Top Five Photo Spots in Worcester for Families and Seniors
Check out the five best spots in and around Worcester, MA for family sessions and senior portraits.
Life as a Worcester family and senior photographer
Being a family and senior photographer in Worcester - or anywhere in New England, really - is interesting. From mid-April until the weekend after Thanksgiving it is always something “season." Flowers and trees bloom in April, beaches warm up for sessions in Hampton or the Cape in June, lavender season is in July and it all peaks in the mad dash for foliage-filled senior and family sessions in October. There is a brief surge when everyone is home for Thanksgiving and then crickets.
During the warm months of the year, the New England photographer enjoys what it feels like to be wanted and in demand. For many of us, it is the closest we have ever come to being cool. Then, after Christmas (earlier for those of us who don’t get into the Christmas tree farm minis or know a large man with a white beard) people wonder if we ever existed at all. “Tom… Tom? Tom who?” Photographers like me then go into hibernation, leave the country, make resolutions to be better bloggers, and look into Ubering when March rolls around and our inboxes are still empty. Then, on the first real day of spring in April, the cycle starts again.
I can’t imagine being a photographer in a place with nice weather all year round. The lack seasonal stress would… stress me out.
So, in months when photographers are at the top of the seasonal boutique business food chain here in Worcester, we get to know photo locations very well. We all have our favorites and the hot spots are crowded for good reason. Just look at Moore State Park in Paxton - all it took was one spectacular weekend at the end of peak season to amass such a crowd of family and senior photographers that not only are the park rangers now enforcing longstanding-but-always-ignored permit requirements, but professional photography is flat out banned during the weekends.
Top Five Family and Senior Photography Spots in Worcester
Moore State Park, Paxton
This is my favorite place for family and senior photography in the Worcester area. It has several different photography spots that are great for families or seniors and they are varied enough that we always come away with a range of looks. I really, really like this place because it is basically a walk in the park with enough great scenery to not have to rely on pose after pose which means that photos come out more authentic with a lot of space for candids.
The only negatives to a photo session at Moore State Park is that there is a decent amount of walking and it can get crowded. Professional photo sessions can only happen during weekdays and make sure your photographer has a permit or your session might be happening in the parking lot.
Old Stone Church, West Boylston
The Old Stone Church in West Boylston is where most of my clients who have a preference want to shoot. This make sense because when the conditions are right it is a beautiful spot with a heavy nostalgia factor for anybody who grew up in this part of Worcester County. Bob and his hot dogs might be gone but one can still have a salubrious day (and buy hot dogs from the new guy - who is extremely friendly).
The main draw to the Old Stone Church is, well, the Old Stone Church. There is nothing inside but a photo with it in the background is quintessential New England. I haven’t checked the town laws but I assume a senior portrait at the Old Stone Church that doesn’t include the senior sitting in the empty windows is probably illegal. There are some great opportunities for water-focused photos with Wachusett Reservoir in the background and it is all tied in by great foliage in the fall.
The downside to to this place is just that it can get quite crowded during foliage season. There are no permits needed here so a session in October guarantees your photographer is going to be editing people out of the background for a while. It is also more important to be aware of where the sun is going to be here than in other places. The church is on a peninsula that gets slammed by midday sun so opt for morning or golden hour photos here.
Elm Park, Worcester
Elm Park is Worcester’s Central Park. If you are from Worcester then you probably already know that it was designed by the same firm that designed New York’s Central Park. Most people in and around Worcester have memories of feeding and chasing geese around the park and climbing on one of the two famously steep bridges. It is also a great spot for senior and family portrait sessions in Worcester. There is a variety of scenery - trees, fields, reeds, and the bridges that let us get different photos without a ton of walking. During senior and family sessions at Elm Park I tend to walk around the pond and stop at the spots that call to us.
The downside to this park is that it is always active. The playground is always full of kids and people are playing, running, picnicking and generally doing park stuff all over. For families and seniors this is fine, but if you happen to be a bride in a full wedding gown you will probably attract some well-intentioned attention.
Dean Park, Shrewsbury
Dean Park is my home park. I grew up in Shrewsbury and while little parks are spread out here and there, Dean Park is where all the big stuff happens. I know every square inch of this park and while I am not going to be bringing families into the tunnels under the road that every Shrewsbury kid went into, I do know where to stop for family and senior photos. Dean Park is a great choice for senior and family portraits because it is a big park with everything from forest to baseball fields. My favorite thing to do when I am capturing a family or senior session is to walk around the pond - this way the shoot starts in the woods and ends on a field next to the water.
The only real downside to a senior or family portrait session at Dean Park are that the sun can be harsh on one side of the lake while the other is in shadow. It is also very popular - on a nice day in the spring and summer the entire town of Shrewsbury seems to be there.
City Hall, Worcester
Worcester City Hall’s urban vibe plays a central role in family and senior sessions here. I like that. Sessions here hit different. It is a small space but again, there is more than enough to provide some variety. I usually start family and senior sessions at City Hall right up against the building. The architecture is fantastic. Just beyond that, if the weather is nice, we have the fountain and an army of umbrellas that photograph really well! While there is the greenery of the common behind City Hall, I absolutely love taking seniors into the surrounding buildings and alleys. Its a great way to incorporate a little bit of urban life into senior portraits. This spot is becoming more and more popular - especially with seniors. Photos with Turtle Boy are allowed but probably won’t make the yearbook.
The downside of senior and family sessions at Worcester’s City Hall is that the reality of city life is apparent. Very often, sections of City Hall are occupied by the homeless population. I have NEVER had an issue with anybody during a shoot at City Hall but there is often attention or areas that are too crowded to shoot in. That, along with an often-present cloud of marijuana smoke make City Hall a bit less comfortable for family sessions.
I shoot more often in the places above than anywhere else in Worcester County. That being said, there are almost an infinite number of public spaces that would make fantastic locations for a family or senior session in Worcester. If you would like to book a family session with me at one of the locations above - or at your own local park or secret spot - click the links or use the form below to reach out and receive more info about my family or senior sessions!
A Family Portrait for a Cause
Every year I donate sessions to help charities and non-profits raise money. Last year I donated a family session to The Pittie Stop Rescue, a volunteer-run group dedicated to finding homes and raising awareness for a breed of dogs that often gets a bad rap. Check out this fall family session and learn more about an awesome group!
Family portraits are always a lot of fun. Because I try to keep things pretty relaxed and focus on genuine moments, my sessions are light and there are plenty of opportunities for people to, gasp, actually enjoy themselves while getting their photos taken. It is really rewarding for me when I get to show a mom or dad the photos from their session and then to see how pumped they are that we captured those memories. It is extra rewarding when those photos are for a good cause.
At some point last year I came into contact with The Pittie Stop Rescue. The Pittie Stop is a non-profit volunteer run, foster-based organization dedicated to correcting misconceptions and finding homes for the Pitt Bulls. As a general dog lover, I was happy to donate a family session towards a raffle to benefit the organization. Pitt Bulls get a bad rap and that’s not fair. Because of this, Pitt Bulls often struggle to be adopted. Organizations like The Pittie Stop are vital because without them championing the cause- a lot of Pitt Bulls would not have happy endings. Important links can be found below.
I was pumped when the session went to Liz, who is heavily involved in the group. Liz’ family and I spent a GORGEOUS fall afternoon at Moore State Park in Paxton. We had some fun, threw some leaves, and came away with some awesome photos that raised some money for a good cause.
You can learn more about The Pittie Stop Rescue by heading towards their main page or liking them on Facebook.
Non-profits and charities are important to the causes they support and the community in general. Each year I donate a number of sessions to non-profits. I also provide event photography with reduced or no fees to a variety of organizations and causes. If you think photography would benefit your cause, feel free to reach out!
Catherine and Tim: Sunrise at Moore State Park
Sunrise engagement sessions in Massachusetts are gorgeous and absolutely worth the early call time. On this particular day the clouds might not have parted but the rain stayed away just long enough to get some gorgeous photos.
When it comes to where and when to shoot an engagement session here in Massachusetts I am pretty open. Over the years as a photojournalist for various newspapers I have shot in pretty much every condition: pouring rain, direct sun, snow, anti-government protests, etc.. The one thing I always tell my couples, though, is that sunrise and sunset are the times to aim for if you want that awesome soft-light that makes everything look a little bit like a dream. Very rarely do people take me up on a sunrise session. Catherine and Tim took me up on a sunrise engagement session at Moore State Park.
Here’s the thing about this engagement session: what you see in these photos was the only nice part of the day. The weather was forecasted to be terrible and it pretty much was until we arrived at Moore State Park… in the dark. The three of us all knew that we probably didn’t have too much time so we set out to get as many great photos as we could. We ended up getting a whole session in with the rain coming back as we got back into our cars. Whenever I see these photos I always think about them as extra lucky.
Engagement sessions come with all of my wedding packages. If you want to have a sunrise engagement session, sunset engagement session, or a special blizzard engagement session then I want to hear from you!
The Armstrongs: A Winter Family Portrait
Last weekend was freezing. I woke up on Sunday morning thinking that it was supposed to be unseasonably warm and it wasn’t. It felt exactly like December in New England should feel. Add in the insane wind and it felt downright miserable. Conveniently enough, Sunday was the only day that was possible to photograph my sister, brother-in-law, and their two kids.
Last weekend was freezing. I woke up on Sunday morning thinking that it was supposed to be unseasonably warm and it wasn’t. It felt exactly like December in New England should feel. Add in the insane wind and it felt downright miserable. Conveniently enough, Sunday was the only day that was possible to photograph my sister, brother-in-law, and their two kids.
Together, we hit all of my favorite photo spots at Moore State Park in Paxton right as the sun started to dip. You wouldn’t have even known that there were kids under those piles of blankets if you didn’t look carefully. By the end my hands were numb and everyone was ready to jump into heated cars and trucks but I am stoked with how the photos came out. Winter is an underrated time for family photos!
All in all it was fun and definitely worth borderline frostbite. If you are looking to brave the cold for some awesome winter photos with your family I would love to hear from you! From now until Christmas I am selling family session gift certificates! Each purchase comes with a printable PDF that makes a great stocking stuffer. Just click here! See? You don’t even have to get off the couch!
Jessica and James: A Wedding at the Asa Waters Mansion
New England is full of historic homes- sometimes I get lucky enough to shoot a wedding at some of them. Jessica and James got married over the summer at the Asa Waters Mansion in Millbury, MA. Here are some of my favorite photos.
Jessica and James are, in a lot of ways, my favorite kind of people to work with. They were laid back and incredibly nice but also had this sense of humor that really appeals to me. I enjoyed photographing them and I enjoyed working with them through out the wedding process and their wedding at the Asa Waters Mansion in Millbury, MA was fantastic.
Our first engagement session was scrapped because it happened to fall on the same day as our only major snowstorm last winter and I felt awful. They had traveled all the way in from New York and we just couldn’t make it to Moore State Park for our session. I drive a PT Cruiser- not exactly known for its rugged abilities. When we finally had our session a few weeks later the weather was cold but wonderful. Jessica’s son and her sister Barb- also a photographer- came along. Barb let us use her heart shaped umbrella and it ruled. It was a lot of fun and a great way to get to know the people I would be spending a hot summer day with.
Here is my favorite shot from that session.
I was pumped on the day of their wedding. I had met up with Jessica a few days before and she gave me my own heart-shaped umbrella. I was really touched. I toured the lovely Asa Waters Mansion and had a really good idea about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to shoot. I was happy and ready to go. Then, as I was getting my cameras ready to get loaded into my camera bag I got an awful phone call letting me know that one of my cousins had been diagnosed with a real shitty form of Leukemia (not that they aren’t all shitty).
Jessica and James’ wedding taught me that weddings are not an aside from life. Every single person who is at a wedding- whether they are in the wedding or cherished guests (or bearded photographers) have their own massively complex story going on. Not all of it is happy but during a wedding you just have to accept and embrace that. Love is all about accepting a person’s entire story and weddings are all about love.
If I had a normal job I don’t know if I would have functioned properly. I don’t. I arrived at Jessica and James’ wedding having decided that I would paste on a smile and just exist in my camera. The thing is that it’s hard not to smile at a wedding and it’s even harder not to smile around people like Jessica and James. It was also helpful that they and their guests came to get down during the reception! I found that after an incredibly short amount of time my smile was genuine and there were times when I couldn’t help but laugh and feel appreciative for what I do and the people that I get to spend time with. Here are some of my favorite shots from Jessica and James’ wedding at the Asa Waters Mansion in Auburn, MA.
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