You all know I love Paris. If you don't...then you must not be following me on social media or read my last blog post, because the love is seriously strong. Another thing you all know I love, is the ELOQUII brand. So, it made sense to blend these two loves and plan a photoshoot while in Paris, wearing ELOQUII. Luckily for me, ELOQUII introduced me to Mindy City Beauty, who introduced me to Katie Donnelly, an American-turned-Parisian photographer based in Paris. Thank you Mindy, for this fabulous introduction.
From the moment I saw Katie's photography on her social media channels and website, I knew this was going to be a perfect match. Her style is classic, clean, and absolutely stunning. Katie specializes in lifestyle, family, and couples photography and has an impressive portfolio. From her portfolio alone, I could see that her photos capture and tell a story, and in a place like Paris- that is exactly the type of photos you'd want to remember your travels with.
The planning process with Katie was a breeze. We emailed back and forth and made plans to shoot during golden hour- which is the time around dusk, when the natural light is perfect. The communication was constant, and when we met in person we hugged as if we had been best friends for years and started to talk about our mutual love of cats. I learned instantly that Katie was a people-person from her outgoing nature and I was excited, as we clicked right away.
To match the concept of story-telling with the Paris x ELOQUII photo session, we started at the Cafe de Flore on Boulevard Saint-Germain, as I love this iconic cafe. Since my husband, David, was with me, we couldn't pass at the opportunity to have some snaps of us together in Paris, so he hopped in some frames with me for the first look. We then moved to the second location, which was recommended by Katie after I told her some of my vision and continued story. Katie knows Paris very, very well so it was great to have her knowledge, recommendations, and navigation guiding us along. Her knowledge truly rounded out the shoot and she was able to capture my vision for the shoot in location and pictures to a T.
As we walked the Paris streets to the second location, I learned that Katie is originally from New York and moved to Paris with her fiancé, who is from France, a few years ago. Katie is a full time photographer and spends her time reading, listening to music, and simply being herself. Her values and passion for photography are evident, and I could see her passion shine through during our time together. We chatted about life, about Paris, and laughed at the fact that it seemed like 5,000 people would appear out of nowhere and decide to walk by interrupting our photos just as soon as we found the perfect location/pose- but, such is the photography life, lol.
I felt completely comfortable with Katie and between her direction- which was great- and our mutual discussions, I felt we made a great team. For the last look, we took to the Eiffel Tour, where Katie had scouted a spot to conclude our session. The saying, "save the best for last" was the theme in this case, because between the scenery, the light, and the overall ambiance, this location was absolutely stunning. The photos turned out beautifully and were exactly what I had envisioned for my shared loves. Today, I'm sharing a sneak peek from our shoot, and I'll be sharing the rest soon on a guest blog post for ELOQUII, as well as in my Paris outfit recap, coming soon to BITD.
Thank you, Katie, for being the fabulous person you are and for spreading Paris love into the hearts of others through your gift of photography.
To see more of Katie's work, visit:
XOXO
Blonde in the District