TL;DR: Xaime is responsive, flexible, incredibly knowledgeable about Santiago, and an exceptional photographer. He knows exactly where to go and how to get the perfect shot, and he went far beyond what I booked or expected. He is also reasonably priced compared to other photographers in the area. I cannot recommend him highly enough.
I proposed to my girlfriend on the second-to-last day of our Camino. By the time my fiancée and I walked into Santiago the following afternoon, there wasn’t anything left in my legs. We arrived at our hotel, ate, showered, changed, and went back out to meet Xaime that evening.
I had messaged Xaime on Whatsapp the week before, and he was responsive and flexible in planning around our arrival. That was great because it meant that we didn't have to rush through the last day of the Camino.
Beyond that, I hadn’t planned much at all. I knew I wanted photographs at the Cathedral and in the gardens, but after a week of walking the Camino, I did not want to figure out the best route through a city I didn't know. I really wanted someone else to take over for an hour.
We met Xaime near the Cathedral and, from there, we followed him. He led us to almost twenty different spots. He took us through the main square, to the narrowest street in Santiago, to a beautiful 20-foot tall doorway, a stone fountain, and more before eventually reaching the gardens. As we walked, he told us about Santiago and its history. It felt as much like a walking tour as a photo shoot.
Xaime and I had agreed to an hour, but he kept going for more than an hour and a half so that we could get to all the spots he wanted to show us. The photographs themselves are incredible. For example, the Cathedral square had been packed with hundreds of people, but in some of Xaime’s photographs, my fiancée and I look like we are standing there alone. Nobody was edited out, he just knew the angles well enough to make the plaza feel empty.
He sent me the photos via link on Whatsapp. He gave me more than fifty edited photographs. When I look at them, I remember exactly what it felt like to arrive in Santiago at the end of the Camino. Newly engaged! He gave us far more than I expected when I booked an hour of engagement photography. I cannot recommend him highly enough. The best!
