voted best paris portrait photographer
Known for our unique and emotive style, we specialize in family and portrait photography. Based in Paris, we offer clients a blend of candid lifestyle and classic fine art photography.
how KDP started
Bonjour, I’m Katie Donnelly! In 2013, I left NYC behind for the cobblestone streets of Paris and a Frenchman. I arrived in Paris with a camera, two checked bags, and years of experience as a professional family photographer. The reason for my move? Love and adventure.
Within a year I learned French, fell in love with Paris, and started my Paris family photography business. A few years after that, I married that same French guy who I came over for. Over a decade later in Paris, a happy marriage, and two kids, here we are: A busy creative life, full of good French wine and joy.
Known for our unique and emotive style, we specialize in family and portrait photography. Based in Paris, we offer clients a blend of lifestyle and fine art photography.
Surviving the Unthinkable
In 2020, we almost lost everything, including me. Simultaneously, the world shut down, I was told I had stage 4 cancer, and my dad was also diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The world came through, I lived, my dad died. It was everything you could imagine: mostly awful, guilt and gratitude for surviving, yet feeling the deep deep unfairness of it all. What got me through? Well, modern medicine and luck first off. But also, my family.
I know what is most important in life; time and memories with the ones you love.
Laying in bed, too weak to even walk to another room or push my 1-year-old’s stroller down the block, I kept begging the universe for more time. Please PLEASE just give me more time: time to heal, to live, time for my daughter to remember her mom if the chemo didn’t work. I remember from my bed hearing her little feet running around the house pointing to our family portraits with her tiny voice repeating “Mama, Papa, Siena.”
That was her home: us. The three of us together.
building a dream
In 2021, after chemo and months of recovery ended, I gave myself two options:
- Quit. Close down shop.
- Build a team. I couldn’t/can’t physically do it alone. Doesn’t a dream just get bigger when it’s shared?
So I started building. It’s been so, so much work. Building for yourself is easy (hey, I did it for years for our amazing Paris photography clients!), but building something for others to grow with is so much more complex. And always, always with the client centered in it all.
So here we are, the dream getting bigger together, giving YOU, my adventurous loving friend, the ultimate Paris portrait session experience created from over a decade of experience serving thousands of families and solo clients in Paris, and the deep knowing that celebrating your life is important.
It’s not just a profession; it’s a passion and a purpose. We’re here to help you capture the beauty of your everyday life and the extraordinary moments that make it truly exceptional.
Our Paris Photographer Team:
- Does the work of planning a fun, natural Paris photo session (or mini session!) in the most iconic Paris locations to photograph.
- Will give you the family, couple, and solo portraits of your dreams. We are the only photographer in Paris who does a same day turnaround to show you your portraits in a breathtaking cinematic experience right in the heart of central Paris. (This is where you’ll then order your favorites for artwork, albums, and get the photos you ordered to share on social media)
- Creates art to celebrate your life: A life full. A life that risks joy amidst the challenges and reckonings we all face. A life that says “yes” more than “no” and that sees the deep beauty and importance of time and how we use it.
THE KDP
dream team
And Your New Paris Photographer BFFs
This website is a mix of all of our photography work! Each photographer is personally trained by me (Katie) and we all work at the tip top highest quality. Each week we meet to team brainstorm on every single session to be sure that every client gets their dream portraits, and our best work. You’ll absolutely LOVE whomever you work with!
Creative Director, Owner
Katie Donnelly
Born and raised in NYC and then Westchester, NY, I’ve lived in Paris since 2013 with my French husband, and now our two kiddos. I come from one of those classic huge NY Italian families minus the mafia and plus way too much spaghetti and garlic bread.
Actually, I take that back, there's no such thing as too much spaghetti. Or garlic. Or family.
Photographer
Magda S.
Former cabin crew with head still high somewhere in the sky. Now settled in Paris where together with my husband we raise our three little ones. I love capturing families in all their glory.
Photographer
Zoe F.
I grew up in Portland, Oregon in a family that couldn’t sit still. They instilled a love of travel in me from an early age, inspiring me to eventually pick up and move to the other side of the world on a whim at 18! I’ve been living in Paris ever since, studying philosophy, taking photos, and continuing to travel and see the new parts of the world every chance I get.
Photographer
Maria S.
Pragmatic dreamer who loves photography, cinema, and musical theatre. As a part of Katie's team I love capturing stories of joy and connection for our lovely clients.
Studio Manager
Mallory S.
I've been living in Europe for over a decade and the beauty of Paris still makes my heart flutter. I'm a Canadian PR professional who loves traveling with my family of six.
My heart grows a little bigger each time I read emails from our KDP clients. Their beautiful stories and vision for their session is so special. I love being a part of creating your family portrait!
At KDP, we celebrate your everyday.
The happiness you feel on vacation and in the simplicity of Sunday morning pancakes, all the twirls your 3 year-old can muster, and all the hide-and-seek your twin boys can summon. We celebrate little things like blowing bubbles, big things like getting your PhD, little things like bath time, big things like first steps, little things like the joy of spinning in mom’s arms, and big things like the joy of being engaged.
You may recognize us from our work featured on Tidy Dad, Everyday Parisian, En Route to Rêverie, Wit + Whimsy, Amanda Kloots, Anna Kloots, HIP Paris, Image Magazine, and NBC.
