North Shore Portraits | Fashion Photoshoot

Actress and Model A’aryonna met up with me for photos on the North Shore in Pittsburgh. This area has a great backdrop of downtown Pittsburgh. It was a chilly morning but we stuck it out through the cold for some plaid-inspired fashion portraits.

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Editorial fashion portrait of Aary with a great view of Pittsburgh in the background. Nikon Z 6 | Sigma 35mm ART

We started with some photos along the walkway that passes by Pittsburgh’s Mister Rogers Statue, which is a really lovely area to visit if you are ever in Pittsburgh. It has a great vantage point of the city, which also makes for an excellent photo backdrop!

Aary North Shore Pittsburgh

Verticle portrait with a picturesque Pittsburgh cityscape backdrop. Nikon Z 6

Aary North Shore Pittsburgh

A different type of edit with more contrast, with a little more emphasis on the blue sky. Nikon Z 6

Aary North Shore Pittsburgh

In this image I switched from a Sigma 35mm ART to a Nikon 85mm G lens. This allowed me to focus more on Aary and blur the skyline a bit, however I still wanted to keep Pittsburgh’s iconic PPG tower in view. Nikon Z 6

Aary North Shore Pittsburgh

Taking the same idea from the previous photo we found a spot out on a viewing platform that jutted over the river which gave us a much closer perspective of the bridge. It’s a much more contemplative scene. Nikon Z 6

We moved further down the walkway to a viewing platform and then an alley to get some photos in the shade without the harsh sun. This little alcove is between thed Tilted Kilt and Rivertowne North Shore.

Do you have a preference for photos with a very recognizable backdrop or ones that are a little more anonymous? When you have a grand backdrop like the Steel City, it can add a lot of character and context to an image and they can seem more “in-the-moment”. On the other hand, more obscure backdrops can focus your attention on the subject more. They (the model) obviously exist in an environment, but your relation to them as a viewer is much more dependant on if you are familiar with the subject.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts. When you flip through Instagram and you see a friend in a beautiful exotic location, how do you react to it compared to a photo they take in an obscure restaurant (or any innocuous unidentifiable location)?

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