Here it is: the BEST Spots in Paris for a Family Photo Session. I was in Paris the other day and discovered the most beautiful locations for future children and family portrait sessions while traveling through France! Whether you’re a photographer or parent looking to find some great spots in Paris while on a vacation with your family, these spots are sure to give you the perfect combination of natural light, depth of field and Parisian environments for your family portraits.

La Comédie-Française

Start your session at golden hour at La Comédie-Française with all of it’s black and white structures in the back. As the sun starts to hide behind the ornate building, you’ll get some great golden lighting. Kids naturally are going to want to play, skip and hop along the structures – which makes for some super fun lifestyle images! Let them play again and get out some of that energy before you have them sit on one of the stoops! Add some silly dance moves and jokes, and you’ll be set!

Quick Photo Tip

Place your subject along the back right structures to get the least amount of crowds in the pictures as well as to add some pleasant-looking leading lines.

Jardin du Palais Royal

When the harsh midday light fades off behind the building, make sure to find some even shade on the grass and get those traditional portraits and solo child portraits in! During our session, we had Denzel play with the flowers before I got a few close-up portraits of him and his sweet reactions to my jokes.

Quick Photo Tip

Get creative! Some ideas include playing with the depth of field and framing the bokeh-y flowers around your subject, take some fun walking pictures along the tree-lined dirt path, with the filter golden hour sunlight dappling through and creating some cool, contrasty shadows.

Lighted Passage Ways

While walking from our first location at the Jardin du Palais Royal towards Les Halles, we discovered this brightly lid covered passage ways that are known to be all across Paris! With the leading lines from the hanging lamps to the patterned floor tiles, they made a magical spot that was so Paris!

Quick Photo Tips

Make sure to use this spot when the light is still bright outside and place your subjects just before the covered passage so the light can hit their faces.

Église Saint-Eustache

One of the most gorgeous cathedrals I’ve seen in Paris, Ibelise (who also happens to be a wedding photographer!) showed me this beautiful spot at Les Halles and we used the neutral, ornate cathedral as a backdrop for some more family portraits and branding photos for her!

Versailles

My number one favorite spot to photograph in Paris is the fairytale of Versailles. It’s dreamy, with rolling fields, pastel cottages and flowers and perfectly manicured gardens to play with.

Quick Photo Tip

My favorite spot to photograph is at Marie Antoinette’s Estate where you will find the most picturesque landscape, farm, lake and hidden groves and quiet gardens away from the traffic. It’s a bit of a walk (around an hour) from the main gate, but you can take the shuttle or rent a golf cart to get you around the different photo spot locations.

Interested in having me photograph you and your kids at this location? It would be a dream for me to photograph you!

Let’s do it! 

The Seine

Most people immediately go to the Eiffel Tower for portraits in Paris. I get it! It’s an iconic landmark of romance in the City of Lights! But I find the Seine to be the most magical, romantic and picturesque place to photograph my clients. Not only is the lighting ideal (shade, shade, shade) and the crowds fewer than the Eiffel Tower (Unless it’s a sunrise shoot, I won’t go near that tower for a photoshoot) but the water, willow trees and rounded arches make for the most flattering gallery! Needless to say, the Seine has my heart.

Louvre

I just love playing with my camera around this area. The tunnels, lamps, and golden hour light is just gorgeous here. And for families desiring that iconic glass pyramid of the Louvre is the background, it makes for a great spot. Let’s aim for a sunrise or late golden hour shoot when the crowds are fewer, making room for your little ones to play!

I hope these tips and photographs from my recent family session inspire you! I am not much of a city gal, but Paris has stolen my heart and I am always eager to come back. After this amazing session with Ibelise and Denzel, I am so excited to come back and photograph more families, specifically in Versailles and the Seine River. Thanks to Ibelise for making this such an enjoyable and fun-filled session!

Interested in booking a family session in Paris? Let’s connect and make this happen! This’ll be a blast!

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More Images from My Recent Trip to Paris