Best Location for Family Photos in Burlington, Massachusetts
This past fall I was able to take family photos for a family of seven. Five children and a gorgeous mom and dad. They lived a good distance away from me and we agreed to find a place to meet in the middle of their home and mine. This ended up being Burlington, Massachusetts.
What makes for the perfect location for outdoor family photos? For me there are three things that I look for. Ease of access is important, especially if you have young children included in the mix. You want plenty of space to avoid having other people or unattractive building structures in the background. And you want a place that can offer up a wide variety of backdrops so that your photos don’t end up all looking the same.
Finding a place that meets these requirements isn’t always easy. Especially when you have I-95 running through the middle of town and industrial parks popping up left and right. When I set out to find an outdoor photo location in Burlington I didn’t think I would find much, until I stumbled onto Mary Cummings Park. Let’s take a look at why this little park is my favorite photo spot in Burlington. While I ramble on about why I loved this park I’ll be including photos from the session I shot there earlier this year.
Ease of access
The entrance to the park is located within five minutes of I-95, making it easy to access for families coming from both the north and south. Being within a 3 minute drive of the Burlington Mall also means that bathrooms and emergency wardrobe changes are close by. Finally, the parking lot of the park is within an easy walking distance to the first photo-op location. The trails are also relatively flat meaning that a stroller can be brought along if needed. The family that I was working with had a ten month old, a two year old, and three older children. Meaning that long hikes or treks were entirely out of the question.
Space
For my most recent family shoot at Mary Cummings park there were four other photographers with families there at the same time we were there. In some locations this can mean waiting for a family to finish before you are able to start. However, with 216 acres available- we didn’t have to wait at all. In total we probably walked about 10-15 minutes around the park and with just that little bit of venturing we were able to find spots where there were no photographers, no other park goers, and beautiful backgrounds. Having plenty of space also gave the kids more to explore. Keeping them from getting bored or feeling boxed in. The field area that we found was big enough that they could run around and burn off all the wiggles that sitting for pictures somehow always brings out in children.
Variety
I loved this park for the variety of backdrop options that it offered- and like I said we only scratched the surface. Beyond the small little area that we explored there are also wood board paths through wetlands with cattails growing tall on either side, wooded trails, and wildflowers. In the section that we stayed in we were able to find a large open field, a trail with tall grasses growing up alongside it, and small clearing tucked in among the growth. The wooded areas in the distance also worked in our favor by creating a change in scenery depending on which direction the family was facing.
I loved photographing at Mary Cummings Park and felt like it met all of my requirements for the perfect photo location. What’s a favorite location in the Burlington Area for you? Let me know!
