A Hidden Gem | Elmhurst Photographer

Firefly Nights Photography studio is located in downtown Naperville, but I’d say I spend more time on location than in studio. I travel all over the western burbs – some of it is because I have favorite spots, sometimes it is to make it easier on my clients, and other times it is to find hidden gems. This time it was a mixture of trying to go closer to my client. They had recommended this park. I’m always so nervous going somewhere I haven’t been before because I have no idea what I’m walking into. Will the sun be in the wrong spot, making it unusable?  Is there only one look there?

This started off making me super nervous because all I saw was like a grassy bowl.  Just a bowl of grass and trees bordering it.  Not great.  I mean, it was “fine”, but sort of boring.  We did some family, sibling, and individual child photos to start off. These three girls are the definition of sassy cuteness.

 

And the littlest one could be in the dictionary under “precocious”.  Can you not just see the mischief in her eyes? I can’t wait to see her as a tween! LOL

 

Once we were down in that bowl, I noticed some really cool stairs in the back of the bowl heading out of it.  Yay! I love stairs. It is the best for posing families. Allowing me options of standing or sitting, arranging for different heights, etc.  Give me stairs every day for family pictures.

 

Since we found those stairs, we walked to the opposite side of the grass bowl to find an opening in the trees. A hidden path emerged with a fairytale stone fence with the most gorgeous sunlight shining from behind. I believe this was bordering a home with a large forested yard.  The sun was so stark, that finding this tree was the only way to take a picture there. There wasn’t room for me to move and put the sun behind them. But this worked! I love the oldest sister’s boots!

 

Then it was time for middle sister’s turn. She tends to have the biggest attitude (not in a bad way)!  She’s a tough little girl who knows who she is.  I love these girls. This is NOT her natural state. I think racing rolling in the grass would be much more appropriate.  We actually did do some pictures of the girls racing each other, too.

 

Ok, so remember how this session started with just grass?  Well there was one more hidden gem at this location.  When I say it was a bowl of grass, I really mean it. Like imaging a small sled hill, but with it being almost all the way around.  So at the top on one side, there were some structures. They were just a random few steps in the side of the bowl  but not a full set. Worked for us!