A FAMILY PHOTO SHOOT AT JARDIN DES TUILERIES WITH ANA , SILVIA AND FAMILY

Looking at them you’d think they’re Scandinavian, but they're not. Tall and slim with blond hair, you can tell the Lagos sisters are definitely Latino listening to them talking to each other in Brazilian Portuguese. Ana has been living in Paris for over a decade and her older sister Sylvia has been in London for more than 20 years. Sylvia and her kids, 11-year-old Clarissa and 9-year-old Daniel, are enjoying the school vacation to visit Ana and dog Frère Jacques in the City of Light. And it’s the perfect moment to capture family memories.

 We meet at the entrance of Jardin des Tuileries in front of the big wheel on Place de la Concorde and I recognize Ana immediately, whom I met couple of years ago. But this time, something has changed for sure. She’s not the same, she looks very different. If I had to describe her in 3 powerful words, I would say: stunning, happy and PREGNANT! She is big but not enormous for being a pregnant woman, now at 6 months and you can tell all the weight is concentrated on her belly. And no wonder why! She’s expecting twins! :)

I'm so excited, this is just the kind of photo shoot I dream to have more often: adults, children, a pet and—above all—a pregnant woman! What more can one ask for? And what do you think the icing on the cake is? The weather's been terrible the whole week, but this morning the sun is out and the sky is blue. I'm lucky and must have been good in a previous life! :)

We start our photo session around the terrace garden, as dogs are not allowed inside. We have fun posing during the walk and really connect. I'm so touched seeing how close the whole family is. You can see the love bursting between the sisters as well as the kids! We talk together a lot during the photo shoot. We take little breaks sometimes and laugh and tell each other stories in a whole mix of languages. I speak French with Ana, English with Sylvia and the kids; the sisters speak Portuguese with each other and we all mix the languages up talking to Frère Jacques the dog! :)

What a morning! Lots of walking, making great photo shots and having nice chats. Laughter and a great time in just a couple of hours. I wish every day could be like that, but sometimes bad moments don’t hurt so we can enjoy and appreciate the good ones. I went back home really looking forward to seeing the results! I send a few pictures to the family in the afternoon and the reply is short but says it all: “we LOVED it!”. How else can one feel after that but incredibly happy? 

The one lesson I’ll remember from that session is that success cannot only be measured by the amount of money you make by selling a service, nor the quality of the product or service you provide. Above all, it’s the impact, emotions and happiness that you create through connections with people! Photography is for me the best job in the world.

ANNIVERSARY PHOTO SESSION IN PARIS WITH MARIA AND ANDREW

It's 8AM in Paris. The temperature is minus something outside. It’s dark and miserable. Another typical winter day like so many in December here. I don’t want to get out of bed, nor get dressed to face the freezing cold. I have hit snooze on my alarm clock several times already and in a superhuman effort, managed to jump out of bed, get to the bathroom, have a quick shower, dress warmly, and quickly swallow breakfast and enjoy a cup of hot coffee before leaving the apartment to make my morning appointment on time.

When I got into the Parisian metro—fully packed of course (this is Paris), I thought to myself, ironically: "I've chosen to work as a freelancer to be able to choose my schedule, and now I find myself in the same routine as most people who've got a 9-5 job! That really sucks!" Why do people book a photo session in the cold winter, wouldn’t spring be better? No! Because they’re only travelling in Paris then and won't be back anytime soon.

And why that early? Oh, I remember, because I’m the one who suggested it because there are fewer people in the morning, and after 9.30AM the Eiffel Tower is totally packed! Do I kick myself?! :) They’re from the United States and like many Americans it was one of their life’s dreams to visit the City of Lights one day and see the famous and iconic Eiffel Tower. Maria, a tall, gorgeous and sweet woman walked towards me in high heels accompanied by her husband Andrew, a friendly and courteous man. They are already married but Paris was more of an opportunity to capture their memories and intimate moments while on vacation. Both were dressed very elegantly for the occasion even though the temperatures were at the lowest for the season.

I felt a bit disappointed because the light was not very good for a photo session and heavy mist was hiding the top of the Eiffel Tower.  We walked, posed, shot photos, smiled, moved, and talked… They took their winter jackets off from time to time for various pictures: So brave, so much admiration for them! Finally, after 45 minutes, we’d covered the whole area and everything was now in the camera.

I went back home, uploaded the pictures, worked on the post-treatment and surprisingly, they all looked gorgeous. As the light was not very pretty, I had converted most of the pictures to black and white and the fog gave them a very romantic and fairytale-like mood. The black and white images had a sort of vintage style look of Paris in the 20-30's, reminding me of Robert Doisneau pictures' style taken on the same spot. 

I finally sent the final photos to Maria and Andrew the day after, and their first feedback was: OMG! :) Not sure how to actually take it but I never had any complaints afterwards :)

YOGA PHOTO SHOOT AT GALERIE VIVIENNE WITH FREYA

Freya is the director of multi-media lifestyle magazine Nourrir, the French word meaning “to nourish”. Not only is she a magazine editor, she is a true and inspiring woman, a fashion lover, yogi, traveler and this time she is in Paris to be the ambassador of Tonic Active Tribe, a Canadian designed and manufactured yoga, active and lifestyle brand.

It's one of those typical Parisian winter days: Chilly outside but the sky is blue and the sun's out which is why we've chosen an indoor location so Freya can practice different yoga poses to promote her outfit. (I have to confess the location is one of my favorites in Paris, and I mainly recommend it to travelers whenever it's cold or raining.)

Our photo session starts at Bistro Vivienne in Galerie Vivienne, with Freya wearing a casual dress. The lighting is not very good, it's pretty dark inside but the deco is amazing and the atmosphere warm and cozy inside the cafe. We are on the first floor, and there's nobody else apart from us. It almost looks like we are in a movie set up. I like the sort of old style and vintage furniture and despite the bad luminosity, I managed to capture some wonderful shots before we continue our session through the gallery.

For the photo session we stay for a while in a long corridor half way between the entrance and the exit, where the light is just perfect. Even though it's freezing cold, Freya is trying different yoga postures in which she sits, stands, falls over, gets up again, falls again, etc. We are really having fun! This is what I love about my job: every location, every customer and every experience is different; no day is the same as another and you never have the same conversation twice.

After an hour, we finally end the photo shoot indoors and decide to do a few photo portraits outdoors to capture the essence of Paris before enjoying a nice coffee together and having a wonderful conversation about yoga, travel and creativity...

Model: Freya Boulakbeche
Clothing: Tonic Active

PARIS PHOTO SESSION IN MONTMARTRE WITH ALICIA AND MICHAEL

Today, I feel lucky (and happy): It happens sometimes :) I'm not a particularly lazy person but today my photo session is scheduled in Montmartre, right next to my neighborhood. I love this location (not just because it's very nearby and I can walk up there) but it's a nice area which looks like a little village within Paris with its cobblestone streets, cute little boutiques and cozy cafes, typical Parisian bars and restaurants as well as countless bakeries full of delicious pastries that make every passerby’s mouth water just gazing through the window.

In the afternoon I finally meet Alicia and Michael. They’re a young couple I didn't know much about. Alicia's name sounded Spanish and I really thought she was until I had spoken with her and found out she and her partner come from the South of France. They look young, natural, good looking, friendly and above all caring and affectionate to each other: The perfect couple that would give me the perfect pictures!

The only one thing I didn't know before and that I found out when I met them is that the photo session would not include 2 people but... 2.5 or 2.75!  Alicia is very pregnant, almost at her 7th month, and that's the main reason they organized the photo session: to immortalize that special moment with 7 being a lucky number! As we walk around Montmartre, Alicia and Michael tell me they’re getting married the year after in the South of France, sometime during the summer. Alicia feels very comfortable during the photo shoot; she has a very natural and vibrant smile and appears very affectionate and emotional, while Michael seems a little nervous but caring and protective at the same time.

Despite the strong light, we manage to find little streets and alleys with shadows and more quiet locations to do our photo shoot. After a couple minutes’ walking, talking, doing poses and portraits, Michael became more relaxed and Alicia as radiant as ever. I wouldn't say this about every woman I meet, but it looks and feels like pregnancy suits her particularly well!