The best locations for family sessions in the Albuquerque area

One of the things I love about being a photographer is that I know some great places in the Albuquerque area. It really pays off when our family wants to go on a picnic or take a Sunday afternoon walk after church - I always have lots of ideas that are great fun. I don't know every park around, but I know a lot of them! And the good places to get to the river, where to hike, etc.

When we plan your photo session, one of the things we'll be discussing is, of course, location.  Since I can't drive you all over town to show you where I like to go, I put together this blog page with lots of links, full of location ideas.

I have here an online magazine with most of these ideas and many more example:



Photo sessions in the spring, summer, and fall

I'm always so happy when the leaves come out and things aren't dead and brown. Here are a bunch of examples of some great locations for photography when the trees and grass are green, or in the fall when the leaves have turned yellow.

Professional photo of family in fall color Albuquerque  A beautiful location for photography - I love this open space park.


Professional portrait of a girl playing in a tent in a park in Albuquerque  Summer, sisters, a whole lot of fun - this is a really nice park in town, with grassy hills, nice trees, and a playground for when we're done.

Professional portrait of three sisters in front of a beautiful gate in Albuquerque  Anatomy of a family photography session - this location is great any time of year, but here is an example when the leaves are green.

Professional portrait a happy family outside in nature in Albuquerque  A field and tall trees - this is one of my favorite places to go for sessions. This spot is beautiful in late spring/early summer or fall.

Professional portrait of a happy family with a mountain view  Family photography in the foothills  - this location is high desert, so it could probably be used any time of year - there are not a lot of leaves in the first place.

Professional portrait of a senior boy in a park with a mountain view in Albuquerque  Do it for your mom! - this blog post shows a senior session, but this beautiful park is great for families too.

Professional portrait of a happy family in an urban setting in Albuquerque  How do you make your family portraits unique? - this urban location (and lots of other urban choices) are obviously great any time of year.

Professional portrait of a happy family in a park in Albuquerque  Beautiful girls at the park -  a very popular location for photographers in the area, and for good reason!

Professional portrait of a family reunion outdoors in Albuquerque  Big family reunion photography - this is also a great place for fall pictures.

Professional portrait of a beautiful high school senior outdoors in Albuquerque  Senior portraits IN the river - this is the same location as the previous post, just a different area of the park. There is a lot to work with here. These were done in late summer, so keep that in mind if you are admiring the sunflowers.

Professional portrait of a boy playing on a grassy hill in a park in Albuquerque  Family portraits and fun at the park -  this is also a favorite place to go in the fall.

Professional portrait of a happy family outdoors with a mountain view in Albuquerque  Evening light photography - another location that is gorgeous in the fall as well.

Professional portrait of a family walking together with fall leaves in Albuquerque  Fall color - this location is beautiful any time there are leaves on the trees.

Professional portrait of a darling little girl having a tea party in a garden in Albuquerque  Tea party in a magical fairy garden - this is one of my very favorite locations, but it's not good until the later summer or fall, when the plants are tall.

Professional portrait of a family in a park in Albuquerque  Family lifestyle photography - another really nice park that is also great in the fall. A fun one for kids.


Professional portrait of a little girl dancing in a park in Albuquerque  Two year old fun - I don't go to this park very often, but I think it has a cool mountain view, and a little shade when there are leaves on the trees.

Professional portrait of an engaged couple at the UNM duck pond in Albuquerque  Session at UNM - another popular location. Parking is tricky, but it's worth it.

Professional maternity portrait of an couple at a park in Albuquerque  Maternity session at the park - this is one of the prettiest parks in Albuquerque. Rolling grassy hills, big trees, and a playground for a reward for smiling.

Professional portrait of a little boy with his dog in a garden in Albuquerque  Kids in the back yard -  I do a lot of child and baby pictures in my own yard. We have big trees, in the summer we have a big flower garden, and my husband is always welding and creating cool structures. I also have a southwest-style front porch looks really cool for pictures in the late afternoon or evening. And a fountain that is very fun for small people to splash in.

Professional portrait of a family in a garden in Albuquerque  Family portraits on a stormy night - another example of my yard.

Professional portrait of a family at the zoo in Albuquerque  Family portraits at the zoo - our zoo does a really nice job with their architecture and plants! I love going there for pictures. We usually just pick 2 or 3 areas to do pictures, so people don't get totally worn out and collapse in exhaustion.

Professional photo of a beautiful little girl at the Botanic Gardens Albuquerque  Botanic gardens - my number one location is the botanic gardens.  They are popular, kind of a hassle sometimes, but always worth it. Great in any season - when the leaves are gone we use the architecture and the greenhouses. It's sheltered in the botanic gardens, so even on a breezy day we can usually get great pictures here. Again, we plan on just using two or three locations so we don't turn a fun experience into something exhausting.

Professional portrait of a happy family outdoors in the bosque in Albuquerque  A summer evening in the bosque -  one of my most requested locations is the bosque. I love going anytime except in the winter, when it's brown and dusty. I spend whole days out here in the fall when the leaves turn.

Professional photo of a beautiful family in the Rio Grande river Albuquerque  Our family's portrait saga - when the river is low enough, it is really fun for families with older children to wade out to a sandbar! Sometimes there are lots of them and when we took these, we never went in past our knees. 

But where can we go in the winter?

Professional urban family photography Albuquerque  Rainbow fence urban family photography - downtown works any time of year.


Professional photo of a beautiful family at sunset with a mountain view in Albuquerque   Sunset with a mountain view - The mountain view is beautiful any time of year.

Professional photo of a beautiful family playing at the Rio Grande in Albuquerque  Sweet boys, skeletons, and sand! - If you have dinosaur fans, this is a fun place to spend some time with a camera!

Professional portrait of a happy family outdoors in the winter in Albuquerque with a mountain view  Winter family portraits - outside with a mountain view - I use this location a lot during the green season, but it works in the winter too.

Professional portrait of a happy family in an urban setting in Albuquerque  How do you make your family portraits unique? - this urban location (and lots of other urban choices) are obviously great any time of year.

Professional portrait of a beautiful high school senior in an urban setting in Albuquerque  Where to go for portraits? How about downtown! - different urban locations, most of which would also be good for families as well as for seniors.

Professional portrait of a senior girl in a formal gown in the snow near Albuquerque  Senior portraits in the snow - again, this session was with a high school senior, but this would be just as amazing with a family who didn't mind a little cold.

Professional portrait of happy twins in Old Town in Albuquerque  Southwest color for my friends... - I posted a link above to a summer session in this location, but this one was done in the early spring. One nice thing about this location is that it's a little sheltered when it's cold out.

Professional portrait of an engaged couple outdoors in Old Town in Albuquerque  Winter Albuquerque photography - this is the same general location as the previous blog post, just with some different areas shown.

Professional portrait of a beautiful high school senior next to a mural in Albuquerque  You can have gorgeous portraits done on location, even in the winter - this session is of a high school senior, and you have to first scroll down past the piano pictures, but then there are a couple of outdoor locations that work great for families, as well as for just one person.

Professional portrait of a high school senior outdoors in Albuquerque  Early spring session - the mesa top looks pretty much the same no matter what time of year it is. High desert = scrub, right? We go for the view. And the sunset, if your kids are up for it.

Professional portrait of a happy family with a mountain view  Family photography in the foothills  - I listed this location in both summer and winter seasons because it doesn't look all that different without leaves. You are going for the mountain view, not the scrub oak. :)

Professional portrait of a happy family in a park in Albuquerque  Beautiful girls at the park - this session is obviously from the summer. But the lovely blue doors are there year round; the building actually has good stuff on all 4 sides, so it's good any time of day. And I love the rail fence year round.

Professional portrait of a family on abandoned railroad tracks in Albuquerque  Railroad tracks - this location is going to look about the same no matter when you go. These are abandoned tracks in a park south of town, so it's safe to play on the tracks.

Professional portrait of a family outside in a park in Albuquerque  Family session - lots of kids, lots of fun - I use this location in the summer also. Only we don't bother going inside - there is more to work with outside when it's green.

Professional portrait of a family at the zoo in Albuquerque  Family portraits at the zoo - of course there isn't a lot of green to work with in the winter, but there is a lot of great architecture and things the zoo has built to be interesting. We usually just pick 2 or 3 areas to do pictures, so people don't get totally worn out and collapse in exhaustion.

Professional portrait of a family at the botanic gardens in Albuquerque  Botanic gardens - my number one location is the botanic gardens.  They are popular, kind of a hassle sometimes, but always worth it. Great in any season - when the leaves are gone we use the architecture and the greenhouses. It's sheltered in the botanic gardens, so even on a breezy day we can usually get great pictures here. Again, we plan on just using two or three locations so we don't turn a fun experience into something exhausting.

Photo session at YOUR home

I really enjoy getting to meet clients at their homes. I feel like you get such personal portraits - I love including children's rooms, I love the pets, games, and musical instruments. Some of that we can bring out and about on location, but obviously there is a limit to what all you want to haul around town. If you're interested in a session at your home, we can chat about what that would mean for your house.

Professional portrait of a family in their home in Albuquerque  Lifestyle photography

Professional portrait of a in their home in Albuquerque  Last photography session of 2012

Professional maternity portrait of a family in their home in Albuquerque  Maternity session - a growing family 

Studio portraits

I work from home, so my living room is my studio. I have great light and it can be the perfect place for portraits. Usually I do studio sessions in the winter when the weather is too cold or windy, with babies, or for small groups who don't want to be outside.

Professional vintage photo of a baby with a baseball and bat in Albuquerque  Vintage baby portraits - studio sessions are great for incorporating some really fun props.

Professional studio photo of a beautiful little girl in Albuquerque  April birthday portraits - I periodically do minisessions, and when it's cold out we do them indoors. I have some fun backdrops that I love to use.

Professional studio photo of a family with a newborn baby in Albuquerque  Newborn family session - lots of my "Baby's First Year" clients like to come to me for studio portraits. I also offer to come to them, but I think they are happy to not clean up. (FYI - I don't need a lot of space!)

If you're looking for more ideas for locations, specifically for high school senior portraits, I have a page for that here.

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