Valentine's Day in Spanish means Friendship Day - at least where I’m from in Costa Rica. This was the root of my yearly giveaway for February 14th. It’s been a few years since I have done one of these - thank you pandemic! - but I think it’s time to bring it back because it gave me one of the my fondest Paris Portrait experiences ever.

Meet Glenda and Rod. They won my second ever giveaway and this was their experience. Their story is quite special - they started dating when they were 14 years old. At 34, they have been together for 20 and married for 5, but never been in a photoshoot. This was their first ever and we vibed from the start.

Their trip to Paris was planned for July - peak summer - so we planned a fun morning starting in Montmartre at sunrise. Given that it was summer, our meet time was 6.45am, but it gave us a very very empty Sacre Coeur which is why we do start at these ungodly times. After enjoying the views from on top of Montmartre, we strolled downhill towards the Love Wall for some portraits there and along the cute streets.

For the next location, we took a taxi towards Saint Germain in the 6th arrondissement. We grabbed some Vélib bikes and went for a ride along the Seine, looping around Notre Dame where we sat down for a few portraits along a houseboat on the pier and the cathedral in the back. After we were done with the shoot, we took the bikes back and the guys invited me for a drink (it was around 11am by then).

These images, their story, the amazing morning, the bikes - it was an amazing experience all thanks to this little giveaway for “Friendship Day.”