Outdoor Family Photography Sessions in Parks
If you’ve ever been lucky enough to commission a piece of artwork for your home, I imagine you thought long and hard about how you wanted it to look before you set your chosen artist to work.
Of course your first thought will have been of the subject; a person, a building, a view, or a much-loved pet perhaps? Then you’ll have considered the scene around your subject, like the time of year and the colours in the background. Finally, you’ll have thought about how those two things fit together in the aesthetic of the room your artwork will be placed in.
When we have our initial chat about your family portrait session, we’ll go through much the same process.
From experience, the subject of what we’ll shoot is easy - your family! I’ll ask how you envisage your photos being displayed, perhaps in a cherished album or adorning the walls of your family’s living area so you can look at them every day.
But choosing a location for your family photography session can feel trickier, as the possibilities are endless!
As a Mum, my advice if you don’t have a specific place in mind is to keep it simple. Don’t worry about finding a spot where you think the light might be perfect or the flower beds in full bloom. Don’t put pressure on yourself to get the garden finished so you can have photos taken at home.
Look to the places where your children are free to be themselves, feel safe in a familiar environment and where, quite honestly, they’ve probably spent a lot of time in: like your local park.
With that in mind, here are my 10 reasons to have an outdoor family portrait photography session in your local park:
1. A sense of place
Chances are that as the parents of young children, you’ve spent a lot of time at your local playground? From killing an hour before bedtime in summer, to burning off steam with friends after school, or wandering the paths with a pram during maternity leave; your local park is likely to be somewhere you’ve spent considerable time as a family.
Using it as a backdrop for your family portrait session will create a real sense of place for your photos. It will tie them in to your locality, and record the memories in a place which meant so much to your family when your children were young.
2. An outdoor place
Where possible I always try to shoot family portrait sessions in the great outdoors. Why? Well for starters there is the natural light which suits my film portraiture style to a tee. But there’s also the fact that children love to be outside, so having a space to play and explore means I can take candid photos which don’t feel staged. And then of course there is the fact that parks are...
3. A seasonal place
Your local park is a year-round destination. It’s always open and a place to play in all weathers.
This allows for seasonality in the details and background of your family photos: your child stopping to smell the flowers or licking their ice cream on a warm summer’s day; park borders filled with daffodils and tulips in spring; fallen leaves to crunch through and conkers to find on the park paths in autumn; and a snowy, icy wonderland in winter.
4. A place to play
Playing children are happy children and happy children are a joy to photograph! Whether they’re whizzing down a slide, holding tight to the monkey bars, or simply having the space to run and roam free, your local park has all the ingredients to make for wonderful action shots as your children enjoy a place to play during your family’s portrait session.
5. A free place
Of course, another great benefit of having a family photo shoot in a park near you is that it’s completely free.
As a parent I feel passionately about getting children into nature as much as possible and the many beautiful, entirely free parks we have in the UK ensure these open spaces in the outdoors are accessible to all.
As a photographer, this also means my clients are saved an additional cost on their family photo shoot and if we have to reschedule for any reason, there has been no outlay for the shoot setting.
6. A familiar place
The familiarity of your local park will mean we can get the best out of our time photographing you there. Your kids will be at home and know the space and you’ll know how they use it. The park you choose might be close to where you live, so you can come on foot and dive home if you’ve forgotten anything. You’ll also know all the “best bits” – like where your favourite bench is and your child’s favourite tree to climb.
7. An easy place
By their very nature, local parks are an easy place for a family portrait session. They’re (usually) accessible, with parking nearby and paths for pushchairs. They’re often contained – so children can play safely. There can be facilities close at hand if you need to grab emergency snacks or to take a toddler to the bathroom. And regardless of how many times they’ve been before, children don’t seem to ever get bored of their local park.
8. A place for all ages
Whatever the age of your children, most parks have an activity that will keep them entertained while you have your candid photographs taken.
Pre-walkers can be tricky to photograph on their own outdoors unless they’ll sit unaided on a picnic blanket. But put them in a swing and hey presto!
Older kids who are too cool for the play equipment might like to kick a ball around or do cartwheels on the grass. While park benches are an ideal spot to create portraits of your whole gang together.
9. A place for your dog too
Finally, if you have a family dog that you’d love to have included in your photos, then having your family photo shoot in a local park might be just the place.
Like your kids, it’s likely to be a familiar environment for your dog, meaning you can all relax and have photos taken in a space where everyone feels at ease and at home.
10. A place for nature
What’s lovely about shooting a family photo session in your local park is that it allows for those interactions with nature you might not get in other settings.
Your child climbing a tree or feeding the ducks; finding a ladybird or a dandelion to blow; or chasing the pigeons and squirrels! Photographing in this kind of environment allows for those spontaneous moments which record the true wonder young children find in the most beautiful, everyday things.
Tempted to have your family photography shoot in a park? Here are five of my best parks in Cheshire for a family portrait session:
Marbury Country Park - a play area, acres of woodland and even an outdoor pool make this Cheshire park a superb backdrop for photos.
Alexandra Park - this Hoole park just outside Chester has an excellent play area for kids and a tree-lined path which is beautiful year-round. It’s also in walking distance of some excellent cake shops!
Walton Hall Gardens - with its epic play area, wooden bridges and free zoo (yes you read that right) – there’s plenty of scope at Walton Hall Gardens to get photos of your family enjoying time together in the outdoors.
Christleton Park - this small park is tucked away next to Christleton Cricket Club. It’s one of my favourites for family photo shoots near Chester because in a small area there are multiple backdrops: a play park, fields with public paths, a secret wildflower meadow and a scenic duck pond.
Bunbury Park - Bunbury’s playground is a great spot for photos, because not only is it superb for kids, but it also looks great. Making attractive play equipment is no easy feat, but somehow the designers of this village play area have nailed it. Plus, there’s always the carrot to dangle of cake at Tilly’s after the photos are taken!
Whether you choose your local park or somewhere entirely different, I’d love to hear your ideas for your bespoke family photography session! Drop me an email to arrange a chat.
