Paris Photography Workshop

April 28, 2027: Bienvenue à Paris!

Arrive at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), Paris, Île-de-France before 12:00 PM today. Air travel delays are common. Please arrive early, possibly even the day prior, so you don’t miss any of the workshop.

Arrive in Paris this morning and transfer to our central city hotel. We will meet in the afternoon for introductions and to discuss our workshop activities over the coming days. Our dinner tonight will be at a cosy neighborhood restaurant in Montmartre, after which we’ll walk back to our hotel via the iconic Moulin Rouge cabaret theater, photographing its famous illuminated signage and windmill.

April 29, 2027: Sunrise at Sacré Coeur, Explore Montmartre, Evening at Louvre Pyramid

An early start to photograph the nearby Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur in sunrise light. Also found by this Paris landmark are the famous Montmartre steps, from which we’ll capture picturesque views of Parisian rooftops and part of the city skyline. After breakfast, we’ll spend some time amid the morning bustle of the Place du Tertre, for some street and portrait photography of the professional artists and cartoonists who will be at work there. In the afternoon, we will visit one of the most picturesque churches in the city, Sainte Chapelle. This magnificent 13th-century Gothic chapel boasts one of the most extensive collections of stained glass windows in the world, providing numerous creative indoor photography opportunities. We’ll have an early dinner at a great restaurant tucked away in a nearby side street, and then walk to the courtyard of the Palais du Louvre, where we’ll photograph the magnificent Renaissance-era buildings beautifully illuminated and juxtaposed with the modern and spectacular glass pyramid.

April 30, 2027: Sunrise at Pont de la Tournelle, Tuileries Gardens Visit, Dinner with City View

This morning we’ll be out early to go to the River Seine and the Pont de la Tournelle to shoot sunrise over the Ile de la Cité, with the newly-restored cathedral of Notre Dame taking center stage. After breakfast, we’ll spend some time in the nearby Tuileries Gardens and then visit the Musée d’Orsay with its famous clock windows. We’ll take some time out in the afternoon before an image review session at the hotel. For dinner this evening, we will visit a rooftop bar and restaurant that affords a great view of the city and Montmartre in evening light. Before dinner, however, our group will have exclusive access to the Glasswalk, from which we can photograph the magnificent stained glass dome, the architectural hallmark of this extraordinary store.

May 1, 2027: Trocadéro Sunrise with Ballet, Métro Station Exploration

We’ll set out early this morning for a sunrise shoot from the Trocadéro, with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. To add special interest to this photography session, we’ll be joined by a professional ballet dancer and model who will offer a unique perspective of the scene by posing for our pictures. After breakfast, we’ll spend a few hours seeing a little of Paris from below. Some of the stations on the capital’s subway system (known as the métro ) are designed works of art and make interesting photographic subjects, especially when combined with motion-blur photographic techniques used to capture the arriving and departing trains. Our dinner tonight will be at a railway station restaurant – but this is no ordinary rail station restaurant! It’s one of France’s most stately and extravagant dining rooms, boasting a magnificent gold-leaf and crystal Belle Époque interior, as well as first-class gastronomic cuisine. After dinner, we will travel to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysées, where we’ll hone our long exposure photography skills to capture the illumination and light trails of the traffic around this world-renowned landmark.

May 2, 2027: Morning in La Défense, Seine Street Photography, Notre Dame Tour, Evening at Pont Alexandre III

This morning we’ll explore some of contemporary Paris, visiting the business district known as La Défense. At the center of the modern glass buildings is the Arch of La Défense. Architectural and abstract photo opportunities abound here, on a day when fewer people are around. After lunch, we’ll return to the area around Notre Dame for some street photography along the banks of the River Seine. Here we’ll find the bouqinistes, independent sellers of antiquarian books, old maps, postcards, and all sorts of mementos. A Parisian tradition, the traders’ place of business and the riverbank where they are found is, extraordinarily, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We will also have the opportunity to enjoy a walk-through tour of Notre Dame Cathedral itself and see the incredible restoration work carried out after the 2019 fire (handheld photography is permitted). After dinner this evening, we’ll photograph the ornate Pont Alexandre III, with its Art Nouveau lights, gold statues, and the Dome of the Hotel des Invalides (a complex of military museums and monuments), and the Eiffel Tower illuminated in the background.

May 3, 2027: Visit Père Lachaise Cemetery, Explore Saint Sulpice, Montparnasse Tower Sunset View

A leisurely start today. Our first location is the largest cemetery in Paris, where hundreds of ornate tombs, monuments, and memorials can be found. After this, we will visit the largest church in Paris, Saint Sulpice, which featured in the Da Vinci Code novel. Fewer tourists come here, and we will have ample opportunity to photograph the interior (tripods permitted). We’ll have our second image review in the afternoon. Dinner tonight is at a typical family-owned Parisian bistro near the modern Montparnasse Tower, where we’ll ascend 56 floors for a rooftop view of the city and its landmarks, for golden hour photography until sunset.

May 4, 2027: Final Sunrise Shoot at Bir Hakeim

To conclude the workshop, our sunrise shoot will be at the Bir-Hakeim bridge. Named after a World War Two battle in Libya, this bridge offers us interesting photographic compositions, including unique architecture and a classic river scene with the Eiffel Tower dominating the background. After our shoot, we’ll return to the hotel for breakfast and check out.

Flights out can be made after 2:00 PM on May 4, 2027.