Danielle is a talented young woman with a passion for academics and fashion. She wanted some dramatic portraits near the water and also something with a lot of colors. The two spots I picked out for her were Nankin Mills and the Newburgh Lake Public Boat Launch. These two spots are on Hines Drive near Westland, Michigan. Having worked with a previous wedding client, I knew already that the boat launch location was magic at sunset.
We started at Nankin Mills. There is a great white stairway that gets shots like the one above. I added a vignette blur effect to enhance the overall aesthetic.
Here is another angle of the staircase. Danielle’s pink outfit and white staircase on this particular bright sunny day made the portrait very effective.
Danielle’s cap and gown looked great against the white walls at Nankin Mills. This was taken on a bridge nearby. Danielle was very patient as I planned out this shot, and backed out as far as I could for the maximum blurry background effect.
Danielle wearing another outfit. Choosing a red wall with some weathering made this portrait truly stand out. The way the colors worked all together was perfect!
As we headed to the boat launch we walked a pathway (hard to fund unless you know where to look) that let the sunlight in just right. Danielle wanted something with color, and I knew this was a shot worth getting. It took a few different tries, but when I finally saw it come together I was thrilled.
Using an off-camera strobe, I was able to counteract the sunset for this dramatic effect.