Last week I wrote about the importance of choosing the location for your family portrait session and highlighted the differences between a very popular location, the beach. This week we will look at the differences of a park like setting, comparing different seasons and times of day.
When you choose a piece of art for your walls, whether it be a painting or frame or tapestry, you are careful to be sure the textures, colors, and sizes will conform to your personal taste in your home. All the more reason to carefully plan the same for your custom family portraits.
“Where should we go for the photoshoot?” is always an important question when planning your experience. Ideas such as the beach or the park are wonderful, but my goal with this blog series is to show the subtle differences in common locations so that you can choose a location that works perfectly for your family photography experience.
Key questions to ask yourself:
1. Where will these portraits be displayed?
Will they be in the family room? What color is the room? What style is it? Rustic? Cottage? Industrial? The purpose behind capturing the photos should be for intentionally cultivating the relationships and preserving them through photography, but they are ultimately meant for display, so thinking about where they will be showcased is a key component.
I recently had a client execute this in the most perfect way. They have a sea glass green colored casual family room where they envisioned their family portraits to one day hang. We planned their session at the beach, earlier in the day to get the correct colors. When they received their final product order, including a series of large canvases, they blended perfectly into their room, picking up the colors from the sand and ocean, matching the walls, curtains, decorative bottles and sailboats.
2. Is there a place or activity that is special, sentimental or significant to the people that will be in the photographs?
Is your favorite family past time to go the beach? Do you spend every Sunday at the park? The boardwalk? And if so, do you want that location to have a voice in this event – or do you simply want to incorporate the colors or textures? Do you envision your children frolicking in the sand? Picking flowers? Throwing leaves?
You and your family will always be the focus and priority of the photography experience. The activities and memories shared during the session will be directly affected by the location you choose.
PART 2: THE PARK – Golden hour vs. Daytime & Fall vs. Spring/Summer
For Part 2 of this series, this week’s post will focus on the 2nd most requested locations in my area, a “park”.
The term “park” can be used loosely for a description of any location with lots of greenery. Clients often think we have to travel to a very popular destination to achieve this look, but primarily they are looking for “greenery” which may also be found in their backyard, or mine. Sometimes a park can be sentimental or offer activities for the kids, which are also very important to consider.
There are two collections of portraits below. The first collection are all portraits taken in the fall. The colors are obviously autumn toned, rich and saturated with browns and reds. A couple of the portraits were also taken at golden hour, the hour before sunset, and that contributes even more drama to the golden hues mixed within the crispy orange leaves. Black and white portraits from these session translate to darker and more dramatic contrast full of different textures and tones. I love fall portraits – they are one of my favorites to photograph. Besides the look of the final photograph, I love the crisp air, the sounds of the crunchy leaves and children throwing them from pile to pile.
The second collection shown here are all portraits taken NOT in fall. It could be spring or summer, or even winter if there are evergreens. The green colors are very present and the time of day shown here is both morning and early afternoon. Portraits from these sessions are lighter in color, and the black and white portraits are very similar to the ones in the collection above. The greens turn to very dark grey and black and offer a lot of beauitiful contrast to the final photograph. There is no limit to the time of year one can have their family portraits captured. The camera knows no temperature, in fact, most of my family portraits were all taken during cold temps at the beach or park.
Kids LOVE to explore. I find that taking them to beaches and parks helps to perk their interest in activities they can do during our time together, and time with their families. It’s almost impossible for ANY child to be expected to “sit and smile” for their portraits and I don’t encourage them to do so. Portraits are so much more engaging when they have natural expressions and movements – even if they are guided by a photographer.
To see PART 1 of this series, THE BEACH, click HERE.
To see PART 3 of this series, ANYWHERE, or SOMEWHERE SPECIAL, click HERE.
To see Part 4 of this series, THE STUDIO, click HERE.
Thanks for visiting today!
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East Coast Fine Art Lifestyle Family Portrait Photographer Angelsea Urban
Angelsea Urban is a photographer and entrepreneur helping women use their creative gifts to nourish their homes and cultivate their businesses through practical stewardship. Her unique photography work focuses on Redefining the Family Portrait Experience by telling the story of family through personalized foundations while creating a space to strengthen family bonds throughout the experience. Angelsea has helped the careers of photographers, restaurateurs, musicians and general small business owners through teaching, workshops and consulting. Her ministry work focuses on fostering creative gifts in women entrepreneurs to prioritize family and discipleship. She has photographed for families, brides, Bravo TV, NFL Films, and more and has been featured on multiple blogs and magazine print for her work in photography and in business. Angelsea teaches and photographs the United States, and resides with her husband of 17 years, their two children, and their barely 3 pound Yorkie near Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
To book your session with Angelsea Urban, please visit www.angelseaurban.com
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