You don’t need to travel far for a desert-style session. In Şile, just behind Sofular Beach, sand dunes offer a desert landscape within Istanbul: dunes shaped by the wind, golden sand reaching to the horizon, and the Black Sea suddenly appearing beyond the crest.
These dunes are said to have hosted the desert scenes of some films from the Yeşilçam era of Turkish cinema. Today the same landscape is a unique backdrop for couples looking for cinematic, timeless photographs.
On the dunes
We begin on the dunes. A clear sky, endless sand and the two of you: this simplicity turns the photographs into something close to a film scene. A gown and veil moving in the wind, footprints side by side in the sand, two small silhouettes on the crest… The endlessness of the desert gives some of the most striking photographs of your story.
On the Black Sea shore
Right behind the dunes lies the Black Sea. In the second half of the session we head down to the shore: walks along the waves, a gown swept by the wind and a wide sandy beach. So in a single session you capture two different atmospheres: the warm, golden tones of the desert and the cool, calm blue of the sea.
Highlights
- A real desert atmosphere without leaving Istanbul
- Two landscapes in one session: golden dunes and the Black Sea shore
- Cinematic photographs with the gown and veil moving in the wind
- Simple, timeless compositions that work beautifully in colour and in black and white
Photographer’s note
Sofular is about an hour from the city centre; we plan the journey and the timing together. We recommend bringing flat, comfortable shoes so you can move easily on the sand. There is rarely a shortage of wind on the coast, which lets us capture the gown and veil at their most beautiful. See our packages, and for timing, our article on how long a wedding photoshoot takes.
