For a few short days in the spring High Park and it’s Cherry Blossoms are the place to be for engagement photos in Toronto. Truthfully, there is no where more beautiful in the city to photograph during the early spring as the drab nature that the end of winter has to offer is broken up by this incredible explosion of flowers during Sakura.
Winter has passed, spring is on the doorstep, and the place everyone starts to think about for their engagement photos is High Park. I love taking pictures there during this time of year and making the most of the beautiful trees but I want to highlight a few of the challenges one faces when wanting to capture such beauty.
Crowds
Where there is an event, people will gather. This is certainly an event and the amount of people in the park during this time is impressive. There is no parking allowed in the park during the Cherry Blossom Festival so you’ll have to take the bus or park elsewhere and walk in… Or Uber. Once in the park finding a tree that isn’t surrounded by people is a feat to itself so capturing an area or space without extra visitors takes a creative angle or some skilled planning.
Be Flexible
I have a selection of photos in this post from photo sessions over the years, some where the flowers are in full bloom, some only a partial bloom. It is a natural event and it is unpredictable. The flowers require warm weather to open and if that doesn’t happen, the flowers will wait. So planning the day has to have an element of flexibility.
Go Early
What we’ve found over the years and try to do with all of our clients who want Cherry Blossom photos is to get to the park early in the morning. By early I mean you should be walking into the park while it is still dawn. If the sun is up you’re probably too late. Get into the park for the first light of the day and you have the best chance of having clear views, open areas and full creativity to capture beautiful blossoms. The fun is it will be chilly, and probably damp, which is what we call putting in effort for your photos. The best spots in the world always come with some negative. They are the best for the reason which is why so many people want to see them. Allow for flexibility for weather, people, timing and temperature and you’ll have the best chance of getting great cherry blossom engagement photos.
We LOVE this time of year, we love the challenge, we love the effort it takes to get great photos and we would love to do it with you. 
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