“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”

If you are reading this and from the Tri-State area, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The leaves are changing color, the air is crisp, there’s so many fun outdoor activities for you and the family to do. This is the time of year everyone in the area looks forward to.

As a portrait photographer, walking out to do a shoot on a beautiful fall day, I get that feeling of a kid in a candy shop. There is just SO MUCH to work with! I’m not one to keep secrets so I would like to take a moment to share with you all some of my favorite places to photograph this time of year and why. Here’s my go to list of recommendations:

Skylands Manor, Ringwood State Park
Laurelwood Arboretum, Wayne
Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton

Interested to learn more? Scroll down to see some images from each location and learn more about hosting a photo session there!

Skylands Manor, Ringwood State Park

The pros: Chances are if you are a photographer from New Jersey you have been here before. If your not a photographer and reading this, chances are still likely that you’ve been here before because Skylands Manor is not just a popular photo destination but also a venue.

This park is #1 on my list for a reason. You can spend HOURS here and still discover a new hidden corner on your next visit. I’m surprised each time I photograph here (which is usually 1-2 times a week) because the landscape changes from one day to the next. As a photographer, you have the choice to keep your backdrop “scenic” by utilizing the landscape or more “ industrial” by incorporating the water fountains and buildings on the property.

The cons: There are two “downfalls” I would say about Skylands. One, don’t go here on a weekend. The place is filled with photographers, families and tourists. I have my “secret spots” that I’ve learned over time shooting here that are usually pretty empty, but I would recommend booking your shoots during the week.

The other downside is that the permits are a bit pricey at $175/year. However, as I previously mentioned I shoot here 1-2 times a week so I definitely get my money’s worth. Be careful not to shoot here without a permit as they do check.

Skylands manor is located at 5 Morris Rd, Ringwood, NJ 07456

Small bridge in the Native Plant Demonstration Garden

Laurelwood Arboretum

The pros: If you are looking for a small park with a lot to offer, look no further! Laurelwood Arboretum in Wayne is beautiful year-round, but I do particularly love the fall colors you will get in their botanical garden and near Laurel pond at the top of Azalea Way trail.

As you can see from the image above, the park offers bridges, gazebos, flowers, trees and even more! You can do an entire session in the entrance area alone, but it’s worth making the short trek up the trail to see more.

Pro tip-If you are planning a shoot at Laurelwood Arboretum around golden hour, do your actual “sunset shot” 3 miles down the road at Terhune Park. It’s a four minute drive and the sun sets right over the water. No permit needed! — **Pro tip**-If you are planning a shoot at Laurelwood Arboretum around golden hour, do your actual “sunset shot” 3 miles down the road at Terhune Park. It’s a four minute drive and the sun sets right over the water. No permit needed!

The cons: Like many parks, it does tend to get crowded here, especially after work hours. Because it is a smaller park it can be difficult to shoot around the people visiting so be sure to know your way around first to know where to work around.

The permit for this park is also priced high at $150/year, however you can book one session for only $50! Learn more by visiting their website.

Laurelwood Arboretum is located at 725 Pines Lake Drive West, Wayne, NJ 07470

Grounds for sculpture

The pros: There was no way I was going to make a list of my favorite places and not include Grounds for Sculpture. This park is an absolute gem and I would shoot here over and over again. The grounds are perfectly maintained and every corner you turn is different, so you can offer your clients a variety of looks.

During the fall there are many parts of the park that you can capture the beauty of the leaves changing. Besides the artwork there are bridges, hedges, fountains, and gardens that can be utilized to create a picturesque scene for your clients.

Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton Township

The cons: I’ll be honest, I don’t have anything bad to say about this place. The permit price is more than reasonable at $18/shoot. You do have to sign a waiver that you will give credit to the artists who’s work is featured in your photos which is a very reasonable request. I would recommend this location to anyone looking for a unique shoot location!

Grounds for Sculpture is located at 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton Township, NJ 08619

While it’s not much I hope I offered you all a few different options for locations to capture beautiful portraits that you can be excited about for your upcoming sessions. I look forward to all the portrait sessions I have coming up this season at all of my favorite parks! Don’t forget, you can still book your fall portrait session with me at any of these locations by clicking here. Thanks again for taking the time to stay up to date with my blog 🍂

This isn’t about up-selling, it’s about maintaining the quality of your work

I see a lot of blog posts teaching photographers how to sell prints and how they will make a huge profit offering this service to their clients. While profit might seem like enough of an incentive to get started, I actually want to talk about the importance of why you should be managing how your work gets printed.

I offer a wide variety of products for my clients such as prints, wall art, photo albums, custom USB’s, etc. I also never provide my clients with digital files that can print larger than 8”x10” unless they purchase the larger files (which I price according the size of the print they intend to make). The purpose of all this isn’t so much so I can up-sell; in fact it costs much more to produce products than to simply provide clients with a USB containing all the high-res images. Also, it takes a lot more time because you have to color grade the photos for printing, design a photo album or custom product in photoshop. So why do I bother selling fine art prints?

Because I hate seeing my photographs printed at Wal-Mart 🙈

Or Costco, or Shutterfly or ESPECIALLY Walgreens 😭

You all know exactly what I’m talking about. The horrible color grading, super glossy paper, incorrect cropping…it’s any photographers nightmare.

I made the mistake of giving away high-res files when I first started out.

What made me change my mind is that every time I visited a clients home I would see my once beautiful photograph, printed on a canvas from Wal-Mart and what I witnessed was a direct misrepresentation of my work.

This isn’t a pride thing. I could have easily walked away saying “Who cares, I got paid, they can print them however they want.” If I did that though, I could be potentially losing out on future clients. Why?

Because Not only will I see a bad print, but their friends and family members who come over the house will also see it.

It’s one thing to have your photos look great on Instagram, and another to have them look great printed. If people see that an image looks really good online but “doesn’t print nicely” because it was not printed properly there’s a chance they might not hire you because they don’t believe in the quality of the work. So you can see, having good prints isn’t about up-selling one client, it is about making more clients.

Your work should be impactful, and contrary to popular belief I don’t always think that impact will be made on a cell phone screen. Maybe I’m old school, but anytime I visit a gallery or museum and confronted with a physical work of art, I’m moved in ways that I cannot describe. Think of your clients home as a gallery space, and curate a timeless collection for them they can enjoy everyday.

Not all print shops are created equal.

After ordering a few samples of prints and products from different labs, I found which work best for me. These are my go-to labs for creating products for my clients:

Millers Professional Imaging:

What I love: I use Millers lab for all of my albums and books. There are so many different options for covers such as leather, acrylic, image wraps, and my favorite, personalized foil! They have a really quick turn around time, 2-3 days, and are very cost efficient making it an easy up-sell. I also order smaller products for client gifts such as accordion books through them. A lot of photographers use Millers so there are plenty of templates for albums and products on Etsy making product design super easy!

What I don’t love: Personally, I’m not a fan of their wall prints. Myself and other photographers I know who have ordered from them have seen little dents in the printing, or incorrect color grading. I’m also not crazy about their holiday cards which I argue are the MOST important product you can print because it is like sending out a personal business flyer to thousands of people! Read on to see who I use for card printing.

White House Custom Colour:

What I love: If you are looking for luxury prints, look no further. I’ve ordered custom cards, metal prints, mounted prints and more from WHCC and have yet to be disappointed. Their care and attention to detail is incredible and the customer service is 5 Star. They also provide you with a lot of resources to help you sell your products such as unbranded online catalogues. The holiday cards are especially my favorite and I splurge on quality paper when creating them for my clients. The soft matte paper literally feels like velvet! Every year I get new clients around the holidays reaching out because of the “incredible holiday card their friend sent out last year” so you know it’s not being overlooked! If all that is STILL not enough to convince you, they also give you lollipops when sending over your print 😁

What I don’t love: The albums and books. I’m patiently waiting for them to come out with more options for cover designs so until then I will continue using Millers. Also, if you are not making much of a profit off of your prints and products (which maybe re-evaluating your pricing structure is the simple answer for this) please note that WHCC is pricier than other labs so make sure you are charging enough.

Tyndell Photographic:

What I love: For the quality and price, you can’t beat Tyndell Photographic. I use this company for all my crystal rose-gold USB’s and presentation folders. I love that I was easily able to upload my logo and I only pay one time for them to create a mold for my business. Keep in mind that you are paying for each size they create, so for example I paid for the mold for USBs as well as a 2”x3” mold for folders. You can also order bags, boxes, USB cases and more. The pricing scale is based on how many of each product you purchase so I usually evaluate how many sessions I have booked per quarter and order based on that. Be sure to check out their starter packs for premium pricing options.

What I don’t love: The shipping time 😕. It usually takes about two weeks to get the products in so if you know you have a bunch of sessions coming up during busy season and are running low on your presentation products I would order ASAP to get them on time. No client wants to wait weeks on end to receive their products.

While I haven’t used the following companies, these are some recommendations from fellow photographer friends:

I hope this post inspires you all and gives you the tools you need to get started selling prints! In the coming weeks I’ll be developing an online course going into how I sell prints! Subscribe to my blog to stay updated ☺️

Top 3 Parks to Photograph Fall Portraits in New Jersey