Vickie and Bryan make it a point to have a family portrait taken almost every year, mostly for Christmas cards. But also as a formal record of how the family is growing and changing. This year, they planned to take the photos in the fall but life has a way of catching up with you, and so we didn’t get out there until December.
Vickie really wanted to have the Baltimore skyline in the background, so we decided to shoot at Federal Hill Park. Despite it being late in the season, we were surprised to see how much of the colorful fall foliage stuck around for us. Nature must have known we were running a little late.
When we arrived at the park we were greeted with the beautiful view of the Baltimore skyline we were looking for. We had a stroke of luck with some unseasonably warm weather. Although a lot of trees were barren by this point, there was still so much vibrant yellow and red around, it made for an incredibly picturesque setting.
Their son and daughter are basically pros when it comes to portrait sessions. They’re cooperative, follow directions so well, and most importantly, they’re not afraid to bring their own personalities to the photos, which make the whole experience a lot more fun for everyone.
We started the session with a few shots of the whole family together to get warmed up. Then, we focused a bit on the kids. We also wanted to capture a few shots of Vickie and Bryan on their own. They were a bit hesitant at first — as parents tend to be — but with the help of their kids, we were able to coax them into a few poses.
As the sun started to set, we made our way around the park, capturing quite a lot of variety. We were able to get some beautiful shots of the family in front of the colorful trees, and we finished off the session with a few different versions of the image with the Baltimore skyline in the background.
The session was a real success and produced some of my favorite shots with this family to date. Despite the late scheduling, we had shockingly good conditions for a session. Given the priorities, Federal Hill Park was the perfect location. Genuinely can’t wait until next time.
