Niagara Botanical Gardens
Over the years I have taken a lot of beautiful portraits, I will have to admit some locations are better than others for portraiture. One of my favorite places to take portraits if the Niagara Botanical Gardens. I have photographed anything from family portraits to authors portraits to wedding coupled portraits here. It is a very beautiful and elegant venue that always has another beautiful location around the corner.
Today, while reading this I hope you will understand why this is one of my favorite places for photos, and understand why this is one of my favorite places for wedding portraits.
Where are the Niagara Botanical Gardens?
The Botanical gardens are located just off of the Niagara Parkway in Niagara falls.
Address: 2565 Niagara Pkwy, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 2S7
The parkway is a beautiful drive with a gorgeous view of the Niagara Gorge and there are plenty of attractions nearby if you have not been in the area before. The area is very popular for hiking, sight seeing, the Niagara Parks attractions and most of the the gardens I will be talking about today. If you have never been please do take the time to also explore the area around the gardens as the entire area is a very nice place to spend the day.
Gorgeous Old Buildings
All around the gardens area there are some beautiful older buildings with ivy growing around all sides. The buildings also have smaller, well kept gardens all around them. While exploring the grounds a photo in front of one of these buildings is a perfect starting point for the day. The lighting is always great on these buildings due to natural tree coverage, allows everyone to relax and get used to having a camera around.
Thankfully the buildings on site are a perfect background at any time of the day. The photo above was taken at nearly dusk when the light was getting dim. The light of the interior of the building adds a little bit of warmth and character to the shot which can help the shot when used correctly. The green of the ivy adds a perfect colour contrast to the subject and makes it really easy to separate the subject and the background. Below is a photo taken at the same building, just shot in the other direction and it gives you a totally different feel based on where the light is falling in the photo. The ivy also makes a perfect natural frame to place a couple in and draws your eyes right to them. The sun in the afternoon and evening also falls right between the trees just at the right angle to splash light on the background, but keep the couple in the shade just enough for the light to still be soft for that perfect portrait look.
Around the other side are some beautiful gardens for more creative portraits and some other benches in front of a brick wall which can make for a gorgeous background as well. The light is harsher on that side of the building as there are less trees, however it is still a side I would suggest giving a try.
There are a few other older buildings on the property which I would encourage anyone to look at for gorgeous photos as well. Each building has it’s own character and all of them are extremely photogenic. Perfect for just a couples shoot or even a beautiful backdrop for your wedding.
Tunnel of Trees
The next location I want to bring to everyone’s attention is the tunnel of trees. A very gorgeous section of the gardens. The tunnel is one of the more famous sections of the gardens. When you google wedding photos in the gardens it is the number one photo that comes up. There is a good reason for it as well.
The light falls softly on your subject, the trees line up perfectly creating a perfect line for your eye to follow to the couple and it creates a lot of depth. At the right angle it makes you forget you are looking at a flat 2D image.
The trees here are just across from the first building mentioned above and makes for an easy transition from just begging the shoot to when the subject is comfortable in front of the camera.
This section is perfect for posed shots like the one here, or even walking shots, family groupings and shots can be taken at two parts of the tunnel of trees. This one here was taken halfway through the tunnel closer to the fountain at the back, while others can be taken right at the front of the tunnel so the trees begin to look almost infinite and will converge in the center making a perfect leading line to the subject. One of my all time favorite locations, and one of the most popular locations on the premises for photos, for good reason in my opinion.
The Willows
The willow trees just past the tunnel of trees is one of my other all time favorite locations on the property. I find willow trees to be a very beautiful backdrop or even a beautiful addition to any frame I take. The willows when windy add a sense of direction, and when still they add a sense of calmness that I don’t think any other background element can add.
The willows also add a perfect frame which centers your eyes on the subject. There are of course many willows on the property, however my preferred spot is not too far from the tunnel of trees. There is also a little bridge next to the willows over a small stream which makes for a gorgeous location as well.
This of course is just a small portion of what you can find at the gardens. If you would like to view more of my photos at the Niagara Gardens I will be posting more photos taken at this specific location in the near future, but right now they can be found in my current galleries. If you would like to book me for a wedding please visit my Contact page to inquire and for now I hope everyone reading this has a wonderful day!
