Venice Canals Engagement Photo Shoot

I’ve told you in a previous blog post everything you need to know to take the best engagement photos along the Venice Canals. In today’s post I am putting that advice into action. Meet Clara and Andrew, whose delightful Venice Canals engagement shoot I’m sharing today, with photos and behind-the-scenes details.

Meet Clara and Andrew

Living nearby in Playa del Rey, Clara and Andrew are huge fans of relaxing by the water. It only made sense that they would jump at the chance for an engagement shoot along the nearby Venice Canals. While they will be getting married next July at a winery in Temecula, they wanted to take some fun photos in the city beforehand.

So how did these two meet? The answer is they met cute, of course. I’ll let Clara tell their love story: “We met as counselors at a summer camp in 2018. The jury is still out on who exactly made the first move, but we found ourselves curious enough about each other until we went on our first date at the aquarium! We both happened to attend UCLA for undergrad, and spent our final two years there together.”

Two years turned into the present day, and Andrew proposed to Clara while on a romantic trip to Hawaii just as the sun was setting over the water.

Venice Canals Engagement Photo Shoot: Our Route

For Clara and Andrew’s Venice Canals engagement photo shoot, we started at the beach access pass. I had the couple meet me here, at the corner of Strongs Drive and 25th Avenue, so that we could walk onto the canals together. This is going to be your easiest and most photogenic point of entry for the canals. However, it is also going to be your busiest. During our photo shoot, this is where we encountered the most other visitors (more about the crowds later).

Nevertheless, we started here with some walking shots along the paths. I always start my photo shoots with some basic walking shots in order to get the nerves out. From here we attempted to take some shots along the main bridge, although the crowds made this a bit difficult. We walked down to the second bridge and then made our way over to the Dell Avenue bridge.

The Dell Avenue Bridge is a fantastic spot for photos. If you are going to be shooting in the afternoon, you will encounter the issue that certain parts of the canal will be simply too brightly lit, while other sides of the canals will be in too much shade. Since the Dell Avenue Bridge is directly between the canals, this area offers a good balance of light and shade before sunset. Take care, and watch out for oncoming traffic. This is a very busy point for local drivers wanting to get home in a hurry.

From here, we walked down along the canal and looped back around to the main bridge. Now, with fewer tourists in the area, we were able to take more photos.

Venice Canals Engagement Photo Shoot: The Crowd Situation

My photo shoot with Clara and Andrew was on a Friday afternoon starting at 5:00 p.m., since sunset was just before 7:00 p.m. The crowd situation at that time was moderate. You would be better off if you schedule your session during a weekday, and even better if you choose a weekday morning just after sunrise. Remember that the canal pathways are quite narrow. This means that you are likely also going to have other people in the background of your shot. Case in point, here are the walking shots I initially took of Clara and Andrew.

Woman wearing long yellow dress walking hand-in-hand with man wearing blue and white patterned shirt along pathway beside canal with house in background during a Venice Canals engagement photo shoot — With Photoshop

And here are the shots with people removed in post.

Outdoor photo shoots always require patience, especially in very popular locations. The Venice Canals are a public attraction and, more importantly, a residential neighborhood, so remember that this is not a private film set. Respect is paramount. The key is to know when to wait and when to move on so the shoot keeps its momentum.

Venice Canals Engagement Photo Shoot: Tricky Lighting

As I mentioned earlier, the lighting situation along the Venice Canals can be quite challenging. One side of the canals will invariably be too bright, while the other side will be in deep shade. It’s just a matter of balancing your timing.

Shooting as close to golden hour, whether just after sunrise or just before sunset, as possible is the sweet spot for cutting down the harshness of the overhead sun. One of the main issues with taking photos along the Venice Canals is that there are no trees or any other overhead objects to mitigate the sun. As such you are fighting full sun and need to wait until the sun goes down as low as possible.

Venice Canals Engagement Photo Shoot: Save Time for Venice Beach

My only regret with this photo shoot is that we did not have enough light during our Venice segment of the session. Photos along the beach and boardwalk in Venice can be stunning. If you have seen the photos from the recent sunsets we have had here in California thanks to the nearby storms then you know what is possible in the area. But, because Clara, Andrew and I were soaking up all the golden hour light along the canals, it took us longer than expected to walk over to Venice.

Still, the photos in Venice proper turned out spectacular. I especially like the photos along the colonnade and in front of the Venice sign. Venice has a lot of character, as evidenced by these photos.

Final Thoughts

The Venice Canals are a beautiful backdrop for a photo shoot of any type. And just a reminder, you do not need a photo permit to shoot here since it technically is a neighborhood! It has all the charm of Europe, and yet is right next door to Venice Beach. If you time it right, you can get the best of both worlds in your photo shoot.

There are some challenges you need to overcome: schedule your session to avoid the crowds, and be on the alert for harsh overhead sun. Other than that, all the romance you could ever want awaits you just a short ride away from downtown.

Enjoy the images, and I’ll have more photo adventures for you in next week’s blog post!

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If you found this article on my recent Venice Canals engagement photo shoot useful, then check out these related posts:

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To view more images from my portfolio, please visit my website – KellyWilliamsPhotographer.com