Happy Labor Day, everyone! I hope you all are enjoying a relaxing weekend with friends and family. In keeping with the feel of the holiday, I thought I might share with you a recent Forest Hills family portrait session here in my own backyard.
Please meet Anisa, husband Aldo, and their precious little one, Aaron. Anisa is a neighbor from Kew Gardens and I am always happy to keep my shoots a local – not just out of love for the neighborhood, but also because of how the subway system is making it near impossible to get anywhere in a timely manner these days.
But I digress. If you live in my neck of the woods, the obvious location choice for a family portrait is Forest Park. Other excellent options might include any of the private parks in Forest Hills Gardens, Elmhurst Park, Juniper Valley Park, or even a hike over to Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
One local spot where I would love to stage a portrait session is the Willow Lake Preserve Trail, located at the very southern edge of Willow Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. This natural habitat is little more than a pathway through some very dense grass, but the area is completely wild and the closest part of Flushing Meadows to Forest Hills. In case you were curious, the entrance to the park is reachable at the corner of 72nd Road and Grand Central Parkway.
Like all of my photo shoots, the emphasis of this portrait session was on fun activities that showed Anisa and her family as they really are. We started with photos of Aaron alone. As you know from my previous blog on baby portrait tips, it is always best to get your most important photos in the bank first. Aaron lasted the entire hour, but he – like all talent – got a bit fussy at the end, so I was glad to have taken these photos when Aaron was at his happiest.
The weather for the portrait session was great, but since we booked the photo shoot for just after Aaron’s naptime at 1:30 p.m., this meant harsh overhead sun. Thankfully, Forest Park provides lots of shade. Our session focused on the outskirts of the park where most of the trees are located.
Anisa and her family looked great for the session, with coordinating colors that weren’t too matchy-matchy. I should note that Anisa sent me quite an extensive Pinterest board ahead of the shoot that I found immensely helpful. It is always great to be working from the same visual cues, and a Pinterest board is the easiest method to share your vision with your photographer.
Enjoy the photos as you spend time with your own family this weekend! I’m off to Coney Island today to soak up the last rays of summer, and I’ll have another Forest Hills family portrait to share with you later this week. In the meantime, check out my Pinterest site if you would like to see what I pinned this month (spoiler alert: lots of photos of Cambodia!).
Helpful link:
If you would like to see more images from my family portrait portfolio, then please visit my website – KellyWilliamsPhotographer.com.
