Be it your hometown too, your first time here, or your traditional yearly visit, there are so many beautiful spots around the Bayfield area that I love to do sessions at. While I focus on family & motherhood photography, these locations could also be great for seniors or non-traditional branding photos, or whatever else you have in mind!
Hauser's Farm, Bayfield, WI
Hauser's has several fields of gorgeous perennial flowers, as well as apple orchards, and while it looks different every time I'm there with different things in bloom, it's one of my absolute favorite locations to explore around Bayfield.
Bayview Beach, Bayfield, WI
Bayview Beach is my favorite local beach to shoot at, besides the beautiful beach itself there's a nice wooded clearing nearby to add variety to your session; and as long as the schedule is scheduled for early morning or golden hour we usually have the beach to ourselves. There's also Friendly Valley Beach & the Onion River Landing right nearby; so if one beach happens to be crowded it's easy to move onto the next location.
Quarry Point or Pete's Beach, Port Wing, WI
Port Wing is a bit of a drive but they have some of my favorite beaches in the area & I have never seen them busy or crowded -- so there's always plenty of space for your kids to enjoy wandering around and exploring. These were taken at Pete's Beach, and Quarry Point also has some small sandstone outcroppings which are fun to explore as well.
This can also be a great option for clients in the Duluth/Superior area, as we can meet in the middle!
Houghton Falls, Washburn, WI
While I've just taken couples portraits there recently, Houghton Falls is a gorgeous local hike that is just about a mile long, with the sandstone gully to admire halfway there, and a beautiful sandstone cliff overlooking the lake at the end. I would recommend an hour session to take photos at the gully, or an hour and a half or two hour session to do the whole hike. It is also close to Bayview Beach, so you could always stop at both places for a few photos!
Blue Vista Farm, Bayfield, WI
Blue Vista Farm is another beautiful place to take photos, with cut flower fields, a beautiful antique barn, and apple orchards to explore while we do your Bayfield family session.
Bayview Park, Ashland, WI
Bayview Park, not to be confused with Bayview Beach, is colloquially known as Pamida Beach, despite the Pamida that was across the road closing ~15 years ago now. This is another fun option for families with the walking trail running though it, a dock and a beach, and a fun playground nearby. Local mural artist, Aimee Strozk, even has a gorgeous mural there depicting some local flora & fauna.
Herbster Beach, Herbster, WI
Herbster Beach can be a fun place to poke around if you're on that side of the bay! There's also a playground across the street for more candid playful photos as well.
Cornucopia Beach can also be gorgeous but it tends to be a lot busier so it's best to plan sessions there early in the morning or late in the evening.
Around Town
I used this couples session to illustrate how diverse of a session you can have with just 30 minutes bopping around Bayfield, WI! With it's walkable downtown it can be fun to have a moment at the beach, explore the harbor, get an ice cream cone, or pop into your favorite coffee shop, diner or book store.
Big Bay State Park, Madeline Island
While generally associated with wedding photography, this park can be fun to explore for any type of session -- be it maternity, family, or senior portraits. I do recommend at least an hour session to have time to wander to the different locations the park has to offer.
Bayfield Winery
The Bayfield Winery has a beautiful property with walkable trails & fields to explore -- great for adventurous families, couples who want to pack a picnic and set up somewhere cute, or any and all of the above.
Wild Rice Retreat, Bayfield, WI
If you're already staying at the Wild Rice, the retreat space can be a gorgeous setting for photos. These were taken in their Peace Pod, which you can reserve when not in use for yoga or other group activities. Their lodging, Nests or Ricepods, also are great locations for a "home" style session -- clean and minimal living spaces to capture your family in. (To see what they look like in a photography session, check out the branding session I did for Good Flower Farm here or find it under the "Commercial" tab).
Home Session
Home sessions are some of my favorite, wiether you're from the area or staying at a hotel or rental and using that space. These can be indoors, around the yard, making pancakes, snuggling together, whatever and where-ever -- we can talk about the sweet moments you appreciate about this phase in your life and how best to capture them to relive down the road.
Prentice Park, Ashland, WI
Prentice Park is a unique place in the area, featuring more natural artesian wells than I can count, a slough connecting to Lake Superior, a playground, camping, and more. The trails through the beautiful cedar trees can be fun for little ones to explore.
Your Favorite Coffeeshop
While most of these photos were taken at Duluth Coffee Co, but we could do a similar session at St. James or Wonderstate Coffee in Bayfiled, WI. We could also pop into Grunkie's for malts, or Honest Dog books if that's more in line with your families interests!
A Bookstore
Both Chequamegon Books in Washburn & Honest Dog Books in Bayfield make for adorable locations for photo sessions, above is a few photos from both places.
My Yard
While it may seem a little odd, my property has a gorgeous field and wooded areas that I'm always down to explore with clients -- it can be especially nice during lupine season in early summer when everything is in bloom. I always give a discount to sessions here as it makes it real easy on me!
