Mom and son hugging in front of colorful mural during a Gowanus family portrait session
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A Gowanus Family Portrait

ByKelly Williams, Photographer

I have a short and sweet blog this week sharing photos of Anna’s Gowanus family portrait session. While I am not normally a fan of starting a family portrait at a playground, the Gowanus neighborhood in Brooklyn does not have a lot of photogenic locations in the traditional sense. Despite this aesthetic challenge, Anna’s session produced some fantastic photos, and I have all the details for you today.

 

Meet Anna and Her Son

Mom and son hugging in front of house during a Gowanus family portrait session

I had the pleasure of photographing Anna and her son two years ago after they had just moved into their Brooklyn apartment. It was a fun session, filled with pancakes and toy trains. The photo of Anna and her son in matching jammies was my favorite shot of the day.

 

The Ennis Playground

Mom and son in front of fence during a Gowanus family portrait session

For this year’s portrait we decided to start down the street at the Ennis Playground. This is one of the city’s newest playgrounds, and it has all the fancy jungle gym equipment a child could ever want. In addition, there are fountains and some lovely plants. That said, there are also ugly gates surrounding the plants, and on our visit, there was trash everywhere thanks to someone’s party the night before. No matter, we made great use of the swings, slide, and climbing apparatuses.

I began the session on a bench off to the side of the park. I didn’t want Anna’s son to get too excited about the playground, so I held off on the playground proper as a reward for the photo session.

 

Colorful Murals as Backdrops

Little boy making crab face in front of colorful sea life mural

After taking photos on the bench, we moved across the street to a fun mural I found during my venue check of the area. The sea life motif gave Anna and her son the chance to do their best baby shark impression. Check out Anna’s son with his best crab face! If you are in the area and are looking for another beautiful mural as a background, I might recommend the abstract mural on the front of the Lowe’s building at the corner of 11th Street and 2nd Avenue.

 

Full Stop Playground

Little boy sliding down slide in Ennis Playground

After the mural shots, we hit the playground hardcore. We started on the slides and then moved over to the swings. We ended the playground session with some walks across a tiny patch of Astroturf. ‘Make do with what the Lord gives you, no matter how tiny the patch of green,’ I always say.

 

Gowanus Neighborhood Photos

Mother and son walking down Brooklyn sidewalk holding hands

Anna and her son live nearby, so the final part of their Gowanus family portrait session involved walking back to their apartment and taking some local shots along the way. Anna also needed a good photo for her social media profile, so of course we took care of that as well.

Finally, we took photos on their apartment stoop for one last solid family portrait – this time with plenty of pumpkin.

Mother and son sitting on steps with small pumpkin

It was a great session, and I am looking forward to photographing Anna and her son next year when hopefully masks will not be required. Enjoy the photos, and I’ll have more family memories for you next week.

Thinking about scheduling a family portrait session for the holidays? Now is the time before it gets too cold outside. Drop me a line, and let’s chat about your photography needs!

If you would like to see more images from my family portrait portfolio, then please visit my website — KellyWilliamsPhotographer.com

Mother and son playing shark in front of colorful mural Boy standing in front of colorful mural in GowanusLittle boy making funny face during a Gowanus family portrait session Little boy playing shark in front of ocean life mural Little boy looking through green tunnel during a Gowanus family portrait session Mother and son playing on jungle gym during a Gowanus family portrait session Little boy raising fist during a Gowanus family portrait sessionMother helping son climb jungle gym during a Gowanus family portrait session Mother and son on swings during a Gowanus family portrait session Boy pushing mother in swing during a Gowanus family portrait session Mother and boy at swingset during a Gowanus family portrait session Mother standing over boy on swings during a Gowanus family portrait sessionMother catching boy going down slide at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Mother swinging boy by the arms at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Mother going down slide at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Mother watching boy climb on jungle bym at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Mother helping boy climb at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Mother helping boy hold on to jungle gym at an Ennis Playground family portrait sessionBoy looking through jungle gym bars at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Boy holding onto railing at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Mother and son playing with closed fists at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Boy hugging mother at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Young boy dancing at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Boy wearing colored strip shirt at an Ennis Playground family portrait sessionBoy wearing colored strip shirt at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Boy wearing colored strip shirt at an Ennis Playground family portrait session Mother and son holding hands and walking during a Gowanus family portrait session Boy laughing while holding mother's hand during a Gowanus family portrait session Boy hugging woman with long brown hair Boy kissing mother on the cheek Mother holding boy during a Gowanus family portrait session Woman wearing black dress standing in front of black fence Boy kissing mother on the cheek

Hi! My name is Kelly Williams, and I am a San Antonio wedding and family photographer. I love telling the story of someone’s love, life, and happiness in one frame.

I proudly call San Antonio home, but I have lived in NYC for the past 21 years.

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