Hey mama! Sharing a few of my favorite photos from Joshua Tree National Park. It is such a magical place! We visited last October when our kiddos were 2, 5 and 7, and we can’t wait to go back again. Through trial and error, we have found that with three little kids that anywhere we can roam and let the kids run free (and not bother anyone else!) is good for all our souls. Joshua Tree was perfect for this!
I had a few photography goals for this trip 1). Capture the kids exploring the National Park in all it’s glory; 2). Later in the day, during Golden Hour, to take photos of the kiddos for our holiday cards. I had packed new outfits for this part and they could do a quick change in the car. When you are photographing your kids on vacation, think ahead about what you want to accomplish. It is awesome to capture the memories, but if you think you want to use the images for something special like framing in your house or artwork for grandma, dress the kids accordingly. It doesn’t have to be fancy! Bring colors that complement the environment (think oranges for turquoise waters or reds and pinks for a green forest) are a great way to make the kids pop in the great outdoors!
We entered the park from the East entrance and after a quick stop at the visitor center, we were greeted by open road and amazing views! October was an awesome time to visit as it was not overly crowded—the best way to explore nature! Most often when photographing our vacations, I like to incorporate the kids into the environment as this makes the photos more special, but when we are driving I make sure my camera is still handy (and turned on) so I don’t miss an amazing view like this!
First stop was Cholla Cactus Garden. There are chollas as far as you can see and it is unlike anything I had ever seen before! Definitely a photo-worthy cactus! Although be warned, they are known as jumping cactus, so if you get to close they will jump off and stick to you. We had my 2-year-old on my husband’s back for this reason, but there is a wooden walkways that flows through the garden and the older two had no trouble staying out of harm’s way.
My son brought a journal with him and drew some great illustrations of the chollas. I loved being able to photograph him being inspired by nature! The girls wanted to see what he was doing too, so we got an unplanned photo of them together.
In the middle of the park, there are some really great giant boulders and rocks formations—we visited Skull Rock and hiked about .5 mile to Arch Rock. There are rocks shaped like a heart and a penguin too! This was definitely the kids favorite part. They looooved climbing the giant boulders, even my 2-year-old wanted in on the action! We could have spent all day exploring this one area.
Photographing the kids exploring and changing the angle I took the photos from showed the scale of how small they are in nature. The clouds added some great drama as well!
As we made our way to the west end of the park, this is where we found the famous Joshua Trees. They are so fun! The sun was setting and I was looking for the perfect spot to photograph the kids for our holiday cards. I knew I wanted to incorporate the Joshua Tree, and we found a great spot along the side of the road, with wide open desert behind. I had the kiddos change, did a quick hair brush, had a quick chat about what was expected of them and it was go time!
My goal was photos of the three of them for holiday cards (we used the top right image). Also individual photos of each kid—in particular my youngest had just turned 2, so I wanted a few special ones of her to mark her birthday. Her older sister wore the same dress for 2-year-old photos, so I wanted to make sure to photograph that.
We took about 20 minutes to take photos, I always work fast with little kids, especially my own. Which is why planning what I want to accomplish ahead of time is one of the most important steps. After I got the photos I need the sun, was low. We let the kids explore for 5 minutes and I was able to get some really fun photos, playing with the light. Sitting and smiling photos are fun, but when you can add dramatic light and movement and texture, then you have something you can frame for your house!
The best thing about Joshua Tree is all of these stops were right off the main road leading through the park. We had one day here and I feel like we got a great feel for the park! Next time we’d love to venture into the trails a bit more, but this was a great start to Joshua Tree. Whatever your level is, know there was so much too see off the main road.
We are headed to Zion and Bryce Canyon this October. Exploring nature with kiddos is the best!
