Ultimate Guide to Booking a Photoshoot in Paris: What You Need to Know
Capturing Paris: A Millennial's Guide to the Perfect Photoshoot
Did you even take a girls trip to Paris if you didn’t take an obscene amount of pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower? The answer is no. So obviously when we went last year we had to add a photoshoot to our Paris itinerary for our girls trip to Paris. We gave ourselves the excuse of needing headshots for the business as luxury travel advisors, but really we just wanted to dress up and take cute pictures together. You’re only young and hot for so long- it must be documented!
Planning a girls' trip to Paris? Let us help you plan the ultimate experience — complete with unforgettable photoshoots & Paris travel tips.
How We Booked a Paris Photoshoot:
Finding a photographer was easy via Airbnb. In addition to listing accommodations, they also connect you with local guides for activities like walking tours and you guessed it, photoshoots. We found a guy with great reviews and pictures of people of color on his site (because IYKYK).
To beat the rest of the tourists, most photographers will suggest meeting very early in the morning. We only had a couple days in Paris so we were scheduled to meet him on our second day there, which was after a late night of wine because duh it’s Paris. So we woke up, threw on makeup and lashes at a very unreasonable hour and ubered over to our meeting point. Now, a quick tangent to say the person without phone service should probably not be the person trying to coordinate the meet up but back to the chronological timeline. We got to the meet up spot and he was nowhere to be found. We were watching other tourists with the same idea start taking pictures and getting increasingly annoyed about his tardiness. After connecting to spotty wifi, we found out that he had a medical emergency and was just getting released from the hospital that morning! It’s really hard to be mad at someone when what they’re going through is obviously more serious than a photoshoot. We obviously wished him well, told him to rest and went onto our day trip to Reims.
As you can see, we did end up getting pictures because he felt terrible and agreed to meet us whenever we wanted the next day. After we got him to stop apologizing, the actual photoshoot was fun! Both of us suck at posing, so we could tell he was very amused by our struggles and strong reliance on the millennial peace sign. In the end as an added make good, he gave us basically every picture he took versus the 20 or so we were supposed to get.
Here’s what we learned and what we would make sure we did if we booked another international photoshoot:
Bring flat shoes: Unless you only want to take pictures in one spot, your photographer will have you walk to several spots for different vantage points. We wanted to wear heels in the pictures but walking in them slows you down/endangers your ankles if you’re in a cobblestoned area so bring comfy shoes for the walk from site to site.
Bring layers: We went to Paris in May and early morning temps were chilly. For the good of the picture, we wanted to show off our cure dresses but you better believe we were wrapped up in sweaters whenever he wasn’t shooting.
Be flexible: As you now know, our first time didn’t go as planned. You never know what might impact your appointment, so have a backup slot if possible.
Get your photographer’s phone number: Messaging through Airbnb worked well enough but it would have been easier if we had his Whatsapp contact info
If you could do a photoshoot anywhere in the world, where would it be? And more importantly, why haven’t you reached out to us yet to help plan the trip of your dreams? Let us handle the details so you can enjoy your vacation. We’re experts in boutique luxury travel, and we’re here to make your Paris dreams come true.
Safe Travels,
Briana & Jordan
