Winter Maternity Photo Session Location Feature: Herr Park in Lancaster, PA

If you are a pregnant mama who is expecting a baby in early spring, it means that the best timeframe for having your maternity photos taken is during winter time. I recommend scheduling maternity photos when you are between 28-32 weeks pregnant. Here in Lancaster, PA the colder months are typically November through February. Herr Park is one of my favorite locations for winter photo sessions and I recommend checking it out!

While you may prefer a studio or indoor option such as a greenhouse or your own home, there are also some really lovely outdoor winter photo shoot locations if you’re up for braving the cold and are up for the adventure. Herr Park is one of my favorite winter photo session locations in Lancaster because of the abundance of evergreen trees. In addition it overlooks some fields and farmlands and gets lovely afternoon sunlight.

My tips for planning an outdoor winter maternity photo session are:

1. wear layers (and hats, gloves, scarves, boots if it’s snowy!)

2. take breaks to warm up if needed (hop in the car or put on coats)

3. keep moving

4. plan for late afternoon vs early morning when temperatures are a bit higher

5. bring a blanket to sit on or wrap around one another

6. choose a location that is a short distance from the parking lot

This beautiful winter maternity photo session took place in early December and we lucked out with an unusually warm day. The couple brought their dog along and I was happy to incorporate him into photos. I love the textures of the evergreens combined with their neutral colored clothing as well as the dried grasses and carpet of rust colored pine needles.

One thing to note: the parking lot for Herr Park is next to a school and it’s about an 8 minute walk to the large evergreen forest from there. There is a paved walking path that is a loop that will take you to the forest. There is also a disc golf course at the park so you have to be aware of that if you’re taking photos inside the large pine tree forest.

If you’d like to see some of my other favorite Lancaster photo shoot locations throughout the seasons, you can check out my list here.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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A Late Summer Maternity Session at Wildflower Lookout in Lancaster, PA

I have been meaning to blog a session from Wildflower Lookout for a least a year now and I’m finally getting around to it! This photo location has really blown up since it opened about 3 years ago and every summer people from all over Lancaster County and beyond flock here for the beautiful photo opportunities. This session was taken in late August when the sunflowers were in bloom. We also spent a lot of time in a field of long grasses that were beautifully illuminated by the sun at golden hour.

Lea and Daniel are expecting their first baby this fall and they were so at ease in front of the camera despite the hot, humid, muggy August weather. At Wildflower Lookout you can rent a private field in advance for an additional fee or just pay a general admission fee to photograph in a variety of fields. I prefer to wander to the different fields and do the general admission fee but renting a private field is great, especially for mini sessions. Another fun aspect of Wildflower Lookout is that they often have props such as a wagon or a wicker chair in the field to use for photo ops. They have picnic tables as well if you’d like to take a picnic and enjoy the views!

If you think you might want to use Wildflower Lookout as a location for your session, you can check their website and social media for field bloom updates starting as early as late May. I have found that it is key to get there about an hour before sunset. Any earlier than that and the sun is too high in the sky and this creates stark shadows. There is a sweet spot shortly before sunset when the golden backlight hits just right and that is my favorite time to shoot.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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