Like a town square plucked from a page of a Charles Dickens book, the buildings dating back to the 1830s have a country feel with Victorian flair. Anchored by its historic covered bridge, Long Grove, IL is home to some of the area’s favorite festivals. I grew up knowing the town as a busy tourist destination with its shops, boutiques, candy stores, and art galleries. Today the town is a bit quieter which makes it a great option for your family portraits.
If you like architecture in your images, we can use the building facades and alley ways.
I like to explore the various colors, textures, and framing opportunities in the doors and windows.
The brick road is unique to the town but it can be a challenge for the strollers and those who have difficulty walking. I like using the brick texture so much that I made it into a background to cover my studio floor for Santa sessions!
The iconic covered bridge crosses the Buffalo Creek and it marks the end of the downtown.
It’s a popular pit stop for our photo sessions, but please note, this bridge gets hit sometimes by tall vehicles and can be under repair at times! Time for posing in front of the bridge may be limited by traffic so the ability to work quickly is key. Most of the sessions take place near the bridge so we often grab shots with it when we can. If this scene is a must, let me know and we can take the time to get the shots.
Work along the banks of the Buffalo Creek where there are lush green spaces dappled with yellow and white wildflowers. I like to use the rock gardens as a focal point for staging posed portraits.
The open space offers the opportunity to capture candids of the little ones while they run off some energy in the shade.
Cross over the covered bridge to access the prairie walk. Enter at the wooden fence to a great lawn that opens to a prairie preserve.
Blooms of pink, purple, and yellow are best at the end of the summer. A meandering path takes us through the prairie with a tree-lined background. At golden hour, the sun will peek through the foliage creating a beautiful glow and sun flare.
A foot bridge that crosses the creek to tree-lined meadows. It can get buggy back here so be ready with the bug spray!
Long Grove adds that small town feel to your photos with the option to focus on nature. I prefer photographing here in the late afternoon to sunset and especially like the summer and fall. Like what you see? Let’s set up a family photography session in downtown Long Grove!
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