Casey & Gary: Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens

Before meeting Casey and Gary at the Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens I had a few images in mind and headed into the shoot with a plan, hit up the Conifer garden first with the flowing pathways, and then head to the Japanese garden; I didn't think I would find my favourite image among the bamboo trees at the end of the shoot.

I chose the gardens as our meeting place as Casey had mentioned that they wanted to get married in the rain forests at Mt Tamborine, I figured this would give them some nice images to compliment the style of their wedding location.  

The Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens offer a huge range of background from dense rainforest, urban art installations and open parkland.  We had a lot of fun together as the three of us walked around and shot in as many locations around the gardens as possible.

Thank you again Casey and Gary for the awesome afternoon, congratulations again on your engagement and I wish you all the best in your new future together!

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Portraits in Parks and Garden Locations

Having your family or engagement photos taken in an outdoor location requires a lot more planning than showing up for a photoshoot in a studio but you don’t have to worry because I’m here to guide you through choosing the best times for your favourite locations.

• Bright and Vibrant

• Greens, and Yellows

• Wear light colours to pop

• Any time of the day

Your local park is the perfect place to have your family or engagement portraits.  The gardens are well manicured and you can always find a wonderfully soft patch of grass to throw out a picnic rug.  There are hundreds of parks in the greater Moreton Bay region and beyond, but a few of my favourites are Centenary Lakes in Caboolture, Lake Eden in North Lakes, and Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens.

Photos taken in parks and gardens are generally going to be bright and vibrant with lots of green to fill out the background, so you will want to wear something light and bright that will pop against the dark green backdrops.  There is usually a variety of backgrounds, walkways, and bridges to use in your photos and with so much variety and activity it will be quite fun and give great opportunity for candid images.

To avoid harsh overhead light, these locations are best shot early morning and late afternoon.  At these times you can expect nice golden light which is perfect for backlighting and flares.  Suffice to say you could still shoot here at any time of day as you can always find great leafy canopies to help soften the light.

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