If you’re looking for a beautiful, lush location for your maternity or family photos in Seattle, Washington Park Arboretum is one of my favorite spots!
Located in the heart of Seattle, the Arboretum is a huge 230-acre park filled with gardens, winding paths, mature trees, open grassy areas, and so many different varieties of plants. It really feels like you’ve escaped the city—even though you’re still right in Seattle.
And as a photographer, I LOVE a location that gives us lots of variety.
The Washington Park Arboretum has so much variety
One of my favorite things about photographing here is that we can get a really diverse gallery without having to travel from location to location.
There are wide open grassy areas with beautiful mature trees…
Winding gravel paths…
Lush garden areas…
And lots of little tucked-away paths and pockets of greenery.
That means we can move around throughout the session and create images that all feel different from one another.
You can see how different these two areas feel:
Same location. Completely different look.
And that’s exactly what I want from a photo location.
The light at the Arboretum is beautiful
Okay, this might be one of my favorite things about the Arboretum.
The light.
The combination of all the mature trees and open spaces gives us so many opportunities to play with light.
For these photos, we photographed in the evening when the sun was getting lower in the sky. That gave us that warm, glowy light filtering through the trees.
There’s something about that backlighting through all the greenery that feels so quintessentially Pacific Northwest.
And while I absolutely love golden hour, we don’t have to wait until the exact minute before sunset to get beautiful photographs here. The amount of tree cover gives us some flexibility with timing, which can be especially helpful if you have young children who aren’t exactly thrilled about staying up until 9 p.m. for family photos in the summertime. 😉
It’s beautiful for maternity photos
The Arboretum is one of my favorite places for maternity sessions because the surroundings complement the focus of the photos without completely taking over.
There are plenty of areas where we can showcase the landscape and your growing family…
And then we can move into more intimate photographs where the focus is entirely on you and your partner.
I also love the tall grasses and garden paths for maternity portraits. They add a lot of texture and depth to the images without needing a lot of props or anything complicated.
And sometimes the simplest images are my favorites.
Just the two of you walking together, holding hands, talking and enjoying this little season of life before your baby arrives.
The Arboretum is beautiful year-round
One of the reasons I keep coming back to the Arboretum is that there really isn’t a bad season for photos here.
The Arboretum is home to gardens and plant collections that change throughout the year, so the scenery looks different depending on when your session takes place. The grounds include areas such as the Woodland Garden, Azalea Way, Rhododendron Glen, Pacific Connections Garden and the Witt Winter Garden.
Spring brings flowering trees and colorful blooms.
Summer gives us lush greens and long evenings.
Fall brings changing foliage and gorgeous warm tones.
And even during the winter months, there is plenty of greenery and interesting texture throughout the gardens.
So if you’re hoping for that lush, green PNW look, the Arboretum is a great option.
It’s not just for maternity photos!
Although the photos in this post happen to be from a maternity session, the Arboretum is also one of my favorite locations for family photos.
Especially if you have kids who don’t love sitting still.
There are paths to walk, things to look at, and plenty of room to move around.
And honestly, that’s exactly what I want during a family session.
I don’t want your kids standing in one spot saying “cheese” for an hour.
I want them to run, explore, laugh, hold your hand, climb around, and be themselves.
I’ll give you prompts and little activities to help create genuine interaction between everyone, while also making sure we get those beautiful family portraits that grandma will want to frame.
The Arboretum gives us plenty of opportunities to do both.
A few things to know before your Arboretum photo session
Because the Washington Park Arboretum is 230 acres, we’re definitely not going to see the entire place during one photo session!
That’s actually a good thing.
I have a few favorite areas that I like to use for photography, and we’ll choose the areas that make the most sense for your family, the time of day, and the season.
The Arboretum is free and is open daily from dawn until 8 p.m.
Parking is available, but it is limited, so that’s something to keep in mind when planning your session. There are designated parking areas near the Graham Visitors Center and the Japanese Garden.
And one important distinction: the Seattle Japanese Garden is a separate, ticketed garden located within the larger Arboretum. We don’t need to visit the Japanese Garden to get beautiful photos—the Arboretum itself has plenty of gorgeous scenery.
Why Washington Park Arboretum is one of my favorite Seattle photo locations
I think the best photography locations are the ones that give us beautiful scenery without making the photos feel like they’re all about the scenery.
The Arboretum does that really well.
It’s lush and beautiful, but there’s also room for connection.
There’s room to walk.
There’s room to play.
There’s room to slow down.
And there’s enough variety that your final gallery can feel like more than just a collection of portraits in front of the same tree.
Whether you’re celebrating a pregnancy, updating your family photos, or simply wanting to document your family exactly as they are right now, Washington Park Arboretum is one of my favorite Seattle locations for doing it.
And clearly, I’m not the only one who thinks it’s pretty. 😉
Want to schedule your maternity or family photo session at the Washington Park Arboretum?
If you love the look of the Washington Park Arboretum for your maternity or family photos, contact me to grab a spot on my calendar!
My approach to photography is relaxed and natural. I’ll help guide you through your session with prompts and activities so you don’t have to worry about knowing what to do in front of the camera.
We’ll walk, talk, laugh, snuggle, and maybe even dance a little.
You just get to be yourselves.
I’ll take care of the rest.
Explore More Seattle Area Photo Locations
Still trying to decide where you want your photos taken?
Check out some of my other favorite Seattle-area locations:
Carkeek Park — A beautiful PNW beach, forest trails, and Puget Sound views.
Blyth Park — Open fields, trails, tall grass, and the Sammamish River in Bothell.
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park — Beach, driftwood, ferries, and gorgeous Puget Sound views.
Wallace Swamp Creek Park — Trails, cute fence, tall grass, a small field, and a creek of course!
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