I absolutely loved this family session with the Wiscovitch family at Aspen Grove in Provo Canyon!
Their family of four was so much fun to photograph, and having both a boy and a girl gave us so many fun combinations throughout their session.
One of my favorite parts of photographing families is getting more than just the traditional everyone-looking-at-the-camera family photo. With this family, we were able to capture so many different combinations—mom and dad together, each parent with the kids, siblings together, individual portraits, and plenty of the whole family.
Those different combinations are one of the reasons I love a full family session so much. You get a gallery that tells the story of your entire family rather than just a handful of everyone-together portraits.
A Little Bit of Sunshine to Start
For this session, we started about 2.5 hours before sunset, which is one of my favorite times to begin photographing at Aspen Grove. I love starting with a little bit of sunshine! There's something so beautiful about those warmer, sun-filled images at the beginning of a session, especially when you're surrounded by the trees and mountains of Provo Canyon.
Starting earlier also gives us plenty of time to move around the location, let the kids warm up, and capture a variety of images before we get to the softer light later in the evening. And the best part? We don't have to worry about losing beautiful light once the sun disappears behind the mountain.
The Most Beautiful Even Light
Even for shorter mini sessions at Aspen Grove, I love what happens after the sun goes down.
Once the direct sunlight disappears, the lighting becomes incredibly soft and even. The mountains and surrounding trees create beautiful open shade, which gives us that creamy, flattering light that I love for family portraits.
So while I love getting that little bit of sunshine at the beginning of a session, some of my favorite images can happen later when the light becomes softer. It's one of the reasons Aspen Grove is such a versatile location for family photography in Provo Canyon. You can get a completely different feel throughout the same session simply as the sun moves behind the mountain.
Aspen Grove Is Great for Extended Families, Too!
One of the other reasons I love Aspen Grove is that it works really well for extended family photos.
You don't need a small family to enjoy this location! I've photographed larger extended families here, and there is plenty of variety for everyone to have their own individual family photos while still getting those important full-group images.
CLICK HERE TO READ MY BLOG POST ABOUT EXTENDED FAMILY SESSIONS AT ASPEN GROVE IN PROVO, UTAH
In fact, the larger your family is, the earlier I recommend starting your session.
That's especially helpful when you're photographing families with little kids. Starting earlier means we have more time to work through all of the different groupings before bedtime starts becoming an issue for the littlest ones.
With an extended family session, there can be a LOT of combinations to photograph—grandparents with all of the grandchildren, each individual family, siblings, cousins, grandparents with their children, and of course the entire group together. Giving ourselves extra time makes the experience much more relaxed and gives us plenty of opportunities to capture everyone without feeling rushed.
And that's another reason I love starting earlier at Aspen Grove: more time + little kids + beautiful light = a much easier session.
A Beautiful Utah Family Photography Location
Aspen Grove is one of my favorite locations for family photos in Provo, Utah, especially during the summer and fall. The mountain scenery, aspen trees, open spaces, and beautiful light give us plenty of variety without needing to travel all over Provo Canyon for different backdrops.
I also love that it's an easy location for families. There's convenient parking and bathrooms nearby, which can make a big difference when you're bringing little ones along for photos.
If you're planning fall family photos in Utah, Aspen Grove is especially beautiful when the aspens begin changing colors. You can get that gorgeous mix of green and yellow throughout the trees, which gives the images a distinctly Utah mountain feel without needing perfectly peak fall color.
If you're looking for a Provo family photographer, Provo Canyon family photographer, or Utah family photographer for your own family photos, Aspen Grove is one of my favorite places to create those memories.
