Top places for Family Photography in Raleigh
As Raleigh continues it's growth, the opportunities for great family images grows with it. There are a number of sites that are great for family engagement sessions depending on what you want for your family's backdrop. Below are some of favorites.
Umstead Park
Hands down, one of my favorite places in Wake County for families.
This 6000-acre state run park has everything you need to create beautiful images - large mature trees, streams, trails, gorgeous stonework and a large lake!
While beautiful in the fall with a mind-blowing color palate, the park is equally beautiful in the warmer months with budding flowers and calming green everywhere.
Location-wise, the park is only 2 miles from I-540, a short drive from highway 70 and can be accessed from 40, making it a great location for anyone in the Triangle area.
Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest
Most people wouldn't think of the evangelical college as being a great location for family pictures. Nothing could be less true!
The campus, while small, is covered in large trees, exquisite stone work and several natural elements. Add to that, planted flowers in the spring and summer and water fountains and you've got a wonderful place for family images.
Parking is ample and offered both on and off-street.
Located in downtown Wake Forest and only a 5 minute drive from US. 1 and any of the major arteries into Wake Forest, the Seminary offers a second bonus feature - it's proximity to the downtown area. The stores downtown offer great brick work and old town charm, which can be great for some backdrops of a different kind.
Historic Oak View Park
This site is quietly tucked away on the corner of I-40 and Poole Road.
This historic farm is a great site for large families as the grounds are simply expansive.
Spring and summertime offer bright green rye grass over the rolling hill of the Pecan tree groove, making it a great time to update those family pictures.
If fall is more your style, the adjacent pond and stone bridge are surrounded by colorful trees and the cooler temps make moving around pretty bearable.
Even winter in the park is a wonderful time as the fall leaves now cover the ground rather than hanging from the trees, giving a beautiful foreground and background to your images.
Historic Yates Mill County Park
This site is a little different than the others because water becomes the dominant the backdrop.
This former milling location, which can be viewed and toured, boasts a walking trail around the outer perimeter of the 20 acre pond.
Additionally, you cross the pond via a wooden walkway, a unique feature of the park. The bridge connects to a trail that wraps through the woods surrounding the pond and gives a number of great views of the pond or offers the opportunity for images without water in them at all.
The park is a short drive from I-440/64, south of Raleigh, but well worth the visit if a water backdrop is important to you!
Other Ideas
If none of those float your boat, then take around your local area. You might find the the park up the road is actually peaceful and beautiful or that there's an area by church that really works. If you are lucky enough to know someone with a large estate or farm, you might ask if you could use their property. Farms are tremendous locations for family pictures as they offer so many varying settings - dirt paths, broom straw fields, small ponds, barns and so on.
Raleigh is a plethora of locations, with a new one right around every corner! Look around find your unique setting!
Contact me today to book your family session - (252)341-0974!
203 Cedar Key Way, Newport NC - (252) 341-0974 - Call Today