A Lisbon Day With Kenzie and Noah | Algarve Couples Photographer
5 MIN READ
Kenzie and Noah at golden hour on Praia da Avencas
Welcome to the first post in my new Session Stories series! I'll be using this space to share the real stories behind each session, not just a highlight reel of pretty photos. And there's no one I'd rather start with than Kenzie and Noah.
Kenzie found my Instagram model call for brides and elopement couples back when I was still in Arizona, and she messaged me the same day. She told me she and her husband had eloped that past December, and since the day was so intimate, they barely had any photos together. I said yes before I even finished reading her message.
We scheduled their bridals for about a week before my move to Portugal. That probably sounds like terrible timing, but it gave me exactly the kind of break I needed from all the packing and chaos. I brought my friend and fellow photographer, Lelah (@lelahs.lens), along for the day (if you're in Arizona and looking for someone amazing, she's it), and asked her to come with us up to Payson for one last adventure before the move swallowed my whole life. She said yes right away, and that day became one of my favorites before I left Arizona.
About a month later, Kenzie told me they'd booked a trip to Portugal and Spain, and I just knew we had to make something work!
How We Made It Work
Josh and I had just moved to Portugal ourselves, and we'd only been there about two weeks by the time Kenzie and Noah's trip rolled around. I was still getting started on a whole new portfolio without a single go-to location yet, so when I found out they'd be in Lisbon, we figured out how to make it work.
It took some shuffling on both ends. Josh and I rented a car and made the two and a half hour drive up from the Algarve. Kenzie and Noah had originally planned to fly into Porto and do a quick day trip down to Lisbon, but they flipped their whole itinerary around just so we'd have more time together, flying into Lisbon first and staying the night before heading north into Portugal and on to Spain.
People don't just rearrange their whole vacation for anyone. I'm so grateful they did, and I don't think I'll ever get over how much that meant to me.
A quiet moment on the sand at Praia da Avencas
Pastéis de Belém
We started the day at Pastéis de Belém. It's the bakery that's been baking the original pastel de nata recipe since the 1800s, so the line wraps around the building pretty much every single day. Ours moved fast though, and we grabbed a table where I had the best chocolate cappuccino of my life. If you've never had a pastel de nata still warm from the oven, that's reason enough to visit on its own.
This was also the first time Kenzie and Noah met my husband, Josh. He'd heard so much about them from their bridals in Arizona that he was almost as excited to meet them as I was, and by the time we sat down with our pastries, it already felt like we'd known each other for years. He spent the rest of the day happily playing driver and bag holder, though I think he'd have tagged along either way.
Fresh pastéis de nata from the bakery that started the day off right
A sweet moment over pastries at Pastéis de Belém
Jardim de Belém
Right across the street from the bakery is Jardim de Belém, and it quickly became one of the best parts of the day. We happened to be there on Portugal Day, so the park was packed with families out for the holiday, kids running everywhere. Golden leaves were falling off the trees, and there were these huge blue flowers I'd never seen before. They stopped me in my tracks.
You can't really plan for a place to be that beautiful. We just got lucky with the timing, and it set us up perfectly for the last stretch of the day down at the beach.
Frolicking through the blue flowers at Jardim de Belém
Golden Hour at Praia da Avencas
We reached Praia da Avencas just as the light turned gold, with boats drifting past in the distance. The beach wasn't empty, but it had that relaxed, end-of-day feeling, just a few small groups scattered along the sand enjoying the weather. Josh held onto all our bags while Kenzie and Noah ran up and down the coastline and rolled around in the sand.
At one point, a group playing volleyball nearby stopped and congratulated them, assuming from Kenzie's white dress that they'd just gotten married. She told them they were already married, but that she loves him more and more every day.
That's the line I keep coming back to when I think about that day. The love they share is pure magic.
Golden hour at Praia da Avencas, watching the boats go by
Why This Kind of Session Matters to Me
A lot of my sessions feel more like a day with friends than a scheduled shoot, and I do that on purpose. I want you to actually enjoy the time we spend together, not just get through it so you can see the photos after. The more comfortable you feel with me, the more natural everything looks in the photos, plain and simple.
With Kenzie and Noah, that part came easy since we already knew each other. By the time we got to Praia da Avencas, I wasn't giving them much direction at all. I'd point them toward the water or tell them to just walk, and let them take it from there. Some of my favorite photos from that day happened while they were just talking to each other, completely caught up in their own conversation.
That's what I hope for with every session, whether I've known you for years or we just met an hour before I picked up my camera. I'm not going to have you hold an awkward pose for ten seconds while I mess with my camera settings. I'd rather you forget I'm there for a minute. Ask me questions, tell me about your trip, laugh at my terrible Portuguese. The more relaxed you are, the better your photos are going to turn out.
The two and a half hour drive up from the Algarve was worth every minute of it, and days like this one are exactly why.
It started with one Instagram message and turned into an adventure across the world, one they’ll now have photographs of forever.
If you're picturing something like this, whether you're visiting Lisbon, based in the Algarve, or just passing through Portugal for a few days, I'd love to hear your story. Take a look at my portfolio, get to know me a little more, or check out sessions and pricing to start the conversation.
If your love story feels anything like theirs, I'd love to be the one who gets to photograph it.
The last stretch of the day, walking the shoreline together
