Summerland Gardens Session

In the heart of Summerland, only 15 minutes from Penticton, is a beautiful garden called the Summerland Ornamental Gardens. It’s pretty well-known by the locals here, and it’s a location I used to shoot at a lot when I first started my business. However, I stopped shooting there for a few reasons, but with my new editing style and open mindedness, I’m shooting here again and this is why.

When I first started my business and really focused in on the niche I wanted for my art, I googled “best photo spots in Summerland” and of course, the Summerland Ornamental Gardens popped up. This was before I knew about location scouting in the wilderness. So I offered sessions here for families, maternity, couples… even newborns. But I wasn’t fully content with the images I was shooting here. When my clients showed up, they would request photos all sitting on the bench saying cheese, or under the archways, or the kids would run to places that didn’t have ideal lighting. The location wasn’t setting the intentions I wanted for my session flow, so I decided to change it up and invited families into the mountains where the magic unfolded.

But here’s the thing – the location isn’t the only contributing factor that should be determining the intentions of a session. The photographer is the first impression to how the session will flow. Keep in mind, this was before the styling guide, location page, questionnaire, and in-depth session prep. I just showed up, as did my families. Now, with years of experience, knowledge and over 400 families in my portfolio, I’ve built the confidence needed to set the intentions of a session right away. Whether it’s through the prep I provide my families, the styling consultations I offer, the gentle yet stern guidance on where to go within a location, or my emotive prompts I use… it’s all set and led by me. With all of this being said, I decided to take my son to the Summerland Ornamental Gardens after not setting foot here for over FIVE years. I styled us in sort of an old-fashioned picnic vibe in neutral tones, and had a specific vision in mind. I wanted to go straight to the white house.

We brought a picnic, which we were both very happy about because this pregnant mama loves those chocolate raspberry Celebration cookies (hehe), and we giggled, rolled in the grass, snuggled, snacked, danced, skipped, and just had fun! Everything came together so beautifully exactly the way I envisioned because I set the intentions from the beginning on what my expectations were as the artist.

Now that I’ve opened my mind up to this location again with a new perspective, I would love to document more mamas and families here. It’s worth mentioning that if you love this location too, the vision really works best if you also love the vintage picnic vibes, neutral tones (such as creams, browns, terracottas) – maybe even some hints of blues in there if it’s in the right fabric or design. We’ll stick around the white house just like you see in these photos, and feel free to bring your own picnic or some bubbles to blow, a blanket to sit on, some yard games to play. The session time for this location revolves around the time the gates close, so we’ll have to shoot about an hour earlier than my usual sunset time (which is great for kiddos with earlier bed times and you’re worried about keeping them up until 9PM). During spring the gates close at 6:00PM so the session would be around 5PM, and during the summer the gates close at 8PM so it’ll be a session start time of around 7PM.

These images were taken in the beginning of April, so only a few purple flowers within the grass lawn were to be found. Further throughout the year though, more and more flowers bloom and it’s a magical place full of greenery and colour. My favourite time to visit is probably between July-September. I remember walking through the gardens in September just before my sweet Kezlin was born, and we took some photos of my pregnant belly on my phone (before I was doing photography as a business), and the autumn florals were phenomenal. Just make sure while we’re shooting your session here, that you look at and smell the flowers only… but please don’t pick them!

And finally, the enchanting tree spot. I used to love shooting around this tree, but got so discouraged because it’s sitting in direct light and I had the hardest time with editing. Now with more years on my belt, this spot edits so beautifully. My favourite time to photograph this spot is if we have some cloud coverage diffusing the harsh light – but if we have dappled light, that can be pretty too in an artistic way! This spot eventually gets pink, red, and white flowers growing all around the pathway on the ground and more leaves growing on the tree.

I really pivoted away from what any other photographer does at this location, so if you’d like a session here at the gardens it’ll be full of dreamy, nostalgic, old-fashioned, UNIQUE feels. No more sitting stiff on benches or trying to guess where to go. I invite you to contact me through the inquiry form on my website, and let’s plan your picnic dreams here. No need to Google “Penticton family photographer” or “Summerland photographer” any longer, because you found me 😉 I can’t wait to hear from you!

– Katy xo
Located in the heart of the South Okanagan, documenting stories in all the wild, golden spaces in between. Capturing families & couples poetically with an emphasis on cinematic storytelling within Summerland, Penticton & surrounding areas.