If you’re new here and looking for a Paris photoshoot for women travelling solo, I’m glad you found me!
Before the brand, before Instagram, before photography became my full-time work, there was just me, my camera, and a niggling feeling that something important was happening – even if I couldn’t yet name it.
This story explains how my work as a Paris photographer for women began, and why I now specialise in photographing women who choose to travel – and be seen – on their own.
Adriana’s solo photoshoot and how it changed me
Adriana came along just before Covid, at a moment when my work – and my life – looked very different to now!
I was starting to receive regular enquiries for photo shoots in Paris, but I was still working on web design. Photography hadn’t quite claimed me fully yet. I was inching towards it, though, testing the ground, and I knew it felt good and felt right.
When Adriana’s enquiry arrived, it was VERY last-minute! But I’d been investing in dresses, and I had even made one myself (the very famous and beloved black tulle skirt!), so I accepted her booking. The day after, we met in a café right near the Trocadéro. It was later in the morning, so I was a little nervous about the light and the number of people, but she and I clicked immediately, and I knew that everything was going to turn out ok.
The photoshoot itself was joyful in a very unforced way.
We laughed a lot. Little mishaps and funny moments happened – like my suitcase flying down the stairs of the Trocadero.
Or being interrupted by friendly French men with offers of champagne during our cafe shoot (we accepted :). It was like a scene out of a movie, and I remember thinking this probably happens to her ALL the time.
At one point, Adriana mentioned something that raised my eyebrows.
She told me how important she believed it was for women to have regular photos taken – not for validation, not for social media – but for their future selves.
For remembering.
For marking time.
To see who they were at different chapters of their lives.
I remember feeling surprised and delighted. These were thoughts I had been carrying privately; I had not vocalised them, and I had not written about them anywhere.
Hearing them spoken aloud by someone else – and by such a young woman – was a significant moment. Why?
It made me wonder how many other women felt the same.
It gave me the confidence to speak out about it a little more loudly in case other women needed to hear it too.
It also made me roll my eyes at myself for my own lack of professional photoshoots – I’ve done a few, but not enough. I LOVE looking at old photos of myself, remembering and laughing at how I felt in that moment, and where I was on life’s path.
Today, I work mostly with women who come to Paris on their own.
Some are celebrating something. Some are recovering from something. Some don’t have a clear reason at all – only a feeling that now is the moment. For some, it’s a simple curiosity about what a photoshoot experience entails and how it might change their perception of themselves. And for some, they really just want some great photos of themselves in Paris!
My role is to create a space that feels safe, relaxed, human — where laughter is welcome, pauses are allowed, and nothing needs to be forced.
Thinking About a Solo Photoshoot in Paris?
It’s a fact: some of the women I photograph don’t arrive at their shoot feeling fully confident.
They’re unsure whether this is something they’re even allowed to do for themselves.
A client recently threw her hands up and said: “Rachel, I have no idea why I’m doing this. I don’t have kids, and I doubt my nephews will ever care about seeing photos of me in a fancy dress in front of the Eiffel Tower!”
My response? “They’re not for anyone else. They’re for the woman you’ll be later in life, looking back.”
I’m here to tell you this: wanting beautiful photos of yourself — or the experience of a photoshoot — isn’t indulgent.
I often pat myself on the back for doing that photoshoot back in 2017. I love looking at those portraits. In 2026, I present completely differently to the woman I was then — my hairstyle, the way I dress, my career, my self-confidence, almost everything about how I live my life has changed. Without those photos, I’d forget who I was then… and how far I’ve come.
I love the idea of creating our own personal archive — moments and portraits as souvenirs of a life well lived.
So if something here resonates with you, my inbox is open. You’re very welcome.
