Family portraits around Belgrave draw on three kinds of ground: the forests that give deep green shade and soft light, the gardens that offer colour and structure, and the open paddocks that give a family room to move and a wide sky behind them. All three sit within a short drive of the studio at 26 Park Drive, and which one suits your family is worked out together at the consultation, not picked off a list.
Why the Dandenong Ranges work so well for this
The Ranges give a photographer variety inside a small radius. A forest floor filtered through mountain ash canopy reads differently again to a rhododendron garden in bloom, and both read differently again to an open paddock with nothing but grass and sky. Arek has spent years working this terrain, and part of the consultation is matching the ground to the family in front of him, their children's ages, their energy, what they actually do together on a weekend.
Forests, for a quieter kind of light
Sherbrooke Forest and the pockets of mountain ash around it give a session its most atmospheric light, filtered and soft even in the middle of the day, with the kind of depth that a plain backdrop can't offer. It suits families who want something a little more textured on the wall, and it's gentle on children who find open, exposed spaces overwhelming. If you want the full detail on how a forest session runs, from timing to what to wear, the forest portrait guide walks through it.
Gardens, when colour and softness matter
The Olinda rhododendron gardens and similar planted grounds nearby bring colour into the frame in a way forest and paddock settings don't. They work particularly well through spring, when the blooms are heaviest, though the gardens hold their structure and green well into other seasons too. For families who want a portrait that leans soft and romantic rather than rustic, this is usually the first suggestion at the consultation.
Open paddocks, for space and a big sky
Puffing Billy country and the open paddocks scattered through the Ranges give a different feel again: room for children to run, a family group with space around them rather than crowded by trees, and often a horizon or a stand of trees in the far distance that adds scale without competing for attention. This setting tends to suit families with younger children who need somewhere to move, and families who want the portrait to read as an open, wide scene rather than a close, framed one.
Because the ground is flatter and more open here, it also suits family groups on the larger side, three generations together, or a family with several children who all need their own space in the frame without anyone being lost behind a sibling. The distance between camera and family can flex more easily than it can in a tight forest clearing, which gives Arek more room to direct without asking anyone to hold an awkward pose.
The light matters as much as the ground
Wherever the session happens, it's timed around sunrise or sunset, because the low angle of light at those hours is doing as much work as the location itself. A paddock at midday and the same paddock forty minutes before sunset are two different pieces of art. The golden hour guide goes into why that window is non-negotiable and how the timing is built around your children's routine rather than a fixed clock time.
Choosing the right location for your family
This is where the consultation earns its place in the process. Arek asks about the family before he suggests a location: whether the children are toddlers who need somewhere safe and enclosed, whether there's a place in the Ranges that already means something to you, whether you're drawn to the calm of a forest or the openness of a paddock. Some families already know exactly where they want to be photographed, a spot they walk regularly or somewhere tied to a memory, and that's often the strongest starting point of all.
A location only works if it feels like the family's, not like a backdrop borrowed for the day.
Seasonal considerations
Location choice shifts a little with the season. Autumn brings its own colour and light to the Ranges, different again to spring's garden blooms, and families booking later in the year often plan around that shift deliberately. The autumn portrait guide covers what that season adds to a location session and when in the year to book for it.
Studio, location, or both
Not every family wants to be outdoors, and that's a genuine option rather than a compromise. The studio setting at Belgrave suits families who want a controlled, indoor portrait, and some sessions combine a short studio sequence with time at a nearby forest or garden location in the same visit. None of this needs deciding before the consultation. It's discussed once Arek has met you, seen the artwork on display, and understood what the finished piece needs to do on your wall.
What stays consistent wherever you shoot
Regardless of forest, garden or paddock, the approach doesn't change. Arek directs the session rather than posing it, working for natural, candid moments between the people in front of him rather than stiff formal arrangements. The three-meeting structure, consultation, session, then the design appointment within a week, stays the same too. The only thing that changes with location is the light and the ground underfoot, and that's exactly why the choice gets real thought before the day arrives.
Every portrait begins with a conversation at the Belgrave gallery.