Just a few days ago, we returned home from our 10th wedding anniversary trip to Paris. After months of Googling, planning, organizing, and dreaming about this amazing vacation, it is now the stuff of wonderful memories.
In addition to getting reacclimated to Eastern Standard Time and preparing for our daughter’s first week of school, my mind has been swimming with how I can and should document our Paris trip for this blog. Daily recaps, categories, photo posts? I feel like I have so much to share, tips and anecdotes and hand-me-down recommendations from friends and family that turned out to be golden.
I wasn’t sure where to start, but this seems like a good way to do it. I want to write about how hiring a professional photographer to capture our trip was one of the best things we’ve ever done.
Even before booking our trip to Paris, I was a fan of skimming Instagram for photos of people around the city. They made me excited, and inspired, and gave me ideas for places I hoped we could potentially visit if the trip ever became a reality. I particularly fell in love with the work of professional photographers who were hired to capture elopements, family portraits, and other special moments for visitors in the City of Light. I knew, if we were going to Paris, that hiring a photographer would be a wonderful way of commemorating our trip.
For one thing, it’s hard to get photos of yourselves as a couple when you’re alone on vacation, unless you take a lot of selfies. It never seems like a good idea to hand over an expensive camera or iPhone to strangers on the street. And even if they are trustworthy, they aren’t usually going to take the time to make it the kind of photo you hoped to get in your mind. How many times have we asked a person to take a photo, only to look at it later and notice it’s blurry, or someone is blinking, or the scenery you hoped to capture in the background is nondescript.
This is what led us to Pamela Chemla of The Parisian Photographers. Pamela is one of their English-speaking photographers, and knows the best little spots for getting beautiful photos around Paris. Whether a short 30-minute session at one location in Paris to a couple of hours in several locations, Pamela offered great options for what we were hoping for.
In addition to capturing photos with the Eiffel Tower, I also loved examples of photos with couples enjoying time in a cafe and walking the streets of Paris. We made a plan to meet Pamela on our last full day of the trip at the Trocadero, which offers a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower at a distance. From there, we could change clothes and have photos taken at other spots nearby. In addition to capturing the beautiful morning light, getting up early and meeting by 7:15 a.m. meant there would be less people around.
When it came to deciding what to wear, I debated between soft pastels and a bold color. The softer colors looked so romantic in the sample photos, but I was always drawn to how much the women in red popped. I wanted something a bit more exaggerated than what I’d wear on a regular day, but still something that fits my personality. This red dress with black polka dots from Amazon checked all of those boxes.
It was wonderful to finally meet Pamela in person the day of our session. We were very thankful that it was a clear, warm morning. There were several other couples having photos taken with professional photographers, but they all worked together very well to make sure each couple had a clear shot. Pamela was so friendly and sweet with us, directing our poses (knee pops and crossed ankles make for great photos) and situating us in the best areas of the Trocadero plaza. She was also quite a boss; often there would be other people walking or standing near us, and she politely but authoritatively asked them to move.
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers 
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers 
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers 
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers 
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers 
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers
After taking photos in several areas near the plaza and the carousel near the bottom, we walked up to Cafe du Trocadero for a croissant and costume change. The location perfectly complemented our black and white outfits, and they served one of our favorite croissants of the trip. I love these photos because they capture a lot of the candid moments we shared.
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers 
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers
From the cafe, Pamela took us to a quiet, short street that featured some of the classic Parisian architecture and another view of the Eiffel Tower. And from there, we went down to the edge of the Seine for the last few photos of the session.
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers 
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers 
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers 
Photo by Pamela from The Parisian Photographers
During the session, we enjoyed learning more about Pamela, her family, and getting her recommendations for the best eclair in Paris. We totally went that afternoon and they were a delight.
Less than a week later, Pamela sent us our photo gallery of high resolution images. It has been so wonderful glancing through the photos and reliving that beautiful morning, our last full day of what was an unforgettable adventure.
I cannot recommend Pamela of The Parisian Photographers enough for a photo session in Paris. And beyond that, I cannot recommend enough hiring a professional photographer to capture a trip wherever you might roam. As we’ve had our girls, it has become more and more important to us to invest in having professional photos taken of them and us as a family.
After 10 years of marriage and 15 years together, this photo session was a special treat, the cherry on top of a very decadent and wonderful cake of a trip.
