Forget Summer: Christmas Week Is the Busiest Time of Year for Holiday Photos

PRAGUE - Rezul -- The busiest time of year for holiday photoshoots is not in summer but in the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve, according to an analysis of two years of bookings by Smiler, a platform that connects travellers with local professional photographers.

In 2024, it was the busiest week of the year, at 1.7 times an average week. In 2025, only Easter week matched it. No summer week reached 1.5 times in either year. On 30 December, Smiler photographers worked 2.4 times as many shoots as on an average day, against 1.2 times on an average summer day.

The rush belongs to the big city-break destinations. Measured against each city's own average day, the holiday week runs at 4.5 times normal in Edinburgh, 2.6 times in London, 2.1 times in Paris and 1.7 times in Amsterdam. In Paris, Smiler's largest city, 30 December alone sees 3.4 times as many photoshoots as an average day. Summer destinations barely notice: in Santorini, Barcelona and Seville, the holiday week is at or below an ordinary day.

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Other findings from the analysis:

• The first three weeks of December are quieter than average, and the weeks after 6 January are the quietest of the whole year.
• Strasbourg runs on its own calendar: half of its 2025 photoshoots took place in December, during the Christmas market.
• In December, 20 percent of photoshoots in Paris start at dusk or after dark, when the city is lit up. In June, almost none do.
• Travellers from Brazil, Italy, the Philippines and India book the largest share of their photoshoots in the last week of December. For US and UK travellers, bookings are spread almost evenly across the year.

"The week between Christmas and New Year's Eve is when many families are finally off work and travelling together, and it is the trip they want to remember," said Tomáš Dekan, CEO of Smiler. "We see the same pattern in our bookings every year."

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The full report, including city and nationality breakdowns, is available here.

Methodology
The analysis covers photoshoots booked through Smiler and its partner channels that took place between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025, excluding cancelled, unpaid, and test bookings. City figures compare each city with its own average day. Absolute booking volumes are not disclosed.

About Smiler
Smiler connects travellers with local professional photographers worldwide. The company is based in Prague.

Media contact
Alica Zoldak · press@smiler.co · https://smiler.co