Family Photos in Echo Lake State Park
Richmond is blessed with a plethora of beautiful green spaces. With the river running through the middle of the city, it’s hard to throw a rock within the city limits without hitting some kind of park. But when you’ve hired me as many times as the Gray family has, finding a place where we haven’t taken family photos before can be a challenge.
It’s a fun challenge, though. If I can’t convince you to stay home and let me come to you, then I’ll do my best to find a spot that is relatively close to you, so you aren’t in the car for 30 minutes before we meet. I pull out my handy Google Maps and look near your neighborhood for parks that look interesting and don’t just have a big distraction playground for the kids.
That’s how I found Echo Lake State Park in Glen Allen. It was relatively close for this family, and we’d never been there before as a group. I scouted the park to make sure it was accessible and safe, and see if there were any spots we needed to avoid. Like a playground. (I have nothing against playgrounds. But I like to save them for the end unless you want all of your photos at the playground.) I didn’t tour the whole park ahead of time, because I like to be surprised and use the unknown to help power our session together. Exploring is part of the fun of a session, and adds an element of drama when we find something together.
I sent the Grays some photos of what I found when I scouted Echo Lake Park, to help them visualize what we were getting into, and then the day of our session, we really explored the whole place together. We hit the trails, found our own little nooks for fun family photos, and let everyone be themselves in a new place.
Thank you, Gray family, for a lovely (albeit freezing cold and gloomy) jaunt through the woods in November. I love catching up with you every year!
Want to explore new (to you) locations around Richmond with your family, and have me document your fun? Check out some of my favorite fall locations, which also (mostly) double as excellent winter, spring, and summer locations.
Want to schedule your own family photos at Echo Lake Park?