Water & Sun
Here in Canton, we have have a great park known as Water Works Park. The park is actually a chain of parks including Stadium Park, McKinley Memorial Park and City Field Park in addition to the aforementioned Water Works Park. Through this park chain there are a multitude of locations for photography. Some areas are great for fitness photography, some are great for high school senior photos and some are perfect for bridal and engagement photo shoots. The landscape of the park changes dramatically along it’s length so you should never be left wanting for a change of scenery. Along side the park runs the Nimishillen Creek, which is actually classified as a river. This sheet of running water can also serve as a backdrop for photos shot near its banks.
One of my favorite places to shoot is in an area known as the Garden Center & Children’s Garden. This area is filled with trees and all types of wonderful flowering flora, changing dramatically depending on which season you visit. A small creek runs through the gardens off to the side through a series of stone walled water falls. This is another great area to shoot along. This side of the garden also offers a lot of shade to help photographers who have a shoot scheduled in the mid-day sun.
Brides can be photographed in both the Garden Center and the Children’s Garden easily from almost any angle, although you do have to be careful in some areas since the background can be cluttered with structures. With some careful planning you should be able to work around this easily.
Place your subject on a hill and shoot up at them to convey confidence and strength.
For Business or High-School Senior portraits there is a wonderful trail that winds alongside another smaller creek on the western edge of the park. One of my favorite places here is a small waterfall with steps where you can take both standing and sitting portraits against an interesting backdrop of either water or trees. If you get there at just the right time (around 7:30-8:30 pm in the spring/summer) you can actually catch the suns light peeking through the arches of the waterfall’s bridge. The McKinley Monument, only 100 yards or so west of this point, also serves as a strong backdrop for those moments when your photo may need to convey strength or longevity. Try placing your subject’s back to the monument and shoot down the wall towards them with a shallow depth of field.
Because the park winds around with the river you should be able to move to a new location to effectively change the sun’s impact on your subject. Evenings after 5pm are best since the morning day sun rises over a row of houses instead of the trees that line the western side of the park.
Photographers in larger cities often have a ton of go-to locations for photography while those of us in slightly smaller cities really need to dig deep to find of those over looked gems. While Water Works Park is no secret, it’s not used nearly enough, in my opinion, as a backdrop in photos. In an upcoming article I’ll talk about how photogs in smaller cities can scout out promising locations that offer both easy access and unique looks.