Last fall, I had an amazing family session at the park with Ana and Matt and their two boys Gus and Lincoln. Why am I just posting about it now? Well, I’ll summarize: I shoot on average about 25 sessions per month between the studio and outdoor locations. I typically only blog 2-3 sessions per week, AND I write my blog posts months in advance and schedule them for automatic posting. So….sometimes you see sessions from 6+ months ago because they’re in a long line of scheduled posts!
I first worked with Ana and Matt when they just had Gus at the same park, but in a different location within it. If you’d like to see the photos from that session and how much Gus has grown up since then, just click here! As a note, I have a LOT of families choose the park as their location every year, and every session always looks different since I just switch up which area we go to!
I met the family the hour before sunset and we took advantage of the beautiful golden light. Family sessions are a variety of images: I will photograph your entire family together, the two of you together, your child(ren) individually and together, and each parent with each/all child(ren). One of the best things about this session w as photographing Gus and Lincoln hugging and loving each other. There is nothing sweeter than brotherly love - and it’s clear that the two of them absolutely adore each other!
It is SO special to be part of photographing these special and intimate moments at crucial points in life as your children are growing up. I can’t stop time or keep them little for you, but I can give you photographs of them at the special stages so you always remember every little detail.
Fall Family Sessions in Atlanta
In the fall, when it's finally starting to cool down a bit here in Atlanta, I really love photographing at the park for family sessions because of all the beautiful trees and the gorgeous light. It’s a pretty equal split between the field and the park locations for families in terms of popularity. The park is located intown, and the field is about 25 minutes away from my studio OTP. ALL outdoor sessions begin approximately one hour before sunset year round! This is an important factor to consider when planning your session because if you have children who need to go to bed on the earlier side, I suggest scheduling AFTER daylight savings time rather than before! When you call the studio, we’ll go over all this information with you to help you make the best decision for your family. “Fall” sessions here in Atlanta sometimes go allllll the way into December around here, since it can take until mid December for all the leaves to fall off the trees sometimes!
Light is my TOP consideration for the locations I have available to you to choose from for your session - I want to make sure we’re going to have gorgeous images regardless of whether it’s sunny or overcast. Please be aware that I do NOT shoot at Piedmont Park. The number one reason that I hear from people who initially ask if I go to Piedmont Park is because they “want the Atlanta skyline in the background”. Here’s my honest and possibly unpopular opinion: Piedmont Park for sessions is cliche, overrated, overdone, and crowded. It’s also difficult to get to areas within it, and a pain in the butt to find parking. And that skyline shot? Expect to wait in a long line to get in position for it and have dozens of people staring at you while we frantically try to get it as quickly as possible so everyone else can have their turn too. I might just be guessing here, but I’m pretty sure you’d feel super awkward with a bunch of strangers staring at you waiting for you to hurry up and move, AND your little ones are going to be pretty distracted to boot. PS: I feel the exact same way about Roswell Mill as a location which is another place I won’t photograph sessions at. Just because “everybody else goes there” does not mean it’s the best choice. ;) Let’s dare to be different and make YOU the focal point in your photographs!
In summary: I’m NOT your photographer if having a “skyline background” is your primary goal for your photos. Ultimately, my focus is on your family and the emotional connection between all of you. Emotional connection is at the heart of what I do and how I run my sessions, so if a prospective inquiry is more concerned about having a specific building in the background instead of focused on the people in the photo, I know that we aren’t a good fit for each other from that! If you want beautiful images of your family that showcase each member’s personality while loving each other while having fun and all the sweet little moments that happen during that, I’m definitely what you’re looking for!
Enjoy some of my favorites from this sweet family’s session at the park!
Let’s capture your family just as the way you are at this point in your lives, before the years completely slip away and you find yourself helping them pack their bags for college. Contact us and we’ll chat about your session goals, your vision, and our approach to see if we’re the perfect fit for your family!
If you're expecting a baby or already a parent and looking for a newborn, maternity, or family photographer, I would love to work with you to create images that you will love for a lifetime. Watch this video to hear about my philosophy and see how I work in the studio so you can determine if I'm the right fit for you. I can't wait to meet you!
Lily Sophia Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, and family photography in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas.
