One of the most popular and important questions after families book their outdoor session is "where should we go?" I have quite a number of places that I am familiar with and love for various reasons. There are a few factors to consider. The most important for me is lighting. It's the number one thing that can make or break a photo. Therefore, the locations that I prefer to use have really great light, but also gives us pockets of shade where I can control how harsh the light hits you. It's all about the balance of having that beautiful warm glow of the sun without it being too much. Speaking of warm glow, this is why I schedule all of my sessions about an hour and a half before sunset. In summer months, this means we have a start time at 7:30pm.

Secondly, you as a family have to decide how far you want to travel. Most of my locations are within Hamilton, Burlington or Oakville so as long as your family is local, you won't be driving too far a distance.

The last consideration is crowds - for the most part, weekday sessions will be far less crowded than Fri-Sun evenings. There are a few locations (such as the beach and urban/downtown locations) which I won't even bother using on weekends because they are overrun with people which will be visible in the background of images.

I've been photographing families for 10 years now, so I have a vast collection of places I have used. Below are some examples of summer locations that I often use. We'll work together to find the ideal spot for your session.