Your first couple session in Paris

“We’re really not photogenic.” That’s the line I hear most often, usually in the first email. It’s almost always wrong: what people are describing isn’t a face problem, it’s a first-minute problem.

1. The start is supposed to be awkward

The first ten minutes of any session are bad. I shoot them anyway, and I don’t show you the images. They’re there for something else: getting you used to the sound of the shutter, to my presence, and to the fact that I won’t comment on every move you make.

The images you’ll keep almost all come from the last third of the session. It’s mechanical, and it’s why a session runs an hour, not twenty minutes.

2. I give you things to do, not poses to hold

“Walk toward me while talking,” “tell her what you had for lunch yesterday,” “kiss her temple and stay there two seconds.” These are actions, not postures. An action produces a real expression; a posture produces an expression you have to hold.

3. What you wear matters more than where you are

A well-dressed couple against a plain wall makes better photos than a poorly-dressed couple in front of the Eiffel Tower. A few principles that work:

colours that speak to each other, without matching exactly;
fabrics that move (linen, light wool, silk) rather than stiff materials;
no logos, no tight patterns that vibrate in the frame;
shoes you can actually walk in for an hour.

4. The time of day decides everything

Midday light is hard, vertical and unflattering. The light in the hour before sunset is soft, side-on, and makes everyone look better. It’s not an aesthetic preference, it’s physics.

Very early morning offers the same quality of light, with the bonus of nearly empty locations. If you can get up for it, it’s the best choice in Paris.

5. You don’t need an occasion

Most people wait for a wedding, a pregnancy or a round-number birthday before getting photographed together. The result: there are photos of you at symbolic moments, and none of you right now, exactly as you are.

That’s precisely what I find most interesting to photograph.

Already picturing your own couple session? I set out how the shoot itself works on the session page.