Why couple session in Cologne
Most visitors expect a couple photoshoot in Cologne to start at the cathedral, and the better ones start across the river from it. The cathedral is 157 metres tall and hemmed in by the old town, so from its own square you only get part of it. From the Deutz bank you see the whole thing, and in the late afternoon the sun sits behind you and lights the facade directly. The Hohenzollern Bridge links the two banks, carries a railway and a footway side by side, and is covered in padlocks left by couples. That gives the session its two locations within an eight-minute walk: the bridge with its trains, then the broad stepped boulevard facing the cathedral.
Aim for the last two hours of sunshine, which in June means a late evening and in October a late afternoon. Summer evenings on the steps are sociable and crowded, so a weekday helps. The winter months have their own case: from November to February the cathedral is floodlit after dark, and blue hour from Deutz is stronger than any summer sunset. Avoid Carnival week, when the riverside is anything but quiet.
How the session runs
The session begins on the Hohenzollern Bridge, where the first quarter of an hour is spent walking and talking rather than posing. A live railway line runs right beside the footway, so the photographs there are taken from settled spots by the railing. From the bridge we take the stairs down to the Rheinboulevard, five hundred metres of steps built for this view, and stay until the light goes. Morning bookings simply run the route in reverse. Ninety minutes in all, and forty edited photographs within 48 to 72 hours.
What’s included
- 40 edited photographs
- Two locations, on foot
- A route planned around the light, not the diary
- Private gallery within 48 to 72 hours
