The Morgan Family | Tips for Winter Family Photos
Fox Run Park, Colorado Springs
Ah, the Morgans. This family has become so dear to me over the years! Keenan and Madeline are two of our very best friends (and I've adopted their little munchkin Colbie as my honorary niece), and Keenan's parents Keith and Mona pastor the church we've been attending for the past two years, True Life Community Church. Keenan's sister Kaylea and brother Konnor are in our young adults group, as is Konnor's girlfriend Kenzie. We've had a lot of Sunday lunches, game nights, and opportunities to serve together, which has been a joy.
Kaylea reached out to me in the fall — she and her siblings wanted to pitch in together to get extended family photos as a gift for Keith and Mona. It had been years since their family had pictures taken, and their family had grown significantly — almost doubled! Keenan and Madeline were now married with a little munchkin, Austin and Kaylea had been together for years, Konnor started dating Kenzie. AND they had no photos with their sweet family dog.
We found a weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas that worked around everyone's work schedules, and we met up at Fox Run Park in Colorado Springs for their family photo session. Being that it was December and there was still snow on the ground (and Fox Run has a lot of tree cover), it was a chilly afternoon. But even though winter isn't the most popular time for family photos, it can still be a lot of fun and the photos can still be beautiful!
Tips for Winter Family Photo Sessions
Here's my top tips and tricks for having a fun and successful winter family photo session:
choose the right time of day
The top tip I could tell you is to time your family photo session wisely. Too early or too late in the day can mean really cold temperatures that make everyone miserable. While golden hour is ideal, the couple hours preceding golden hour are almost always the warmest part of the day during the winter, but the light isn't super harsh and is beginning to turn golden. For the Morgans, we shot these family photos at 3 in the afternoon, which meant the afternoon sun was still warm and just turning golden, and hadn't yet gone behind the mountain. In the winter, sometimes earlier in the day (as opposed to evening) is actually ideal.
layer up!
Especially in Colorado, layers are the name of the game. The weather can turn on a dime, and what was a decently warm afternoon a minute ago can quickly become bitterly cold if you get some good gusts of wind or cloud cover. The best way to solve for this to keep everyone warm (and bonus: it can give the illusion of multiple outfits) is to layer up. Wear a nice blouse with a sweater over it. Or a flannel with a long sweater or cute jacket over top. You'll be less miserable and able to take breaks to warm up this way, and you'll still look cute!
think through your location
One thing about winter, especially in Colorado Springs, is that depending on where in town you are, you can have a lot of trees with bare branches, resulting in a lot of brown, grey, and sharp lines in your photo. Nothing is in bloom yet. However, the beauty of Colorado Springs is that we don't just have seasonal trees; we also have plenty of evergreen trees, mountains, and open spaces. For family photos in the winter, especially in Colorado Springs, I would opt for a location with at least one of the following:
- Mountain backdrop
- Evergreen trees
- Wide open spaces with tall grass, etc.
Not sure where could be good? Here's some of my favorite Colorado Springs (and slightly beyond) locations for winter family photos:
- Fox Run Park (where we took the Morgan Family's photos)
- Garden of the Gods
- The top of Palmer Park
- Spruce Mountain Ranch Open Space
embrace the cold and bring blankets
It's a winter photo session, which means we can embrace the "winter vibe" and lean into cozy things like blankets! Bring one or two large blankets, which can be great for sitting on and getting some fun "on the ground" poses as a family... but they can also be great for wrapping everyone up in and getting fun "cuddly" photos too. And then if someone gets cold, you have a blanket to wrap them up in until it's time for their next photo to be taken.
Winter family photo sessions aren't the most popular, usually because of the unpredictable weather, colder temperatures, and the short amount of daylight each day. But winter family photos can still be a blast if you plan correctly, layer up, and are willing to be flexible.
Morgan family, thank you for letting me capture your beautiful family! You are dear to us and it's an honor to be a part of your lives.
