Locations With Bridges For Your Portland Family Photo Session

session locations

Nov 6

Portland Family Photo Session Locations With Bridges

One of the iconic landmarks of Portland is ALL of the bridges. I have yet to have the opportunity to explore them all, but I have three favorite locations that include Portland bridges to highlight today which are also in three different areas of town.

Pregnant Lady Poses In Front Of Waterfront And Bridge In Stunning Fitted White Dress And Tan Hat

Young Boy And Girl Hold Hands And Twirl On Stairs In Front Of Water Front

St. John’s Bridge and Cathedral Park

St. John’s bridge and Cathedral Park are located north of downtown Portland in the St. John’s neighborhood. This is a really fun location because there is a wide variety of backdrop location options in a small area. The bridge itself is quite busy, so unless we were there before sunrise I don’t recommend that we go up on the bridge, but you can see from the photos that there are a lot of unique angles and compositions that we can create right under the bridge.

Pregnant Lady And Her Husband Pose In The Rocks At The Water Front At St. John's Bridge In Portland Oregon

Family Poses In A Grass Field In Front Of The St. John's Bridge In Portland Oregon

Young Family Jumps Off A Stone Ledge Underneath The St. John's Bridge In Portland Oregon

There is also a large green space/park down close to the boat launch where we can see the bridge in the distance as well as capture lovely fall foliage during the fall season.

And, from the boat launch area it’s really easy to access the Willamette river front for some water filled images on the beach with the bridge in the background. I prefer to photograph this area about 2 hours before sunset as the sun dips below the hills on the west side of the river around that time, and can lead to really lovely light.

Couple Poes With Their White And Black Dog On The Steps Underneath The St. John's Bridge In Downtown Portland Oregon

Family Poses With Fall Foliage Near St. John's Bridge Portland Oregon

The East Bank Esplanade

When I visit the East Bank Esplanade with family clients, we park at OMSI science museum and it’s just a short walk over to the path of the Esplanade. From here there are a lot of options that include bridges in the background, foliage backdrops, the Portland skyline, some more urban backdrops like a white or a red wall. And, there are options to walk down to the water from a few different points along the East Bank Esplanade where you can get a different vantage point to the city and the river. This is a location that is perfect early in the morning, or 1.5 hours before sunset.

Family Poses In Front Of Red Wall in East Bank Esplanade Portland Oregon

Orenco Woods Nature Park - Hillsboro

West of Beaverton nestled in the neighborhoods of Hillsboro is the Orenco Woods Nature Park with a pedestrian bridge. I love that we can safely be on the bridge to use all of the awesome features to create beautiful compositions with framing and lines, while being on a bridge where we don’t need to worry about cars. Now…we don’t have the Portland city as a backdrop here, but we do have the bridge feeling nestled amongst a park with beautiful evergreen trees and tall grassy fields. These photos were done during a late September evening and the light setting was beautiful and made for lovely light and family photos.

Do you have a favorite bridge in Portland? Let me know in the comments. And, I’d love to chat about how we can incorporate your favorite bridge in your next family photo session!