Engagement Photos at Hidden Falls
Last Thursday night, I had the pleasure of creating Michael and Julie’s engagement photos at Hidden Falls Regional Park in St. Paul, MN. It turned out to be pretty decent weather-wise as the rain left town earlier in the day. It was on the cool side, but not to the point of being uncomfortable.
Michael & Julie at Hidden Falls.
Photography Workout
It turned out to be a night of cardio exercise too, as the entrance to the park was closed to vehicle traffic due to high water on the Mississippi River down below. We’re talking a BIG hill if you’re walking with all your photo gear! Going down the hill was no big deal, but we did have to come back up eventually.
Lightning McQueen
As I do just about every time I venture out for a portrait on location, I had Lightning McQueen all loaded up and ready to assist me in getting good lighting on Michael and Julie. The fact the I had wheels for my lighting gear made walking that steep hill better, but it definitely showed me that the long winter has me out of shape!
A quiet walk on the trail.
It’s All About Location
When we were deciding on the location for their engagement photos, Michael and Julie told me that they’d like something with a waterfall. Well, in the Twin Cities area, that usually means Minnehaha Falls. While that’s a pretty location, and certainly a great waterfall, it’s almost always crowded there. So I suggested creating their engagement portraits at Hidden Falls on the St. Paul side of the Mississippi.
Since it was getting late from a daylight standpoint, be began their engagement pictures at Hidden Falls right at the falls itself. Being way down in the river valley, it gets dark there faster than in the rest of the park. I’m glad we did because the light quality was diminishing very quickly with the heavy overcast and sunset not far away.
Michael and Julie after sunset at Hidden Falls Regional Park.
Lighting McQueen is almost solely responsible for the success of these photographs. Without those lights, these would have not looked good at all. The other factor that made these look so good was Mike’s mom, Linda. Linda was a huge help to keep Lightning from tipping over on the rough terrain around the falls. Thank you, Linda!
Behind the scenes with our custom light cart Lightning McQueen.
There’s A Movie
I’ve put together a short music video with some of my favorite images from Michael and Julie’s engagement pictures at Hidden Falls. I hope you enjoy it and hope you have a great one! – M&J