Two weeks ago I set off on one of the biggest adventures in my career when I left rainy England for a senior portrait session in what started in Barcelona and ended in Venice. Over four days Celeste, her mom and I walked barefoot on the beach in Barcelona at sunrise, questioned our sanity at the ever-confusing Güell Park (Fun fact: If you get there before 8:30am you don't need tickets to the sculpture area. Just don't be as confused as us when you try to leave the sculpture area and go into the rest of the park and all of the park guides keep sending you backwards), shot on rooftops, rode gondolas, found secret rooftop sunset views, and dodged pigeons in St. Mark's Square before the rest of a sleepy, water city awoke. Two years ago I made it my goal to do more destination sessions. Since then, I've traveled to Poland, Paris, Copenhagen, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Prague, and now Barcelona and Venice. I'm always looking for new opportunities and adventures, and I was so happy to stumble onto Celeste and her amazing mom! We were total strangers when they chose me, and I was honored! Now I feel like I have lifetime friends (I even took a few shoulder punches from an elderly Italian woman because I like them so much! Haha!). I had such an amazing time trying to find tapas in Barcelona and wandering the streets of Venice with them, eating pizza and pasta, shopping, and shooting. And let's all take a second to recognize how awesome Momma Bear Stephanie is! She orchestrated this whole thing and went above and beyond to make Celeste's senior portrait experience hands-down the coolest of all time. Thank you for taking such good care of us!! Now onto the photos! Day One: Sunrise next to their hotel, W Barcelona. We met up at the start of an epic sunrise, and then wandered along the beach.
Day Two: Sunrise at Park Güell. If you're heading to an urban location with me, I want to shoot sunrise! I want you to be the focus of the photos without the distractions of some fanny-pack, selfie stick toting tourist in the background. Sometimes we can't avoid EVERYONE in the shots, but sacrificing those Zzz's for some quiet time in epic locations is so worth it.
Day Three: Venice wasn't originally in the plan, but when they mentioned they were heading there next and offered to take me, I had to go! I fell in love with Venice a few weeks back and was thrilled to be shooting in a location I've been dying to do a session in since the beginning of my destination session journey. We met up for about eight miles worth of wandering the streets, some pizza, and a gondola ride with our handsome gondolier. It got a little chilly once the sun dropped, and we found the most incredible hot wine of all time!
Day Four: A shorter session since it was chilly and we had gotten most of our shots the day before, we basically walked out of our front doors to St. Mark's Square, where we enjoyed some peace and quiet and some tourist-free shots!
This is only a fraction of the images we captured, but I love having so many favorites! Thank you Celeste and Stephanie for waking up early, doing lots of walking, lots of posing, and the patience that comes with four days of shooting! I don't think there's a way to have any more of a variety with this "session" and I'm SO grateful for you guys!
Also, shout out to Danielle! She once again traveled with me on the first half of this trip as my assistant and still best friend, holding reflectors, swapping lenses, and being a great traveler. Love you, boo!
