War Memorial Park--A Versatile Location
When I first started photographing families, I thought that most people from around here would already know where they wanted to have their photos done. They've lived here all or most of their lives, right? I didn't grow up around here--not even close--so I really had no clue where any good locations were. Surely local families would have some suggestions or at least an idea of where they'd like to have their photos done? Wrong. So. Wrong. Every single person I've ever photographed has wanted location suggestions, whether they're from around here or not. Whether they've had family photos done in the past or not. Now, I'm a firm believer that you don't need a big, fancy location for your photos. The most important factor for your photos is truly the connections you make with your family in front of the camera, plus some good light. But, clients wanted suggestions so I started exploring local parks, beaches, trails and Trustees Locations (these are a blast to explore any time--check them out!) with my kids to find some places that I thought would make great locations for photo shoots, and compiled a list. One spot that I discovered was War Memorial Park in West Bridgewater, and it's been on my list for clients ever since. It is, in fact, very popular with photographers all over this area, and here are a few reasons why: This park is the perfect size --not too big and not too small. Even when there are a lot of shoots going on at the same time, you can find a little spot to use, and even bounce around a bit if you notice another photographer and family are done with a particular setting. If it's not a busy day, you can make use of the entire park and all of the fun little spots it has for great photos. It really does have a little bit of everything: flowering trees, stone bridges, stone walls, wooden bridges, a small covered bridge (no, really), a river, a pond, a tunnel, stone benches, a well, little dirt paths... there are so many places to set up nice photo ops. Plus, there are a lot of trees, so on a super sunny day you can still shoot here in the middle of the day and not get harsh light. This is one reason so many photographers will use this location for mini sessions. They can shoot here all day long. At golden hour, though, there's a lot of really great light in various spots throughout the park. I spent a lot of time here this fall photographing families, and here are two adorable ones!