One of my favorite outdoor locations for family, children, and senior photography is the Gibson Ranch Park that’s in Sacramento, California. For a long time, I was looking for a perfect photoshoot location that will have beautiful views, easy access, and work well for different season pictures. Although there are many different parks around the Sacramento area, not all of them work well for photo sessions.
A lot of photographers spend time driving around scouting different places to find a location that works great for the type of photo session they are looking to have. Being a photographer myself, I did lots of scouting as well, searching for unique locations. I was looking for places that would have that beautiful and dreamy feel for authentic family and children photo sessions.
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The best outdoor location with the right balance of open field, woodsy and rustic backdrops is the Gibson Ranch Park, in Elverta California. Located a little more than fifteen miles away from Downtown Sacramento, this park is a great family destination with the pristine natural countryside.
This park will give you beautiful backdrops for family, children, senior portraits, and not only that. Gibson Ranch Park is very well maintained and is a great place for hiking, horseback riding, recreation, campgrounds, and even weddings and events all year round. Every time we visit this park as a family outing or for a Bidun Studio Photography portrait photoshoot, we always come back with positive energy and lots of great memories made.
HOW TO GET TO THE GIBSON RANCH PARK
Getting to the Gibson Ranch Park from downtown Sacramento, California, only takes about 25 minutes in good driving conditions. The best way to get to the park is by taking Highway 5 toward Yuba City/Marysville and exiting on W Elverta Road.
There are quite a few designated areas for parking, which makes it very convenient for visitors that come here for recreation, to celebrate an event, or for a photo session. This park is open seven days a week, and it opens at sunset and closes at dusk.`
ADVANTAGES OF CHOOSING A NATURAL COUNTRYSIDE PHOTOSHOOT LOCATION
Choosing a natural countryside photoshoot location has many advantages, especially for family, children, and seniors pictures. Many high school seniors want to have their portraits taken in nature and rural locations. Gibson Ranch has all that and more!
At this park, you will find a beautiful open field, lots of areas with green grass and big trees. There is a big pond in the middle of the park and a creek running down through the park. These types of natural backdrops can make any photo session more authentic and creative.
In the spring-time, you will find lots of blooming trees and gorgeous green landscapes, and in the fall-time, the trees will turn into beautiful colorful backdrops for more seasonal portraits. I recommend you to read our post about Seasonal Family Photo Session Ideas.
The Gibson Ranch Park is a nature preserve that lets us create very authentic pictures at different spots in this 325 acre-area. If the client chooses to have more greenery and trees in their portraits, we go for those shots. If another person wants to have a balance of woodsy & rustic pictures or photos by the creek – Bidun Studio Photography can do that as well!
BEST TIME FOR PICTURES AT GIBSON RANCH PARK
The “golden hour” as it’s often referred to, is the perfect time for taking those beautiful warm sun-lit portraits in the natural countryside. Like with every outdoor photo session that we photograph, the plan is to be at the location two hours before the sunset time. That will give us enough time to take photos at a few different spots in the park and not worry about needing to hurry through the shoot.
Considering that some clients’ availability may not allow for a sunset photo session, we could take pictures during the sunrise time as well. Read our tips and ideas on how to take better Natural Light Pictures.
One of the advantages of taking pictures at Gibson Ranch Park is that you will certainly have areas with a sufficient amount of shade, which is preferred during the sunny summer days.
During Scarlett’s fall portrait session, we knew how important it was to capture her portraits at the perfect time of day. Bidun Studio Photography team strives to arrive at photo sessions slightly ahead of time, to plan out each photography location and timing.
SIX PHOTOGRAPHY SPOTS IN GIBSON RANCH PARK
THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPHY LOCATION SPOT at Gibson Ranch Park, where we took portraits of Scarlett, was by the haystacks. This spot worked well with her first outfit and a cowboy hat. The hazy backdrop added a touch of mystery to this photo session. Even though the photoshoot took place during sunset time, there was no direct sunlight as the air was hazy that day.
On a sunny day, we could have gotten more flare in the portraits and could have played around more with the sun rays. Nevertheless, overcast days have their advantages as well. I was able to have very soft and even lighting throughout the whole photoshoot, as you will see in the gallery below.
THE SECOND SPOT where we took teen portraits was on a short strip of a road inside the park. When scouting location spots, I liked how the empty trail looked with the leading lines disappearing far away in the haze. When using the portrait and zoom lenses, we could highlight the main subject and make it stand out and be the center of attention.
On one side of the road was a long wooden fence that we used for the next set of images. Scarlett’s outfit matched so well with this setting and the gorgeous rich background. The beautiful fall trees with their colorful leaves created an incredible natural backdrop for our photo session.
THE THIRD PHOTOGRAPHY SPOT at the Gibson Ranch Park was utilizing its natural surroundings. We took some pictures by a very rusty tractor, and they turned out super amazing! Some buildings in the distance served as an excellent backdrop for some of our images. As photographers, it is our task to keep our eyes open for unique surroundings that might make our pictures even more authentic.
THE FOURTH SPOT where I like taking photos at this park is by the tall trees that are close to the property buildings, the farm animals & barns. When taking pictures during sunset time, this location gives a beautiful warm backlight that is perfect for children and family photo sessions. There are quite a few tall trees like that at Gibson Ranch park, which help create a more beautiful background.
THE FIFTH LOCATION, and probably my favorite one, is at the back of the park on an off-road. This beautiful alley, with trees on both sides, creates a gorgeous natural backdrop. This location is so pretty and unique at every season of the year.
Families often opt-in for portraits at this scenic location, and I couldn’t agree with them more. Portraits taken at this location seem like straight out of a magazine. These types of images will be treasured for many years.
THE SIXTH LOCATION SPOT is an open field area close to the Gibson Lake. Having that open field look is what can help create clean family, children, or couples photos. This area looks amazing both in springtime when everything is beautiful and fresh, as well as during fall time. And if you luck out with a great sunset, your portraits will be incomparable to anyone else’s.
WHAT PHOTO SESSIONS CAN BE DONE AT GIBSON RANCH PARK
Gibson Ranch Park, from Sacramento, is a wonderful location for senior pictures, family & children portraits, and even couples photo sessions. With the big variety of unique location spots at this park, the photographer can create a lot of beautiful pictures.
There are many gorgeous areas at this park that are within walking distance. Since the creek is a bit farther down, it will be best to drive over to that spot.
What I noticed from my previous photo sessions at the Gibson Ranch Park, it’s best to come here for a photoshoot during weekdays. There won’t be as many park visitors – which in turn will benefit you during the photo session.
Every senior, children, and family photo session client that I’ve photographed here has given me only positive feedback on how they loved their portrait session experience at the Gibson Ranch Park.
ABOUT THE PHOTOSHOOT
Scarlett’s photo session started with portraits by the haystacks that were close to the park entrance area. The day turned out a bit gloomy and hazy, so I knew that I was going to have a consistent overcast light situation up until the sunset time.
Mom helped her daughter prepare for the photo session with beautiful outfits and some hats, which I knew would come handy during this session. Here are some ideas for how to better Prepare for a Portrait Photo Session.
The first outfit that we photographed in and the brown hat, really worked nicely at the given location. The tones and textures complemented each other very well and helped Scarlett stand out in her pictures.
We managed to get a great number of portraits as well as full body shots at this location. Scarlett was very natural in front of the camera and was super excited to try out different locations throughout the Gibson Ranch Park area.
SIMPLEST LOCATIONS CAN PRODUCE BEAUTIFUL RESULTS
As we got enough images at the first location, I spotted a new place that I thought will look great for portraits. The road in front of us was empty, and with the current haze, it seemed interesting and mysterious. I loved how it was creating beautiful leading lines in the background. After a quick outfit change, we started photo shooting on the empty road.
The session took place during the fall, with almost everything around us yellow and dry. The backdrop looked pretty minimalistic, but that only helped for our photography subject to stand out. Scarlett’s simple dress fit very well to the surroundings and helped to make her facial features and hair pop.
The fence that was along the side of the road served us as a prop for a few more images. Those beautiful colorful trees in the background show off the beauty of California fall. We kept taking more beautiful portraits by the fence, experimenting with the different hats that Scarlett brought with her.
The images we took on the road and by the wooden fence are our favorites from the whole gallery. There’s something so charming and storytelling in each of those portraits. Our portrait photography posing tips played a role in getting gorgeous pictures.
USING SURROUNDINGS AS PHOTOGRAPHY PROPS
Gibson Ranch Park has so many natural props that could be used by creative portrait photographers. Anything from haystacks, wooden fence, rustic walls & objects, and the little creek can be implemented as ways to enhance your photos. It’s enjoyable to see what portraits we can create with any given natural prop.
Every portrait photographer has their vision and a particular way of seeing everything around them, and the end result will always be different and unique. That’s what motivates us, at Bidun Studio Photography, to keep pushing our creativity to produce exceptional products every time.
Once we’ve taken a good number of portraits and full-body shots, we began experimenting with the props present at the location. First, we took some images with an old & rusty tractor. The tractor looked pretty cool with Scarlett’s unique outfit and change of hairstyle.
Then we did a bit of walking towards the buildings, taking images as we went. This type of image variety comes handy when designing an album or wall collage of prints.
MODERN CHILDREN PORTRAITS
Bidun Studio Photography is an award-winning boutique photography studio. We specialize in providing customized kids portrait photography experience in the Gibson Ranch Park and all Northern California. At Bidun Studio, we specialize in modern, fashion-inspired custom children portraiture.
We customize every photo session to each of our clients’ unique personalities. Our portrait photography team strives to make every photo session a fun and creative experience. Our all-time goal is to capture authentic portraits that reflect the unique personality of each client.
As one of Sacramento’s top children portrait photography studios, we aim to take photos that will take your breath away and an experience that you will remember for many years.
Our boutique photography studio is located in Sacramento, California. We are happy to travel and provide services as Sacramento modern children photographer, Roseville children photographer, Rocklin children photographer, Lincoln children photographer, Granite Bay children photographer, Folsom children photographer, El Dorado children photographer, Elk Grove children photographer, Napa children photographer, and the surrounding areas.
