Tips for Picking the Perfect Anniversary Session Location!
You have finally set aside time on the calendar to book your anniversary photos! You’ve found a photographer you love, you’ve got a date and time and you are knee deep in figuring out what to wear when you get an email from your photographer. In it s/he is asking where do you want the session to take place, what location ideas do you have and you freeze up!!!!
Isn’t the photographer supposed to take care of that? You have no idea what is a good spot and with all the other decisions you are making you are thinking “Ugh I don’t know! Surely they have a list of places in mind.”
Guess what?!?!?!? Of course we do but we like to ask you because maybe you have access to the most amazing location we’ve never seen and we love shooting in new places! For me I ask clients because I LOVE when they pick a location that has meaning to them. A place that will remind them of all the great memories they have at that place whenever they look at their photos.
Of course I can offer suggestions like a local park or downtown area, maybe a beach or a field depending on your style. But how much more meaning would your photos have if it is the place you went on your first date? Or the farm where you spend weekends tending your vegetable garden together? Maybe it’s the spot you got married and you love the idea of celebrating your anniversary where it all started!
Anniversary sessions are all about reconnecting with each other and remembering the love you have together. So choose a location that gives you all the feels about your love!
Here are 10 anniversary session location ideas to get you started :
– First Date Location
– Regular Date Night Location
– Where you got engaged
– Where you got married
– Where ever you spend your weekends, maybe a winery or a home improvement store (seriously I once saw a Home Depot engagement session that was super adorable!!!)
– Your camper or boat if you have one (we had anniversary photos done on our sailboat one year!)
– Your very own home (it’s where you spend all your time together so it definitely has meaning to you)
– A place you’ve always wanted to visit and make memories together (NYC, Paris, Rome – I do travel!)
– Family property
– Your favorite vacation spot

Ryan and Ashley choose NYC for their portraits so of course we had to get the Flat Iron building and the classic yellow cabs in the background!

Cate and Adam loved that their wedding venue was a place they could come back to for future anniversaries!

Katie and Cliff wanted something outdoors to show off the fall leaves and it turns out Cliff used to come to this park with family for fishing when he was a kid!

Carrie’s parent live on a farm in Luray so it was a great spot for portraits of her and Mary that most people wouldn’t have access to!

Paige grew up visiting this sandbar on the Potomac River and she and Matt had spent many summer days lounging on it’s private beach. It’s only accessible via boat so that made it an ultra private location!
I hope this helps you answer the “Do you have a location in mind?” question easily and gets you excited to make new memories together! If you are ready to start planning your own Anniversary session then definitely check out my How to Prepare for the Perfect Anniversary Session planner!
Melissa Arlena is an award winning lifestyle newborn photographer in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia who has earned her Master Photographer Certification from NAPCP in maternity, newborn and family photography. Her natural and simple work has been featured in magazines and online blogs worldwide. She has been named Best Maternity and Newborn Photographer in Richmond and Charlottesville, VA in 2024.