Senior Sessions at Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham, North Carolina
Want to do a session at Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham, North Carolina? Here is everything you need to know!
The Duke Gardens are a popular spot, and for a good reason! They are a well-maintained university garden that has a good variety of flowers and wonderful natural settings to last year round. In recent years, they have become so popular and overflowing with photographers that the Gardens now have a 100-200 dollar permit in place (depending on what time of the week you choose to shoot there) required for all professional images.
Fountain Area
Is a permit required?
Yes, as I mentioned above, the gardens do require a permit. Another thing to keep in mind is that your photographer will have to apply for a permit in advance, and once they submit an application, you might not hear back for a week or two. Plan for this spot ahead of time.
Are dogs allowed?
Sometimes. Leashed dogs are allowed on the premises before 10 am.
What are the main features of the park?
Think manicured gardens, paths, bridges, and stone features. The Duke Gardens truly have a little bit of everything except for urban. I could try to explain it all in this little text, but hopefully my images can give you some good examples to look at.
When should I schedule for?
Season: The best flowers and colorful aspects of the gardens will be in spring, but there are still some great greens in late summer. If you want to take advantage of the colors of the many mature trees around the area, try a fall session.
Time of Day: As with most sessions, doing an early morning or late evening session works best. The rule of thumb is to start 30 minutes after sunrise, or plan to end 30 minutes before sunset. On a cloudier day, since there is a large amount of tree coverage in many spots, you might want to bring your session up by 30 minutes.
Hopefully you found these tips very helpful! Check out more images from this location below:
Japanese Red Bridge: A beautiful red Japanese style bridge over the large pond in the back right corner of the gardens. Shaded for evening lighting about 1.5 hours before sunset to get this view. These images were assisted by a large white reflector to the left of the lovely Julia.
Stone Pathway: Found on the walk from the Japanese Bridge along the edge of the water towards the center area, you get some lovely glowing sunshine reflected up off the water through the trees. These images were made with the assistance of a white reflector as well.
Central Fountain Area: A beautiful area to photograph in! It gets very even light closer to sunset. With a larger variety of angles and interesting features to capture, you can spend a good amount of time in this one section!
BONUS SPOT: A cute set of stone slabs with a bench in the background is found when you cut from the Japanese Bridge through towards the Lewis Street entrance, plus some glowy shots with the help of a Gold reflector (Which I normally don’t use but worked well with Julia’s deep and warm skin).
Hope this helped you decide if Sarah P. Duke Gardens is for you! If you are ready to schedule a session there, reach out at this contact page.
