Quebec City is one of the few destinations I photograph where every season is genuinely photogenic and each one is distinctly different. Summer gives the European cafe city. Autumn gives the foliage on the Plains of Abraham. Winter gives the snow on the stone. Spring gives the mud season that I recommend avoiding, and then the blooms from late May onward. My recommendation depends on what kind of visual story a couple wants, not on a universal best season.

Couple in elopement attire in Old Quebec City in late autumn with the foliage turning on the nearby trees and the stone of the fortification walls and the streets creating the setting — Autumn in Quebec City: the maple canopy on the Plains of Abraham and the Governors Garden turns through October and into early November. The stone of the city reads differently against the gold and red of the leaves.

Winter and Carnaval

I photograph Quebec City in winter more than any other Canadian city winter, because the snow transforms the stone architecture in a way that is genuinely extraordinary. The Chateau Frontenac with snow on the copper roof, the cobblestone streets of Petit-Champlain with frost on the stone walls, the Dufferin Terrace with the river frozen below and the hills of the south shore white in the distance. The February Carnaval season adds the ice palace on the Plains and the crowds that come with it, which I avoid by scheduling sessions very early in the morning before the Carnaval events begin.

Couple in winter elopement attire in Old Quebec City with the snow-covered cobblestone street of Petit-Champlain and the frost on the stone facades of the historic Lower Town buildings — Petit-Champlain in January: the cobblestone is dusted with snow and the street is genuinely empty. This is one of the most atmospheric street conditions I photograph anywhere in Canada.

Summer and the Morning Window

Summer is the season when Quebec City gets the most attention and the most visitors. The Dufferin Terrace from July through September is impassable with tour groups after nine. The advantage of summer is the light, which is warm and clear early in the morning and again in the hour before sunset over the river. I use the summer season strictly with early starts. Six-thirty on the Terrace, seven through the Petit-Champlain, done with the Old Town before the crowd turns the location from photogenic to congested. Summer couples who insist on sleeping in do not get the Quebec City I am describing.

Couple on the Dufferin Terrace in Quebec City in the summer morning light before the tourist crowds arrive with the Chateau Frontenac rising above and the St. Lawrence River far below — Summer on the Dufferin Terrace at six-thirty: the boardwalk is empty, the morning light is warm, and the Chateau above holds the colour of the sunrise. This is what is available before the tour groups arrive.

Arman

Destination Wedding Photographer

Vancouver · Medellín · Worldwide

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