Couples, families and surprise proposals photographed in the most beautiful baroque town in Sicily. I am based half an hour away in Siracusa, and I come to you.
From €300 · photos in 24 to 48 hoursWhy Noto
In 1693 an earthquake destroyed this corner of Sicily, and Noto was rebuilt from nothing, all at once, in a single style. That is why it looks the way it does: every building matches, and every one of them is cut from the same local limestone.
For a photographer that is a rare gift. There is no visual noise, nothing clashes, and in the last hour before sunset the whole town turns deep honey gold at the same time. You do not get that in Ortigia, and you do not get it in Taormina.
It is UNESCO listed, it is compact enough to walk end to end, and the main street is pedestrian, which matters more than you would think if you are bringing children.
Where we shoot
The one everybody knows, and it deserves it: a wide flight of pale steps rising to the Cathedral of San Nicolò. Best photographed from below and slightly to the side, and best late, when the façade is lit warm and the steps are half in shadow.
Stone balconies held up by carved lions, horses and grotesque faces, on a narrow street that catches beautiful reflected light in the afternoon. It is the most characterful backdrop in town and most visitors walk straight past it.
The main street is busy around the cathedral and almost empty a few hundred metres east. Same architecture, same light, nobody in your photographs.
Noto is built on a slope, so the little streets running off the Corso go uphill and give you steps, arches and long views. This is where the photographs stop looking like postcards and start looking like yours.
Several buildings in the centre open a terrace to visitors, and from up there you see the domes and the whole valley behind. Worth doing at the very end of a session.
A small fishing village south of Noto, built around a tiny harbour and a square that turns gold in the evening. It pairs beautifully with a Noto session: baroque stone in the afternoon, the sea and old fishermen's houses at sunset.
A real family session
A family from England, 9 a.m. in Noto: the cathedral steps, running races for the girls and gelato in front of the cathedral as the prize. Read the story →
Golden hour in Marzamemi, twenty minutes from Noto
Sessions in Noto
Noto is ideal for it: compact, full of tourists holding cameras, so a photographer at a distance is invisible. We pick the exact spot and a signal, and she finds out when you tell her.
An hour walking the Corso and the side streets as the light drops. No posing, just the two of you in a town that happens to be one of the most beautiful in Italy.
The pedestrian main street means children can run. One warm colour everywhere means the photographs hold together. Late afternoon, before dinner, is the easiest hour.
Many families rent a villa in the countryside around Noto. I come to you: terrace, pool, olive trees, and nobody has to get everyone into a car.
Practical
The cathedral staircase is the obvious one and it earns its reputation, but the best photographs are usually just off it: the side streets that climb away from Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the balconies of Palazzo Nicolaci with their carved figures, and the quiet stretch of the Corso east of the cathedral where almost nobody walks.
The last hour and a half before sunset. Noto is built from a local limestone that turns deep honey gold in low light, and that colour is the whole reason to photograph here. Early morning works too and is quieter, but the evening light is warmer.
About half an hour by car, roughly 38 kilometres down the coast. I am based in Siracusa and travel to Noto regularly, with no extra charge for the journey. Many couples do a session in Noto in the late afternoon and are back in Ortigia for dinner.
Yes. Noto works particularly well for a proposal because the town is compact and full of tourists with cameras, so a photographer standing at a distance is completely unremarkable. We agree the exact spot and a signal beforehand, and she has no idea until it is over.
Very. The main street is pedestrian, so children can run without you worrying about traffic, and the whole town is a single warm colour, which makes a family photo shoot look coherent rather than busy. Late afternoon, before dinner, is the easy slot.
Yes. Noto is one of the most requested spots in Sicily for a small destination wedding or elopement, with the cathedral staircase and the golden baroque streets as a backdrop. A full wedding day is a different service from the vacation photoshoots on this page: message me with your date and what you have in mind, and I will send you the details.
Usually in May, when Via Nicolaci is covered with a carpet of flower petals. It is spectacular and it is also the most crowded weekend of the year in Noto, so if you want photographs with the town to yourselves, pick another date. Check the exact dates locally, as they shift year to year.
Yes, this comes up a lot, because Noto is one of the most popular destination-wedding towns in Sicily. When the whole family travels for someone else's wedding, everyone is together and dressed well, which is the perfect moment for family photographs. We do it the morning of the wedding, or the day before or after, so it doesn't clash. It works at your hotel or out on the Corso in the late-afternoon light.
Yes. That includes Seven Rooms Villadorata inside Palazzo Nicolaci, Il San Corrado di Noto in the countryside, Dimora delle Balze and the boutique hotels around the centre. I come to the property and plan the session around your check-in and dinner times.
Keep reading
A Real Family Photoshoot in Noto: No Boring Poses → Photoshoot Prices in Sicily → Photographer in Catania, Sicily → Things to Do in Noto, Sicily → Things to Do in Siracusa & Ortigia: A Photographer's Guide → Family Photoshoots in Ortigia, Noto & at Your Villa → Photographer for Your Villa in Siracusa & Ortigia → Full-Day Photographer in Sicily → Surprise Proposal Photographer in Ortigia → How a Vacation Photoshoot Works (Prices & FAQ) →
One hour, before the light goes
Tell me your dates and where you are staying. I reply within 24 hours, and I will tell you the exact hour to be there.
Book a session in Noto