Top 5 Martha's Vineyard Family Photo Locations
As a Martha’s Vineyard-born baby, raised in the halcyon days of local wandering, I know this Island well. And, while it’s almost impossible to choose a spot for your family photos that isn’t scenic - you want beach? We’re surrounded by them! Farms? So many! Meadows and woods? Pick a direction! - there are a few favorite locations I like to recommend for your family photo session - and, because the light is always changing, no spot is ever identical even from one day to the next, so there is also a great deal of built-in variety, even if we use the same spot every year (which is also something I like - to see how much changes even though so much stays the same).
1) Edgartown Lighthouse. I know this spot is so popular as to be cliché (and, it is not uncommon on a summer evening to orbit another photographer taking advantage of the same spot for their families), but it’s that way for a reason. With or without the main attraction, the number of different photo spots is unmatched for families wanting their Martha’s Vineyard family photos with sand/sea/docks. This location also provides open shade for families who want a beach session, but need it to take place earlier in the evening than the ideal sunset hour.
2) Polly Hill Arboretum, West Tisbury. Another supremely popular spot, and for good reason. If you’re not interested in a beach session, Polly Hill offers the widest variety of backgrounds in the meadows/rock walls/trees/flowers style of session. In addition, the wide open space is great for young kids to get all their energy out. Each season at Polly Hill is so different, as well, that you could hold all your family photo sessions here and not repeat a vista.
3) The beach! My favorite beach on Martha’s Vineyard is Moshup Beach, but almost any shoreline provides spectacular photo possibilities.
4) The trails. Whether Land Bank or Trustees or Sheriff’s Meadow, the Island is full of trails that hold possibility for beautiful family photos. Again, each changing season offers a different perspective for your session and I like taking advantage of the many trails (especially on a windy day, for example, when the inland parts of the Island are not as affected).
5) Last but not least, my final favorite location for your family photo session on Martha’s Vineyard is your special spot. From a family home in your family for generations, to a rental you just found that feels like home, to a private beach, to the spot you proposed, a farm to a garden, there are so many places that mean so much to the people who live here and the people who visit - and those places are just the right places for a session.
If you’re looking for family photos on Martha’s Vineyard that document your joy for place, your love and connection to each other, and your desire to hold these times precious, I’d love to chat with you more.