a train or a flight. Tell me where you'll be.
5.0 from 124 reviews, on Airbnb
Sarath was truly so kind and his photography skills are amazing! My fiancé and I took our save the date photos in Riomaggiore Cinque Terre and Sarath was so helpful in ensuring he captured our image and what we wanted while also giving his suggestions and guiding us to different locations to get the most beautiful pictures. The photos came out absolutely beautiful and we could not be happier!📍 Riomaggiore
I want to start off by saying I normally don’t write reviews. But for Sarath, I had to. I booked the 1.5 hour proposal photo shoot in Monterosso. Sarath was absolutely wonderful, couldn’t have been any better. He began working with me months before the special day. Staying in constant communication to make me feel comfortable and confident as a first time traveler to Italy. Leading up to the big moment, he arrived early, to help me test out the backdrop and clear the perfect area. After she said yes, we traveled all around the town and onto the beach, getting so many different pictures. He even stayed past his time to get some specific shots my now-fiancée imagined. Sarath is extremely experienced and not only was his work of the highest standard, but he is also a kind and wonderful person to be around. I highly recommend booking Sarath for your next photo shoot! - Alex, USA📍 Monterosso
Really enjoyed the photoshoot with Sarath, he goes the extra mile and knows what he is doing. Very pleased with how our shots turned out, he captured our candid moments alongside the beautiful Cinque Terre backdrop. Absolutely recommend📍 Cinque Terre
I’ve had in mind proposing to my girlfriend in Cinque Terre for so long. Finding Sarath here, on AirBnb helped me a lot with the whole process. Sarath was very communicative, super friendly and just so helpful. With his help, we managed to find the proper spot for the proposal and make it a memorable moment for me and my fiancé. I only have good words to say about Sarath and his professionalism. Surely a 10/10 photoshoot and a 10/10 experience with Sarath! I would recommend him with all my heart! The best there is!📍 Cinque Terre
Book Sarath if you want to capture beautiful shots in Cinque Terre! So friendly, professional, and talented. Understood exactly the photos I was looking for, and captured incredible shots, at all the best spots! Highly recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!!!📍 Cinque Terre
Highly recommend working with Sarath for amazing photography in Cinque Terre. very friendly, was easy to coordinate with, and made the process very easy. I needed direction for posing, and he did that effortlessly.📍 Cinque Terre
Experiencia 100% recomendable para llevarte unos recuerdos preciosos de la bella Cinque Terre.📍 Cinque Terre
Couldn't recommend more! Sarath is great and took wonderful photographs of me and my fiance with some of the best backdrops we saw in Cinque Terre.📍 Cinque Terre
Sarath was a fantastic photographer for our engagement in Cinque Terre. He worked with me to plan the perfect surprise for my fiancé, and helped pivot last minute when the sun was too bright in the spot that I had picked out. Afterwards, he took us around town (Monterosso) and took more amazing photos in spots we would have not known to go ourselves! I highly recommend Sarath for any photography needs in the Cinque Terre area!📍 Monterosso
Well first off, I just want to say that Sarath is a professional at his job in every aspect. He was punctual, sweet, knowledgeable of the area, thoughtful, caring and made our gender reveal truly magical. He captured amazing photos in Riomaggiore(we decided to stay there for the duration since my girlfriend was pregnant) but we got a lot of variety and different scenery. He always made sure to ask of our input as we were taking the photos to make sure we were both happy. We even sent him ideas before hand and he incorporated them within the photo shoot. Overall, very wonderful experience with a wonderful person. You get your moneys worth and even more!📍 Riomaggiore
Questions people ask
What do I actually get?
Fifty edited photographs from an hour, more from a longer session, in a private gallery at full resolution — yours to download and print, no watermarks and nothing held back. The link arrives two or three days after we shoot. Train tickets between the villages and the Cinque Terre park card, if you need one, are the only things you pay for separately.
Which village should we choose?
Five on one railway line, twenty minutes end to end, and they photograph completely differently. Riomaggiore is best late — the front faces west. Manarola has the view this coast is known for, and is a different place an hour before sunset than it is at noon. Corniglia sits a hundred metres above the water, so there is almost nobody else in the frame. Vernazza is the prettiest and the one I pick in bad weather, because so much of it is sheltered. Monterosso has the beach, the flat ground and the room to move — the easiest with children. If you would rather not choose, tell me the hour you are free and I will pick the one that will be doing something at that hour.
What is the best time of day?
The hour before sunset, almost always. Early morning is the next best and the best of all in July and August, when the middle of the day is hard light and hard crowds. Midday works — I just plan around it, and we use shade and the north-facing lanes.
What if it rains?
We shoot. Wet stone here photographs beautifully and the villages empty out, which is its own gift. If the weather is genuinely against us we move to another slot in your trip at no cost.
What should we wear?
Flat shoes — the lanes are steep and the steps are old. Solid colours photograph better than busy prints against painted houses. Bring a second outfit if you have booked a longer session; there is usually time to change.
How do we get there?
Every village has its own station on the La Spezia–Levanto line, and the Cinque Terre Express runs it all day. Corniglia is the one with the long staircase up from the platform, so allow a few extra minutes if we are meeting there.
Can you help me plan a proposal?
It is the session I am asked for most here. Tell me the spot and the moment beforehand and I will already be in place, at a distance, before you arrive. Nothing gives it away. Afterwards it carries on as an ordinary session, with the two of you and the news.
How do I book?
There is no form to fill in and nothing to pay up front. Send the dates you are on the coast and roughly what you have in mind — a line is enough — and I will come back the same day with a village and an hour. I take a limited number of sessions a month, and the sunset slots go first.