Family Portraits at Shoup Park In Los Altos – Are Neighborhood Parks Good Locations For Family Portraits?
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When Scheduling Family Portraits, one of the first things to consider is the location. In general, parks make for good locations for family portraits. However, there are a few things to consider when scheduling family portraits at a neighborhood park. Here are some images from family portraits at Shoup Park in Los Altos. As well as four things to consider when taking pictures at a neighborhood park.
Good Lighting Requires Trees And A Lot Of Open Shade
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One of the first things to consider when scheduling family portraits at a neighborhood park, is the lighting. If there are plenty of trees and open shade, this makes for soft flattering lighting. For Sarita’s family family portraits at Shoup Park in Los Altos, it was a very overcast day. Overcast days are one of my favorite lighting conditions to shoot in because it creates soft lighting as well. Other times of the day that create similar lighting would be in the early mornings and as the sun is setting (also referred to as “Golden Hour“).
Easy Access And Parking
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Another thing to think about is how busy the park is and if it is easy to access. Often times, neighborhood parks can be difficult to access and there is limited or no parking. Shoup Park had plenty of parking and was relatively easy to find. Since this was my first time at this location, that made things really easy for me 😉
How Busy Is The Park?
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Another thing to consider when scheduling family portraits at a neighborhood park is how bust the park is. Especially on the weekend. On the weekend, neighborhood parks tend to get busy with sporting events, birthday parties, etc. If this is the case, I would avoid scheduling family portraits in the late morning or early afternoon. The safest bet is to schedule the session first thing in the morning.
Are There Multiple Different Backgrounds/Areas To Take Pictures At?
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Last but not least, it is important that there are at least 3 or 4 areas where pictures can be taken. This is especially the case for sessions that last 60 minutes. For a 60 minute session, I typically will take poses in up to 4 or 5 different areas. Parks with just 1 or 2 good locations for photos may only be recommended for sessions that are 30 minutes. The great thing about Shoup Park is that there are enough locations within the park to shoot a 30 or 60 minute session. At the time of Sarita’s session, there were not too many people at the park and so this made it even easier to move around.
Hopefully this article has been helpful for planning your next family portrait session. Thanks!
