I hate being photographed. Can you still do this?

Yes, and most people say the same thing. The job is to give you something to do rather than a pose to hold, and to keep going long enough that you forget the camera is there.

Do you retouch portraits?

Every delivered photograph is edited by hand. That means colour, contrast and light, and removing anything genuinely distracting. It does not mean reshaping a face.

Wherever we agree the session should start. If you do not know Paris, I will suggest somewhere that suits the light at that hour.

A bride walking down a wide flight of stone steps in black and white, her veil trailing far behind her

Paris Portrait Photographer

Editorial portraiture on location in Paris — personal portraits and personal branding, photographed in daylight rather than in a studio.

Portraits made in daylight, on location

I do not work in a studio. I prefer working on location, where the light, architecture and atmosphere become part of the portrait.

A room with a tall window, a courtyard, a street with one good wall — those give a portrait somewhere to be. A grey studio backdrop gives it nowhere.

This suits personal portraits, portraits made around a wedding or an event, and the kind of photographs people need for a website or a profile and are tired of not having.

A bride standing at a tall window with both hands on the curtains, seen from behind against the light

A bride standing in near darkness, only the beadwork of her dress catching any light

A bride in a plain satin dress standing among trees, looking off to one side

A bride photographed under a gilded arcade, the columns falling away behind her

A bride alone in a panelled room, her train laid out across the floor behind her

What kind of portraits do you photograph?

Personal and editorial portraits, portraits made around a wedding or celebration, and lifestyle photographs for personal branding.

Personal portraits, for no reason other than wanting them
Bridal and pre-wedding portraits
Personal branding and lifestyle photographs for a website or profile
Portraits made during a visit to Paris

Do you use a studio or artificial light?

No. Portraits are made on location in available light.

That means the session is planned around the sun rather than around a rental. It also means the photographs look like a place rather than like a backdrop.

How long does a portrait session take?

Around an hour, in one or two locations.

That is enough to get past the self-conscious first ten minutes and still change setting once. Longer sessions can be arranged where an outfit change or a second neighbourhood is involved.

How many photographs will we receive?

Around 40 to 60 edited photographs, every one selected and edited by hand.

Delivered in 3 to 4 weeks as high-resolution JPEG files.

What it costs

from€390
Portraits
1 hour

One hour, in one or two locations · Around 40 to 60 edited photographs, every one selected and edited by hand · Help choosing the location and the hour.

What is included

Locations

Where do portraits get photographed in Paris?

Somewhere with one strong light source and something to stand against. That is nearly the whole requirement.

A room with a tall window: Some of the best portrait light in Paris, and there is one in almost every Haussmann apartment and hotel in the city.
Arcades and colonnades: The Palais-Royal, the Rue de Rivoli, the Louvre courtyards. Shade, rhythm and shelter from the weather.
Stone steps: They give a subject somewhere to be and something to do, which is most of what direction is for.
A street with one good wall: Unremarkable until you photograph it. Most of the best portrait backgrounds in Paris are these.

Answers

Questions people actually ask

I hate being photographed. Can you still do this?: Yes, and most people say the same thing. The job is to give you something to do rather than a pose to hold, and to keep going long enough that you forget the camera is there.
Do you retouch portraits?: Every delivered photograph is edited by hand. That means colour, contrast and light, and removing anything genuinely distracting. It does not mean reshaping a face.
Where do we meet?: Wherever we agree the session should start. If you do not know Paris, I will suggest somewhere that suits the light at that hour.

Let’s make something worth keeping

Planning a wedding, an elopement or a session in Paris? Tell me the date and the place, and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right photographer for it.

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