Winter Photo Shoots

I enjoy "location" or "environmental" portrait photography - in other words, portraits taken in the real world, not in a studio.  Many people just can't really relax and be natural in the artificial setting of a studio. And people have to be relaxed to take the best photos they can. So out into the real world we go!  Living in a large urban center (Philadelphia PA) provides a wide range of outdoor, real world backdrops.

However, it's a little trickier in the winter - you never know what the weather might hold for you the day you have a shoot scheduled.  But if there's no active blizzard on that day,
a winter photo shoot can be spectacular!
In the following photos, I took the photos of this lovely young woman on a busy city street and in the very tranquil Pennypack Park, located in the northeast section of Philly.

(All photos copyright Colleen D. Gjefle, GJFOTO.com, 2011)

The photos below were taken at Longwood Gardens (located between Philadelphia and Wilmington DE).  It was a very cold day, so we took some quick outdoor shots and then went into the huge conservatory where we could take winter photos amidst the lush, tropical greenery.  This makes for an excellent location for a winter photo shoot - the best of both worlds!