Selfies may have been the trend of 2015, but one NYC tour company is working to kill it and go back to a time of vacation photos that also told the story of the destination.

NYC Tours & Photo Safaris, founded by New York native, travel photographer and licensed NYC guide Jessica Festa, has a goal to show people the city through a different lens, literally, with all tours including unlimited professional photos of guests. Visitors can also bring their own cameras to add a photography workshop component for themselves, although just enjoying the scenery while the guide snaps away is perfectly fine.

"Peoples' obsession with selfies has gotten out of control, and to be honest takes them out of the place they're visiting. I want to put visitors back in that destination while still allowing them beautiful photos -- both poised and candids -- to cherish from their trip to New York," explains Jessie. 

Photo safaris are custom and private, meaning when you book you note your interests, desired stops and how many hours you'd like to explore for. From there, Jessie and her team create an itinerary based on this information. NYC Tours & Photo Safaris also offers a series of public Instagram Walks or "#InstaWalks," including the just-launched Bushwick Beer, Bites & Street Art #InstaWalk. This experience takes people through Brooklyn's most historic and creative neighborhood for beer and meat pairing, exploration of NYC's largest outdoor art gallery, raw chocolate tasting, cocktails infused with local rum, a make-your-own coffee experience, 19th century German brewery architecture and, of course, Instagramming. 

NYC Tours & Photo Safaris was started as an extension of Jessie's blog, Jessie on a Journey. Says Jessie:

"I've been travel blogging since 2011, with much of my content focused on my home of NYC. Readers were always telling me they'd love to have me show them the undiscovered side of New York, so I became a certified guide and, viola, a business was born. As I'm also a photographer, including high resolution images of my guests seemed like a fun way to allow me to continue my passion while offering something of value to guests. We really love that we can help people see the city like a local and leave them with great vacation photos, no selfie taking needed."

Media interested in experiencing a tour in exchange for coverage can contact Jessie at info@nycphotosafaris.co with the subject "NYC Press Tours." If you're interested in promoting the tours as an affiliate in exchange for 10% commission, you can sign up by clicking here.