A Summer Anniversary Couple Photoshoot in Rome
Every once in a while, a couple photoshoot in Rome turns into much more than a couple of hours of taking photographs. As I enter my fifth year living in Rome and my eleventh year in Italy, I’ve found myself thinking about the people I’ve met along the way. Some became friends. Others simply crossed my path for a few hours, days or months before life took us in different directions again. Photography has added an entirely different group of people to that story. I meet couples from all over the world who come to Rome for their wedding, honeymoon, engagement, proposal, anniversary or simply a few days away together. Most of the time we start as complete strangers. We meet somewhere in the city, walk together for a couple of hours and make photographs. Every now and then, though, the connection feels different.
Riley and Maddie were one of those couples.
An Anniversary Photoshoot in Villa Borghese
Riley and Maddie had been married for a year when we met for their anniversary couple photoshoot in Rome. We started in the late afternoon around the little lake inside Villa Borghese, one of my favorite places to begin a relaxed couple session in Rome. The area around the lake has a completely different atmosphere from the historic center. There are trees, reflections on the water, small paths and enough space to simply walk without feeling like every photograph needs to involve a famous monument. That suited Riley and Maddie perfectly.
There wasn’t really a complicated plan for the afternoon. We walked around the lake, took some photographs and gradually continued through the Villa Borghese Gardens. That is often how I prefer these sessions to work. Instead of moving from one predetermined photo spot to another, I like to create a route that gives us time to walk, talk and stop whenever something catches my eye.
For me, a couple photoshoot in Rome works best when the photography becomes part of the experience rather than the entire purpose of it.
From Villa Borghese to the Spanish Steps
After spending some time in the gardens, we slowly made our way toward the Spanish Steps. I like this transition because it gives a couple two very different sides of Rome within the same photoshoot.
Villa Borghese feels green, quiet and almost detached from the city. Then, as you leave the gardens and walk toward the center, Rome gradually becomes more urban. Streets, buildings, people and the energy of the historic center start becoming part of the photographs. There was no rush to reach the Spanish Steps. The walk itself was part of the session.
We stopped when the light was interesting, photographed little moments along the way and continued talking. By the time we reached the Spanish Steps, it felt much more like we had spent an afternoon walking around Rome together than completing a list of photography locations.
And that is exactly what I want.
Photographing People Without Turning Them Into Models
One of the questions couples sometimes ask before booking a Rome couple photographer is whether they need to know how to pose. They don’t. Actually, I prefer when they don’t. Riley and Maddie weren’t in Rome to become models for an afternoon. They were celebrating their anniversary together, and my job was simply to photograph what that felt like. Of course, there is still some direction involved. I might suggest where to walk, where to stand for a moment or where the light is particularly beautiful. But then I prefer to leave enough space for something real to happen. A conversation. Someone laughing. A look between two people. A hand automatically reaching for another hand. Those small things usually tell me much more about a couple than a perfectly arranged pose ever could. Instead of trying to manufacture intimacy, I’m interested in what is already there.
Riley, Hockey and a Completely Different Lifestyle
Over the years I’ve photographed people from all kinds of professions. Diplomats, pilots, artists, students and people from all sorts of different backgrounds have ended up in front of my camera. Somehow, I had never photographed a professional athlete. Until Riley.
Riley is Canadian and plays ice hockey, so naturally I spent part of our walk asking him questions about hockey and the lifestyle that comes with it. One thing I hadn’t realized was how little time hockey players actually spend on the ice at once. Their shifts are surprisingly short because the game is so fast and physically demanding. They skate hard, take a quick break and then go straight back in.
Photography gives me a very good excuse to be curious about other people’s lives, and these conversations are one of my favorite parts of the job.
And Then There is Maddie
Riley is also a lucky guy because he is married to Maddie. She is one of those people who seems completely at peace with herself. Very easygoing, very comfortable in her own skin, and somehow spreading positive energy around her without even trying. There was one small detail during the photoshoot that I think says a lot about her personality. She had chosen shoes that matched her dress perfectly, but after walking around Villa Borghese for a while, she simply got tired of them. So every now and then, she switched into a pair of little slippers she had brought with her and carried on with the afternoon. You can actually spot them in one of the photographs. I loved that.
There was no concern about keeping everything perfectly styled from beginning to end. If the shoes were uncomfortable, she changed them. Simple as that. She was there to enjoy the afternoon with Riley, not to perform for the camera. That kind of personality also makes someone incredibly easy to photograph.
Maddie never seemed overly conscious of how she looked or what she was supposed to be doing. She could simply be herself, laugh, walk, talk to Riley and forget about me every now and then. For someone whose approach to couples photography in Rome is based much more on observation than posing, that is exactly what I am hoping for. And some of my favorite photographs from the afternoon came from those completely unplanned moments.
Rome as a Background, Not the Main Character
The route from Villa Borghese to the Spanish Steps also represents quite well how I like to photograph Rome. There is an understandable temptation when booking a photoshoot here to create a checklist. Colosseum. Trevi Fountain. Spanish Steps. Every famous landmark possible. There is nothing wrong with wanting photographs in iconic places, but I don’t think a Rome couple photoshoot needs to feel like photographic proof that you visited the city.
I prefer Rome to exist around the couple rather than completely dominate every photograph. Sometimes the little lake at Villa Borghese gives us what we need. Sometimes it is a quiet path through the gardens. Sometimes it is an ordinary Roman street between two locations. And sometimes it is the Spanish Steps. The city should still be recognizable, of course. I just want the people and their relationship to remain the main characters.
Finishing the Photoshoot With Wine at Buccone
Eventually, the photography part of the afternoon came to an end. But the evening didn’t. We went to Buccone Vini e Olii and sat down for some wine together. At that point, it didn’t really feel like a photographer finishing a session with his clients. It felt much more like three people who had spent the afternoon walking through Rome together and didn’t particularly feel like ending the conversation yet. And perhaps that’s why I remember this photoshoot so fondly. Of course, I’m happy with the photographs. But I’m equally happy that photography sometimes introduces me to people I genuinely enjoy spending time with.
Riley and Maddie have a life somewhere between Canada and the United States, and I have mine here in Rome. Maybe one day life will put us in the same place again. If it does, I have a feeling we’ll sit down somewhere, order a few glasses of wine and simply continue the conversation.
Planning Your Own Couple Photoshoot in Rome?
You don’t need to be getting married in Rome to have this part of your life photographed. I photograph couples visiting the city for anniversaries, honeymoons, engagements and proposals, as well as people who simply want photographs of themselves enjoying Rome together. A session can be as simple as this one was. A late afternoon around the lake in Villa Borghese, a walk through the gardens, continuing toward the Spanish Steps and stopping wherever the city gives us something interesting along the way.
My approach is relaxed, candid and documentary, with enough direction to make you comfortable without turning a walk through Rome into a production.
I’m based in Rome and work as a wedding and couples photographer in Rome and throughout Italy, using both digital and 35mm film photography. If you’re planning a trip to Rome and would like to create something together, you can get in touch and tell me a little about the two of you and what brings you here.
How Does It Work?
- Contact me and then let’s schedule a call so we get to know each other by talking about your needs and my services in detail.
- Once we agree on terms I send you a confirmation email and ask you to pay the first half of the total agreed amount so I fix the date.
- You have fun and I take care of the rest with my camera.
