Santa Fe Holiday Family Portraits | Stephanie + Kornelijus

Holiday photographs that capture your favorite traditions

— Santa Fe National forest, NM—

There are so many reasons to hire a family portrait photographer. And while planning posed family photoshoots is a beautiful experience in itself, we often plan dedicated photoshoots, while missing great opportunities to freeze other precious memories in time. 

The holidays are usually full of beautiful traditions that give you the perfect chance to get natural, timeless family photos. Last winter I joined Kornelijus and Stephanie as they cut their Christmas tree in the Santa Fe National Forest. Not only does this practice help improve the health of the forest, but it also is the perfect opportunity to spend some time outside, and to kick-start the holiday spirit. 

As we walked around looking for the perfect tree, I realized how special it will be for Stephanie and Kornelijus to have these photographs for years to come. This tradition would be the perfect way to document the joy of little ones as well, as a trip like this could feel like a huge adventure for them. Rather than trying to wrangle everyone to hold certain poses, or to shift from one location to the next to make the perfect holiday card, this type of candid documentary photography provides countless opportunities to capture the real joy of a special moment.

My goal is for the photos to capture and show the magic of the moment as it was.

As a photographer, when photographing traditions as these, I try to blend in with the background as much as possible. The last thing I want is to interfere with the moment. My goal is for the photos to capture and show the magic of the moment as it was.

The next time that you are thinking about taking some family portraits, you may want to take a step back to look at your traditions, and see whether there are any that you would like to freeze in time. 

If this is something that interests you, don’t hesitate to reach out. I can adapt any of my photography packages to this type of candid photography, or we can make a custom package that works perfectly for your own adventure.

About Christmas-Tree cutting

You can learn more about the environmental impact of Christmas-tree cutting in Santa Fe, NM from resources from the Santa Fe National Forest, and from the US Forest Service. If you live somewhere other than the Santa Fe area, make sure to read your local environmental impact statements, and understand what your local permitting requirements are. If you want to cut your own tree this season, you can find more information and purchase a permit from recreation.gov.