Vancouver Photoshoots

Locations

Where to shoot in Vancouver

Stanley Park is the obvious one and far bigger than most visitors expect. The seawall runs the whole way round, with the downtown towers on one side, the Lions Gate Bridge at the north end and old-growth forest in the middle.

Gastown gives you the other Vancouver — brick, cobbles, iron lamp posts and the steam clock. It is a few blocks, it photographs best on an overcast day, and the wet cobbles after rain are a feature rather than a problem.

English Bay and Sunset Beach face west, which makes them the obvious choice for the end of the day, with freighters sitting out on the water.

Queen Elizabeth Park sits on high ground south of downtown and gives you the full skyline with the mountains behind it, plus formal gardens for close work.

Kitsilano Beach looks back across the water at the city and is the warmer, looser alternative to the downtown locations.

Lynn Canyon on the North Shore is free, forested and dramatic, and it is the realistic alternative to the ticketed suspension bridge nearby.

Timing

Work around the rain, not against it

Vancouver is wet from roughly October through March. That is not the obstacle it sounds like — overcast light is soft, even and extremely good for portraits, and Gastown in particular looks better in it than in hard sun.

Cherry blossom is the city's best-kept photographic secret. Vancouver has tens of thousands of ornamental cherry trees and they come out from late March into April, with whole residential streets turning pink.

Summer is dry, bright and long, with sunsets after nine in June. Autumn colour runs through October in Stanley Park and Queen Elizabeth Park.

The mountains are frequently in cloud. Any shoot built around a clear North Shore backdrop needs a fallback, and we plan one.

What to wear

Layers, and something that can get wet

The temperature swing between a shaded forest trail and an exposed beach is larger than the forecast suggests, and the sea breeze is constant.

Against the greens and greys that dominate here, warm colour stands out — rust, mustard, deep red. Head-to-toe black disappears into Stanley Park entirely.

If rain is forecast, bring it into the plan rather than fighting it. A coat and an umbrella in Gastown make a better picture than a cancelled session.

Before you go

Practical notes

Stanley Park, the seawall, English Bay, Kitsilano and Queen Elizabeth Park are all public and open. The seawall is shared with cyclists and gets genuinely busy in summer; early mornings are calmer and better lit.

The Capilano Suspension Bridge is privately operated and ticketed, with its own rules on photography. Lynn Canyon nearby is free and open, which is usually the better call.

Vancouver's parks can require a permit for commercial photography depending on the size and nature of the shoot. We check what yours needs before confirming.

Arranging it

How a Vancouver shoot gets booked

Vancouver shoots are arranged directly with our team rather than booked online. Tell us your dates, how many of you there are and whether you want the park, the city or the water, and we will confirm what can be arranged and what it will cost.

If you are coming for cherry blossom, book early and keep the dates flexible. The bloom moves by a week or two each year.