Give me all the colorful, playful, retro, whimsical Lancaster families who are open to thinking outside the box for their family photo session. Don’t get me wrong, I love a magical golden hour photo session frolicking in a field, but I also love when there is an opportunity to do something a little different. This downtown Lancaster family photo session filled my cup in so many ways and is probably one of my favorite summer photo sessions to date.
As a Lancaster family photographer who has lived in this town for most of my adult life, I know my way around the city pretty well. I am someone who loves color, and I’m always on the lookout for new murals and unique storefronts that might make a good backdrop for photos.
Inspo & Planning: The mom wanted to take photos in downtown Lancaster and it was important to incorporate her kids' interests which include skateboarding, drawing and piano. I envisioned a colorful retro vibe, which is why I chose the murals and the record store. There’s a non-profit in Lancaster called Music For Everyone which sets up painted pianos around the city during the summer months so we stopped at one of the pianos to take a few photos. I suggested ending with ice cream at a colorful ice cream shop because it fit the summer season and so we ended at Splits & Giggles in Lancaster City.
Styling Outfits: We went for casual, colorful, and playful. The mom wanted the kids to look like themselves. She said her daughter almost always wears her hair in braids and her son always wears a backwards baseball cap. She had picked out the coolest striped pants for herself and loosely based the rest of the outfits around those.
This shoot brought me so much joy: the colors, the movement and the kids being themselves and having fun. They had the idea to slide down the railing and that ended up being one of my favorite shots. The parents had just celebrated their 10th anniversary in Japan, so taking photos in front of the ramen mural at Issei Noodle was a unique tie-in to that.
Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family, maternity, newborn and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, PA and beyond. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!
