Scarborough Bluffs

The Bluffs are one of the few places in Toronto where I can promise a couple their photos will not look like the city. I almost always shoot from Bluffer's Park at lake level rather than the clifftop parks. The drive down Brimley Road ends at a big paid lot, with the white clay cliffs rising behind the beach.

Sunrise is my favourite window here. I ask couples to meet me about 25 minutes before the sun comes up, early enough to claim the spit of beach at the east end of the park. The sun clears the water first. A few minutes later the cliffs catch it, going from blue to peach to fully lit in about fifteen minutes, and that little gap is where the best frames live. Sunset works too. The beach faces west, so golden light pours onto the sand at the end of the day.

A few honest notes. Getting down to the beach involves steep inclines, so wear shoes you can walk in and save the formal pair for the sand. The strongest images happen right at the waterline, where the sand is soft and damp, so I pack a microfibre towel for the couple's shoes. No permit is needed, parking is paid in season, and at sunrise the lot is nearly empty. I book this spot from spring through fall. If you want destination beach and cliff photos without leaving Toronto, and you do not mind a bit of a hike, this is the place.