I’ve been a professional photographer for quite a number of years now. I think it’s been 12 years by now. Wow, how time flies! And as we enter a new year, I’ve decided to mix up some of my shooting locations and add some new spots to the list. I’ve quietly tested some of these locations last year and this is a location that I am now sure of!

The location is Fota House and Gardens! So here are some shoots I’ve shot there.

A Surprise Visit

Was this a photo shoot or really just a big ruse? I’ve gotten quite experience with a good ol’ ruse, if you’ve read my proposals blog post here. Those proposals often include a lot of secrecy and cunning!

In in this secretive case it was a birthday. Gitana’s 50th! She was under the impression that we would be doing a small photo shoot with the local, immediate family members before they headed off to Cobh for a nice lunch.

But there was a big surprise awaiting her! As we were doing the shoot with careful positioning and backs turned to the entrance, who’s that in the background? They aren’t regular visitors. It’s Gitana’s extended family and her siblings coming all the way from America. They haven’t seen each other in years! Cue the tears…

I went into full wedding photographer/paparazzi mode to capture all these beautiful emotions! This was so heart warming to photograph, and just like with the proposals, I was delighted that the surprise worked so well and I didn’t have to be secretive anymore! Once everything had settled, we could start the actual photo shoot in the gardens at a nicer looking location.

So many different gardens

And this is where this location really shines! The individual gardens are so handy to have as a photographer, and in such a small proximity. Each garden is beautifully manicured. They each have a different layout and look, some have trees, some have hedges, but they all have different flowers. Then we also have these structural elements to work with, like this pavilion.

Add in the stairs and we have the perfect spot especially for bigger family shoots for groups over 10 people. The stairs make for great group photos, and the different gardens allow for each sub-group of the family shoot to have a different looking shoot, while still looking cohesive.

Don’t forget the forest

If these gardens aren’t your vibe, and you’d like something wilder, the forest is also a beautiful spot and is open more hours in the year than the gardens. Here is also my favourite spot; the moss garden!

Choosing one of my bigger photography packages would allow you the option to go to both locations.

Maternity Shoots

If you’ve been keeping an eye on my blog, you’ll know that I’m now also doing maternity photo shoots. This family friendly location works so well for maternity shoots, and, it could be a great spot to come back a few months down the line with your newborn!

So what about babies?

Talking about newborns, what else would work really well here? Well, this a great spot for baby shoots as well.

It doesn’t just work because it looks amazing, but also because it’s close to the city, meaning little travel, a large variety of backgrounds in a small footprint and something that’s often overlooked, access to toilets in case of a diaper change.