One of my New Years Resolutions is to go on more hikes. The kids love them (collecting sticks! throwing rocks in creeks! climbing over boulders!) – and this time of year (January – April) is one of the most pleasant seasons to be outside in Austin (if you’re not in a body of water).
And besides enjoying the trails, visiting these spots doubles as location scouting since all of them make great settings for family photo sessions. Things I keep in mind when picking a place to go as a family – we want easy parking, bathrooms if possible, not too crowded and trails around 1-3 miles long (your own criteria may vary).
If you’re looking for kid-friendly hiking spots in and around Austin (or want ideas for where you next family photos should be), here are my Top 10 favorites:
Bull Creek District Trail
1. Bull Creek District Trail
Bull Creek – Our favorite and most visited park. There are boulders you can climb (near the small parking lot). There’s about a mile hiking trail that goes along the water. Bull Creek is also a favorite location I use for family photo sessions. (We’ve had our own family photos taken here twice)
Address: 6701 Lakewood Dr., Austin, TX 78731
Parking: two lots
Bathroom: yes
Balcones District Park
2. Balcones District Park
Balcones District Park – Another kid-friendly park with a small playground and pool (only open in Summer). It’s also where I take 75% of my wildflower portraits each Spring.
Address: 12017 Amherst Dr, Austin, TX 78759
Parking: yes
Bathroom: yes
St. Edwards Park
3. St. Edwards Park
St. Edwards Park – This 80-acre park has criss-crossing trails that can take you by the water or not. Keep an eye out for their small waterfall.
Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve – Wild Basin is part of the Balcones Canyonland Preserve, and it’s 227 acres of Hill Country woodland. Did you know you could apply to be an Artist in Residence there? (which led me down a rabbit hole of researching other Texas artist residency programs – see some options here).
Address: 805 North Capital of Texas Highway
Parking: yes
Bathroom: yes
River Place Nature Trail
5. River Place Fern Trail
River Place Fern Trail – We’ve only made one trip out to this trail so far, but have plans to definitely head back soon. There’s a lovely playground across the street we ended up at as well.
Lady Bird Lake – Hike and Bike Trail – Honestly it stresses me out a little to take the kids hiking here since it’s always so crowded – so we’re more likely to rent canoes and enjoy the lake from the water or just hit the patches of wildflowers by the baseball fields instead.
Address: multiple entry points
Parking: yes
Bathroom: yes
Circle C Ranch Park
8. Circle C Ranch Park
Circle C Ranch Park – A bit south for us to go regularly, but still a nice walk and does get lovely wildflowers some years.
Address: 6301 W Slaughter Ln, Austin, TX 78739
Parking: yes
Bathroom: yes
McKinney Falls State Park
9. McKinney Falls State Park
McKinney Falls State Park – Roughly 20-30 minutes from Austin, and it has an admission charge. But enjoy nine miles of trails to explore around Onion Creek. Good for bluebonnets as well.
Pedernales Falls State Park – Roughly an hour drive outside of Austin, also has an admission charge – but such a beautiful spot! I can’t get over the stunning color of the water. Swim, hike, climb over the limestone rocks – and then hop over to the Hill Country Science Mill in Johnson City to make a full day of it (a winning combo we’ve done at least three other times).
Address: 2585 Park Rd 6026, Johnson City, TX 78636
Parking: yes
Bathroom: yes
Those are our Top 10 favorite hikes in and around Austin.
Happy New Year! Are you a fan of New Year’s Resolutions? I am, I like to think of them as a great time to make a list and plan for the future. I start with the “what.” As in, WHAT do I want to get out of this year?
For me, it’s to learn new skills, grow my business, create often and feel a part of the local community.
Then comes the “how.” As in, HOW am I going to reach these goals? I want to be specific and measurable. Well, here’s what I have in mind…
Join a Creative Community
Join a local creative community and attend 4-6 meetings/year. Some groups I’m considering in the Austin area are: Rising Tide, Creative Mornings, ClickinMoms (I went to a few meet-ups last year – it’s a very friendly bunch), BossBabesATX, ATXconnection mixer. Let me know if you’re a member of any of these groups (or have another one to recommend). Next steps, RSVPing for a January meet-up.
Take photo classes
Take one photo class per quarter (either in-person or online). Some places I’m considering for online classes are Creative Live, Click Photo School and Lynda.com. Next steps, making a list of classes I’d like to take.
Keep doing personal work
Keep doing personal photo work every month. This could be documentary photos of the kids or portfolio building with new locations or ideas I want to try. Next steps, list and calendar out project ideas. (I have that colored powder I bought for the holidays just asking to be photographed with).
Get in the photos
Get in the photo myself – at least once a month. As the family documentarian, I am woefully underrepresented in our year-end albums. I need to give up some of that control and hand over the phone (to family) and hire a professional (at least once a year) so I’m a part of my family’s story. Next steps, book our 2019 family photo session and hand off my phone this week.
Volunteer as a photographer
Volunteer my photography skills to the kids’ school. I plan on (continuing to) photograph the class parties this year as well as donating a family photo session to the school fundraiser. Next steps, think about other ways I can volunteer my photo skills to the school community.
Find better light
It’s safe to photograph in flat light or golden hour. I want to seek out shooting at other times of the day – and play around more with light. This includes: practicing with double exposures, shooting through prisms, and photographing a high noon. Next steps, block out time to experiment with light.
Blog consistently
Most of last year, I would only blog when posting a photo session. But last month, I started writing blog posts with other types of content – Exploring Art in Austin with Kids,Throwback Thursday About Me, and How to Build a Photo Story. And I loved it. So this year, I want to continue that trend (blog family sessions but also write about other photo topics that interest me). Next steps, write out a list of 10-12 topics I want to blog about this year.
Book more Sessions
Last November, I shared some metrics on my Instagram feed. I wanted to look at my numbers around bookings, expenses and profits. One of my take-aways from that analysis is that I’d like to increase my bookings by 10-15%. Next steps, keep learning, shooting and sharing and plan that more business will come.
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What are your goals for 2019? Contact me if they include photography.
It rarely snows in Austin, unless you happened to come to the Photo Booths I ran at the kids’ holiday parties last week. If you’d like to have your own Snow Booth, do the following steps:
My kids know they can make a pretty big mess if there’s picture taking involved. They’re also extra eager if they themselves are the canvas.
So if your kids are like mine, and you’ve booked a Family Photo Session at your house – let me know if you’d like to add on any of these creative extras. As long as you have a change of clothes nearby and a place to make a mess (preferably outside) – we can get extra artistic.
Options include:
Chalk (year-round)
Bubbles (year-round)
Silly String (year-round)
Smoke bombs (year-round – though we’ve only done them at Halloween ourselves)
Cascarones (Spring)
Shaving cream (Summer)
String lights (Winter)
Fake snow (Winter)
Multi-light projector (Winter)
Glitter (Nope) – What am I? A monster. I’d never bring glitter in someone’s house (especially if I wanted to be invited back).
Colored powder – (year-round)
If this type of session add-on appeals to you, let me know when you book.
Working at newspapers (The Daily Texan, The Palladium-Item, and The Newport Daily News) while majoring in photojournalism in college (University of Texas at Austin, 1994-1998) satisfied three things for me:
I got to create on a daily basis.
Every day was different – and I loved the variety.
Having a camera got me access to lots of events and satisfied my curiosity about what was going on around me.
I only went to UT Football games when I got to photograph them.
I’d never been to a Monster Truck rally until I got to photograph this one in Indiana.
So taking what I loved back then and applying it now with family photography…
Creativity = with family photography, I still get to take pictures often (usually weekly)
Variety = Every family is different. I like to explore different locations in and out of town as well.
Curiosity = I get to know people better when they’re in front of my camera.
I also want to take the skills I learned back in college and apply them to how I approach a session right now. A portrait session can tell a family’s story. So what are the five elements to build a good photo story?
ESTABLISHING SHOT: This is where the photo story begins. I like to show the environment the family is in (their home, out in nature or in an urban setting). I imagine this type of image as being the first page spread of a photo book.
I usually shoot these images with a wide angle lens. The establishing shot tells the audience what the setting of the photos will be.
PORTRAITS: These images tells the audience who the cast of characters are. I make sure to get multiple close-ups of each family member by themselves. These can be silly or serious – but meant to capture the personality of each individual.
DETAILS: Supporting images that help tell the story. They might be close-ups on hands or features as well as details on outfits or any props.
INTERACTIONS – Hand’s down – these are my MOST favorite type of image to shoot. Action, reaction and interaction – all to show the relationships between family members. Here’s the heart of the story.
CLOSING SHOT – The image that wraps it all up. It can also be used at the end of the photo album. I prefer something silly or an image that clearly shows the end (ex. people walking away). For the silly ones, 90% of the time, these seem to involve Dads.
Going forward, two of my three packages will include photo book options, and using these five elements will make those story easier to show. It’s all about the characters and their connections in all their combinations.
My kids know they can make a pretty big mess if there’s picture taking involved. They’re also extra eager if they themselves are the canvas.
