I’ve seen my friends posting professional photo shoots of their family all in white on the beach. I wondered, at the time, can’t you just ask someone to take your picture? Why do you need to spend money on a professional?
But then, in my deep research on things to do in Paris on a girls/mom trip, I discovered the huge professional photoshoot business and I confess I had some serious FOMO. Who wouldn’t want 100 pics of themselves looking glamorous in front of the Eiffel Tower? This was a milestone trip for our girls graduating from high school and we wanted to make sure it was memorable on all counts.
With our last two trips to Europe, I had stopped taking my high-end digital camera and opted instead for just using my iPhone. It’s not hard to take a decent picture these days particularly if you are looking at something as marvelous as the Eiffel Tower. But the trained eye of a professional photographer who knows “just the right places” to take pictures and who can process the pictures with an extra flair, is hard to beat.
After diving into research further on various recommended photographers, we settled on Flora Andriany Photography. Her gallery of photos on facebook showed families and friends having a great time in front of beautiful scenes. Her pricing was reasonable and she had an opening on the last day of our trip. We love supporting local small businesses and we knew that Flora could capture our love for our girls and each other as friends. We were not disappointed. 
We met Flora at the top of the Trocadero at 7:00 am so we could get both the best morning light but also ensure few people walking into our shots. The girls were less than thrilled to get ready so early. None of us are super models who know how to pose but Flora helped ease us into making it feel natural. She followed us around the Trocadero and down side streets with the Eiffel Tower always in view to the better part of an hour.
So was it worth it? Absolutely! We received a sampling of photos that day with the full set in a few days and they were lovely. We couldn’t have taken these pictures ourselves or asked some stranger to take them and have them come out as good as they did. They are lasting memories of a fabulous trip with our girls as they started their own journey into the world. So plan that photoshoot with your family and friends. And if you are in Paris, contact Flora!
