How do you prepare for a photoshoot in Copenhagen?

By Tetiana Kolosko · 3 August 2026 · 5 min read

Short answer: the best preparation isn't practising poses in the mirror. It's three simple things — give yourselves enough time, wear something you can actually move in, and let me handle the light and the posing. Do that and you'll look like yourselves, which is the whole point.

Almost everyone asks me the same thing before a session: what do we need to do? So here's the honest version — the handful of things that genuinely change how your photos turn out, and the ones you can stop worrying about.

Give it more time than you think you need

Nobody is relaxed in the first ten minutes, and that's completely normal — you're standing in a public square in your nicest clothes while a stranger points a camera at you. The stiffness wears off. For most couples it takes about half an hour to forget I'm there, and that's exactly when the real photos start. So I'd rather have an hour and a half than forty minutes — not because we need hundreds of frames, but because the ones you'll love live in the second half, once you've stopped performing and started just being together.

Wear what you can move in

Outfits matter less than people fear, and in a different way than they expect. You don't need to match — matching reads a little costumey. You want to coordinate: pick two or three colours that sit well together and let each of you land somewhere in that range. Calm, warm tones photograph beautifully in Copenhagen light — cream, sand, soft blue, olive, grey, black. I'd skip anything neon or a busy little print; bright colours bounce onto skin, and tiny patterns shimmer on camera. Reach for fabrics that move — a skirt or a shirt that catches the wind gives me something alive to work with, where stiff, tight things just look tense. And empty your pockets: phone, keys, a bulky wallet all break an otherwise lovely line. The camera sees tension, so the more comfortable you are, the better you look.

Bring shoes you can actually walk in

This is Copenhagen — cobblestones, gravel paths, and a fair bit of wandering between spots. Wear the heels for the frames you want them in, but bring flats for everything in between. Sore feet show up in your shoulders and your face faster than you'd think.

Chase the light, not just the landmark

Where we shoot matters less than when. Copenhagen's grey, overcast sky is a gift — soft, even light with no harsh shadows, the look editorial shoots pay to fake (I wrote a whole piece on that). If the sun is out, the hour before it sets is gold, literally. Bright midday is the one I plan around, not toward. And if you've dreamed of Nyhavn with the coloured houses behind you, the trick is to go early — at seven in the morning the light comes in low off the water and you'll have the canal almost to yourselves, instead of sharing it with a thousand people at noon.

A few spots in the city I keep coming back to

I always tailor the route to you, but for couples these rarely miss: Nyhavn early, for the postcard; Nyboder, the quiet rows of mustard-yellow navy houses that feel like a film set; Kongens Have, the King's Garden, when we want something green and soft; the courtyards and bridges around Christiansborg for a grander, architectural feel; and Papirøen, right across from Nyhavn, when we want the harbour view without the crowd. Honestly, half the good photos happen while we're just walking between them.

Please don't rehearse poses

I promise it's my job, not yours. I won't line you up stiffly and ask you to say cheese. I'll get you walking, talking, holding onto each other, and I'll nudge a hand or a chin when it helps. The photos you'll treasure are the in-between ones — a laugh, a glance, the second right after a kiss — and those only happen when you're not trying to pose. If the first few frames feel awkward, trust me and keep going. They always do, and it always passes.

The small stuff that quietly helps

Send me a couple of reference images beforehand so we're picturing the same mood — it saves a lot of second-guessing on the day. Bring a layer; Copenhagen turns cool the moment the sun dips, even in summer. Eat something first, because an hour on your feet on an empty stomach is nobody's best self. And travel light — the fewer bags to stash behind a bench, the freer the whole thing feels.

Come as yourselves, not as models. That's the version of you worth photographing.

Common questions

Planning a shoot in Copenhagen?

Tell me your idea — I'll help with timing, spots and the rest.