You’re hiring a professional photographer for a private photo shoot, so it’s important that you fully benefit from and enjoy every minute. Therefore, I suggest routes between and around key Paris locations that can be explored easily on foot, so that as much time as possible is spent capturing your photographs (as apposed to being wasted in transport).

The options for photography settings in Île-de-France are limitless and range from classic picture postcard backdrops to lesser-known but equally beautiful areas a little further off-the-beaten-track. Below are some examples of popular areas, ideal for both portrait and lifestyle photographs, each with several route options through and around a host of popular Paris sites and attractions. Another way how to get inspiration for your Paris Photo Shoot or Portrait session is to look through the many comprehensive examples of previous assignments you’ll find published under each service.

THE PERFECT PARIS WALKING ROUTE FOR YOU

If the route of a specific shoot of on this website appeals to you, simply reference it when communicating your location preference and we’ll use that as a basis for our exploration.

As the examples below will demonstrate, no shoot is ever the same as there are limitless ways that the same route can be explored and photographed; I offer an extremely personalised photography experience and always adapt every angle captured to best suit the weather, the time of day and, most of all, my clients and their preferences.

The below are merely examples of the most popular Paris walking routes. Should you have a location or route in mind that isn’t featured here, simply let me know. Likewise, I am more than happy to create and adapt any route according to what’s most practical for you.

A QUICK WORD ON THE EIFFEL TOWER…

It’s hardly a surprise that the best known Paris attraction is the most frequent request communicated to me from visitors. Please note that there are several locations from which the Eiffel Tower can be seen, all of which offer a unique perspective; if you wish to have a photo shoot featuring this globally recognised landmark, when making your request, simply specify the location that best suits you.

OUR BELOVED NOTRE DAME…

As the world sadly learnt, in April 2019, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame was badly damaged by fire; it is since undergoing an understandably slow process of reconstruction (made slower still by the COVID-19 situation). Despite this, the Notre-Dame area (notably the surrounding river quais) remains as beautiful as ever, and should therefore not be overlooked as a potential photography location.

PLACE DE TROCADÉRO (TROCADERO PLAZA)
THE MOST POPULAR SHOOT LOCATION :)

Trocadero plaza is by far the most famous and best viewpoint for the Eiffel Tower. Having a shoot here (and in its garden and fountain area), you will have a constant and clear view of Paris's most famous monument. Whether you want to be photographed walking hand-in-hand with your partner or close up for an individual portrait, if you’d like the background of the photo to be dominated by the imposing structure, this is undeniably the best place.

Another advantage this Paris viewpoint has as a spot for photographing people is that it’s both raised and open, which means it’s bathed in natural light from dawn till dusk; as there are no tall tree or structures creating shade, here you can be photographed at the golden hour (sunrise or sunset) and be assured that you’ll be fully exposed to the sun.

Highlights:
✔ Magnificent and uninterrupted view of the Eiffel Tower
✔ Excellent light availability
✔ World famous perspective on a world famous landmark

Worth Noting:
✎ Trocadero can get busy extremely quickly, so for those wanting an intimate shoot, starting early morning really is the only option (but it sure is worth it!).

THE NOTRE-DAME AREA
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL

This area is quite simply made for photo shoots. Not only is it very diverse visually (you are constantly surrounded by great architecture, bridges, monuments, water, parks, terraced cafes, pebbled footpaths…), but for such a visited area it offers a surprising wealth of discrete spots where you can feel very much away from the crowds. When reviewing your photographs, you’ll find it hard to believe that all those beautifully assorted romantic scenes came from just one area.

The constant level changes created by the the bridges and stairways leading to-and-from the quais (the riverside quay walkways) of the Seine, the continual shifts between narrow paths and wide open spaces, and the sheer distance that the river banks allow a photographer to put between them and their subject make this area ideal for portraiture; if you require portraits in both a classy and also rather natural city setting, I highly recommend this location.

Highlights:
✔ Best and most unique riverside quays
✔ Most varied views of the Seine river
✔ Multiple route options

Worth noting:
✎ There’s a lot to explore, so this route encourages walking. Notre-Dame consists of intertwined paths, none of which are in any way fixed; sometimes I’ll lead clients around a fairly circular route, other times we’ll zig-zig, going back over our footsteps to explore the full range of perspectives of a certain spot. It’s great to have this kind of flexibility.

THE LOUVRE AREA
THE MOST ICONIC

The glass pyramid of the world’s most famous art museum is, alongside the Eiffel Tower, the quintessential symbol of Paris; here your vacation souvenir photos will leave no doubt as to your location…The iconic pyramid marks the main entrance to the world’s most famous art museum, standing in the centre of a spectacular courtyard which you can walk around to explore the symmetrical structure from a range of different angles. Generally I recommend starting a Louvre photo shoot at the pyramid itself before moving on to other nearby areas (as per your preferences). From the museum itself, if you head straight through the tulleries gardens, it’s possible, in a single photography session, to reach the Alexander iii Bridge from which (on a clear day) you’ll also be able to get shots with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Alternatively, you can head to the nearby Palais-Royal Gardens and finish up the shoot with some shots drinking a coffee on a classically Parisian cafe terrace.

Highlights:
✔ Iconic attraction
✔ Best architecture
✔ Paris’s most famous park

Worth noting:
✎ For those wanting to explore the courtyard (without crowds of queuing tourists), the only option is to start early morning; just like Trocadero plaza, it gets busy extremely quickly.

THE ALEXANDER iii BRIDGE AREA
THE MOST WATER :)

Whilst the bridge itself can be reached as part of the Louvre photo shoot route, it is also the starting point of its own separate walking circuit which, descending onto the Quai d’Orsay (its southern river bank), allows for a number of great riverside photography perspectives that feature Paris’s most ornate bridge. Throughout the guided promenade, you will be right next to the Seine - either looking down on it from above, or walking right along side it. The wide walkways make this location ideal for those strolling hand-in-hand shots whilst providing many opportunities for intimate shots, even at times of high frequentation; this makes the location a great option for couple photographs.

Highlights:
✔ Seine river (up close!)
✔ Most beautiful bridge in France
✔ View of the Eiffel Tower (on a clear day)
✔ Intimate shots always possible

Worth noting:
✎ Less varied than other locations (but…this will give your photo catalogue a really good visual consistency)

LUXEMBOURG GARDENS
(JARDIN DU LUXEMBOURG)
THE PRETTIEST AND BEST KEPT PARK IN PARIS

Whilst the Jardin des Tuileries (the Tulleries Gardens) may be the most famous park in Paris, the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens) is a close second, and, overall, offers far more that can benefit a photo shoot: whilst most other Parisian parks can be explored as inclusions within photo tours covering broader areas, Luxembourg has enough to diversity to satisfy a portrait or lifestyle photography session’s requirements entirely on its own. Although, like any attractive part of any tourist city, it can get busy during the high-season, the fact that all the portraiture and candid imagery is done within one enclosed location, it’s actually probably the safest location there is for a family photo shoot with young children.

Highlights:
✔ Ideal option for a family photography session with young ones
✔ Beautifully maintained (more so than any other park)
✔ Little walking required; everything is enclosed in one fully pedestrian area

Worth noting:
✎ Other than its magnificent Luxembourg Palace backdrop, this route is entirely park-based, so if you’re looking to be photographed in a variety of more typically Parisian settings, you may prefer other options. Or you could combine this with the adjoining Latin Quarter.

THE LATIN QUARTER
(THE 5TH ARRONDISSEMENT)
THE MOST DIVERSE

This charming area was my home for my first years living in Paris. Whilst many arrondissements could appear rather uniform to a first-time visitor to the French capital, the 5th district is truly unique both in look and atmosphere. If you’re wanting to get a great, varied taste of Paris without the typical tourist attractions, then you really should consider the Latin Quarter.

Cobbled streets; winding passages; pedestrian squares aligned with quaint cafe terraces; one of the best parks in Paris, the vast Jardin des plantes; and the 18th-century mausoleum, le Panthéon, with its grandiose surrounding plaza - choosing this visually stunning neighbourhood for your photo session guarantees you’ll end up with a collection of images that are unique and diverse whilst being consistently Parisian.

What’s more: the 6th arrondissement’s Luxembourg Gardens (Jardin du Luxembourg) are right next to this area, therefore, upon request, it is even possible to include some of that magnificent park within this route.

Highlights:
✔ Less crowded than the more popular tourist areas
✔ Extremely varied whilst still being typically Parisian
✔ Unique photographs (astonishingly, this area is overlooked by many visitors)

Worth noting:
✎ Other than the Panthéon, this route may be a little low on typical Paris attractions for some.

PARC DES BUTTES-CHAUMONT
(BUTTES CHAUMONT PARK)
THE MOST “LOCAL”

For those coming to France on vacation, this is a rarely explored area, which is a real shame… Not only is this place of natural beauty the largest park in all of Paris’s 20 arrondissements (not counting of course Paris’s forests), but it’s also the most diverse and unique: it has its own lake surrounding and overlooked by the Temple Sybille; green waterside banks; a red suspension bridge; clusters of natural alcoves; rollings lawns; unique and little-known views of the capital; and a network of numerous footpaths leading throughout and around, providing endless options for exploration.

Visually, this really is a non-typical area compared to the rest of Paris, hence it will appeal perhaps to holidaymakers already familiar with the more routine tourist spots; long-stay and permanent residents; and, of, course Parisians. Being so dense in natural beauty, there are so many spots where one easily forgets that one is in the French capital, let alone in a city at all.

Highlights:
✔ The most natural place inside of Paris; if you want nature over city, then this is the option for you; asides from a distant cityscape view at the uppermost side of the park, you will often forget you’re in an urban area
✔ 100% pedestrian, meaning it’s one of the safest options for a family photo shoot with young children

Worth noting:
✎ For those looking for Paris holiday photographs, perhaps this isn’t the ideal vacation photo option; being somewhat of a world unto itself, there is little about this park that conveys Paris.
✎ The park is for the most part, on a slope, so to best explore this area, you have to go up some fairly steep inclines; if walking isn’t your thing, perhaps park options such as Luxembourg gardens will appeal to you more.

CANAL SAINT-MARTIN
THE MOST ALTERNATIVE

Loved by locals, and sadly all too often missed by visitors, this is a great option for those wishing to experience another side of Paris.

The 4.6 km long canal is an extremely popular filming location so moviegoers might well recognise it. From south to north, the canal runs from trendy to more alternative surroundings; the more you approach la Bassin de la Villette - the largest artificial lake in Paris -, the more colourful graffitied bridges and buildings will make their appearance.

With the canal passing several town halls, it makes a practical location for a post-wedding or pre-wedding photo shoot. I would not, however, recommend the location to families with young kids, as, walking between photo spots, will often mean having to cross several roads.

Highlights:
✔ Extremely unique
✔ Alternative (if that’s the look you’re after)

Worth noting:
✎ Perhaps a little too uniform for some - you really have to like canals :)
✎ At times the canals run besides narrow pavements next to fairly busy roads, so there are far less opportunities for you to be photographed from afar; this location is much better suited to stop-and-start portrait sessions as appose to the continuous nature of candid lifestyle shoots.

MONTMARTRE (SACRÉ-CŒUR)
THE MOST UNIQUE

Along with the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Pyramid, Sacré-Cœur (the Basilica of the Sacred Heart) will be on every list of the top three Paris attractions. It’s home, Montmartre, is both intrinsic to the French capital as well as being a world of its own. Although the best way to appreciate this is to wander its winding streets as they rise and fall over the vast urban landscape below, photographs of the area show this just as clearly.

Like a village apart from the city, a place unto itself, this is a pretty much self-contained photo shoot location. With that, however, it’s also a very condensed tourist hotspot; unless you want each photograph to be shared with a flock of other visitors, your Sacré-Cœur photo shoot really must be done early morning. Even if you’re not typically an early bird, I can assure you that being on the steps of the Basilica at sunrise, looking out over the absolute best view of Paris, is an effort worth making.

Both artistic and romantic, both urban and rural, the varied Montmartre area can be adapted to pretty much any mood you might wish to capture in images. With highlights including the highest unobstructed viewpoint over the city; beautiful cobbled streets and plazas; the hoards of easels and canvases of some of Europe's best street artists; and, of course, the unmistakable and unmissable Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, there is something here to appeal to every taste.

Highlights:
✔ Iconic location
✔ Self-contained and pedestrian
✔ Typically Parisian whilst being undeniably unique
✔ Extremely varied
✔ Wonderful views

Worth noting:
✎ For intimacy, afternoon and evening shoots are pretty much out of the question; it simply gets too busy. Being the most tourist-dense area of Paris, early morning photoshoots are really the only option.
✎ Being on a hill top, Montmartre is a barrage of slopes and inclines; if walking isn't your thing, perhaps one of Paris’s many flatter locations might appeal to you more.

ALTERNATIVE PLACES TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED
FOR PARISIANS

For residents of the city and for anyone looking for a location that forgets the clichés and escapes the typical associations of the French capital, there are a great many alternative areas which I can whole-heartedly recommend:

BOOK OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY IN PARIS

Whether you’re in need of a natural light headshot for professional purposes, a lifestyle photo session, or promotional photography of any kind, if you’re interested in a private outdoor shoot with Paris as a backdrop, simply get in touch.

contact@brettwalshphotography.com
+33 (0) 6 52 28 23 45