Photos Where You Can Actually See Your People
Ocean Riviera Paradise is really four hotels wearing one name — Daisy for the families, El Beso for adults only, Eden beside the sand, Privilege for the upgrade — and the messages we get from guests there arrive split exactly the same way. Last summer one came from Daisy: nine people, two grandmothers, and a four-year-old who cooperates before nine in the morning and not one minute after. The next came from El Beso: two people who had not been photographed together in nine years. Both were asking for the same thing — pictures where you can actually see your own people in the frame.
We've photographed thousands of sessions across Playa del Carmen, and guests of this resort book two very different mornings from us: one loud and full of kids, one quiet and built for two. They start the same way, though — with a short taxi you were almost certainly taking anyway. Six years and more than a thousand clients in, we have never asked anyone staying here to do anything harder than that.
One Trip, Three Kinds of Celebration
Four zones under one roof means four kinds of guest, which is why the requests we get from here land in three neat piles — and why you can stop reading after whichever one is yours. Whether you are in Daisy negotiating with a stroller or in El Beso with nobody’s bedtime to respect, these are the three sessions we photograph most for guests staying at Ocean Riviera Paradise.
Couples from El Beso
You paid extra for the side of the resort where nobody else’s child screams at breakfast, so the point of the week is fairly clear. An hour on open sand, dressed the way you were going to dress for dinner anyway, and the two of you doing very little beyond being together while we handle the rest. It is the one people tell us afterwards they should have booked years ago. Our couples photoshoot guide covers outfits and timing.
Families with little kids
Daisy has the water park, which means your kids have already had the day of their lives and you have a phone full of the backs of their heads. We shoot families early, before the heat and before anyone’s patience runs out, and we keep it to about an hour — running, throwing kids at the sky, grandparents sitting down when they need to. Nobody has to behave. Our family session guide shows how we run one with small children in it.
Anniversaries
The trip is the gift; the photographs are the part that outlives it. Five years or twenty-five, the request never changes — one unhurried hour, just the two of you, and something on the wall at the end of it. A fair number of these come from Daisy rather than El Beso: parents who brought the whole family and still want one hour that is theirs. Our anniversary session guide shows how we pace it.
Getting You to Open Sand: the Taxi You Were Taking Anyway
Your resort sits at Km 296, on the Xcalacoco stretch north of downtown, and that is the entire logistics plan: about ten to twelve minutes by taxi puts you in Playa del Carmen proper — close enough that we schedule the session and breakfast on the same morning. It is also a ride you had already budgeted for: the dinner on Quinta Avenida, the afternoon of shopping, the night nobody could face the buffet again. We just ask you to take it once before the day gets going.
The beach in front of your resort is genuinely beautiful, and it is also the beach of nearly a thousand rooms — which in practice means rows of loungers, towers behind them, and a logo in almost every frame you would want to keep. Ten minutes up the road you get the opposite: the open sand at Punta Esmeralda and the public beaches of the town centre, with the real Playa del Carmen behind you instead of a property line. That short ride is the difference between a photo of a resort and a photo of your family.
For couples or groups of up to 4, we can pick you up. Message us and we’ll work it out based on your hotel.
Want one frame that belongs on a wall rather than in an album? Ask about our signature beach-gown editorial sessions in Playa del Carmen — metres of fabric in the morning breeze, made for exactly this kind of open sand.
Simple Pricing, No Session Fee
Pricing is refreshingly simple: there is no session fee. You pay $15 USD per photo with a 10-photo minimum ($150 USD), or choose a group package from $200 USD when the whole family wants in — so you only pay for the images you love. That short ride out to public sand is exactly what lets us price it this way. You can see everything we offer, and hundreds of recent sessions, on our Playa del Carmen photographer page.
Every hotel has its own rules about photography on the property. We know how each one works — message us and we’ll tell you exactly what your options are where you’re staying.
Almost nobody who books us has been photographed properly before, and they usually apologise for it in the first message. There is nothing to apologise for — we direct the whole thing, and you can see how that turns out on our Playa del Carmen photographer page. Send us your dates and we will tell you which morning to keep free.
Ready to Book the Session Everyone Will Thank You For?
Tell us your dates, how many of you there are and what you are celebrating, and we will hold a morning for you. Tell us which zone you are in and we will plan the rest around it.
Why Guests Here Take the Ten-Minute Ride
Almost everything we shoot for guests of Ocean Riviera Paradise happens on public sand a short taxi from the resort — and families tell us the same thing about it afterwards.
-
Nothing in the frame but your people
Open sand with the town behind you instead of rows of loungers, towers and a logo you did not ask to remember.
-
It fits the day you already planned
One short ride, about an hour on the beach, and you are back before the water park opens or the second coffee gets cold.
-
We direct the whole thing
Almost nobody who books us has done this before. We tell you where to stand and what to do with your hands, so the result looks like your family and not like posing.
-
You keep only what you love
There is no session fee. You see the full gallery afterwards and choose from it, which takes the pressure off the hour itself.
Photo Sessions at Ocean Riviera Paradise — FAQ
We have a four-year-old and two grandparents. Is a beach session realistic for us?
It is the session we photograph most, and that mix is the normal one. We shoot early, keep it to about an hour, and plan it around the youngest person rather than the camera. Grandparents sit when they need to, kids run when they need to, and we work with whatever is actually happening — that is where the good frames come from anyway.
How much does a photo session cost for guests of Ocean Riviera Paradise?
There is no session fee. You pay $15 USD per photo with a 10-photo minimum ($150 USD), or choose a group package from $200 USD when the whole family wants in. You see the full gallery first and choose from it afterwards, so you only ever pay for the images you love.
We are not models and we have never done this. Will it look awkward?
No, and it is the thing almost everyone apologises for in their first message. There is nothing to apologise for. We direct the entire hour: where to stand, where to look, and when to simply talk to each other and ignore us. What comes out looks like you, not like posing.
Where do we meet you, and how do we get there?
Your resort is at Km 296, roughly ten to twelve minutes by taxi from Playa del Carmen. We meet you at the beach access and send the exact pin over WhatsApp the day before. For couples or groups of up to 4 we can also pick you up — just tell us where you are staying.
Can you photograph the whole family one morning and just the two of us another?
Yes, and guests staying here do it more often than you would think — the family session one morning, an anniversary hour for the parents on another. Tell us both when you write and we will plan them around your week.
Can we do it at sunset instead?
You can, but you should know the trade. This coast faces east, so there is no sunset over the water here. Mornings give you soft light and open, quiet sand; the hour before sunset is still beautiful, it just will not be as calm. Either way, plan on about an hour on the beach.