Top 10 Backgrounds for a Holiday Family Photo

Fall is family photo time, as the holidays near and thoughts turn to cards, gifts, and updates. The Chicago Botanic Garden makes a beautiful background! 

 PHOTO: Crescent Garden.

No. 1: Crescent Garden
Works great for: groups large and small. Chrysanthemums and Japanese maples in shades of burgundy and wine.

PHOTO: English Oak Meadow.

No. 2: English Oak Meadow
Works great for: families. As our silhouette “family” shows, position the group on the path, then stand on the grassy area to take the shot. It’s a good vertical backdrop for larger groups.

PHOTO: Home Landscape Garden.

No. 3: Farwell Landscape Garden
Works great for: couples, kids. The “arm” of a copper beech creates a creative arch for framing.

PHOTO: English Walled Garden.

No. 4: Helen and Richard Thomas English Walled Garden
Works great for: tight-knit clusters. The perfect blue, the perfect bench, always a perfect picture.

PHOTO: Puryear Point.

No. 5: Puryear Point
Works great for: close-ups. Want the grand vista in the background? Head up to the hill between the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden and the Arched Bridge, where two Martin Puryear sculptures offer not only a nice place to relax, but also a grand vista of the islands of the Japanese Garden.

PHOTO: Arch Bridge.

No. 6: Arched Bridge
Works great for: group selfies. Try this at sunset, as golden light illuminates the bridge.

PHOTO: Lakeside Terrace.

No. 7: Lakeside Terrace
Works great for: formal photos. Beautifully designed water-level terrace has seating, water, and a view of Evening Island.

PHOTO: Circle Garden.

No. 8: Circle Garden
Works great for: short-distance walkers. Just a few steps outside the Regenstein Center, the Circle Garden’s beautifully designed beds and “secret garden” benches are ideal for grandparents and little ones.

PHOTO: Outer Road.

No. 9: Perimeter Road
Works great for: getting away from the crowd. On the perimeter road, between the Bernice E. Lavin Plant Evaluation Garden and Dixon Prairie, rows of trees make a nice background with a view to the grasses beyond.

PHOTO: Evening Island.

No. 10: Evening Island
Works great for: everyone. Evening Island has broad paths, drifting grasses, big sky, a grand lawn, and a handy wall for perching at the Nautilus.

Note: With the turn of the season, backgrounds are changing every day! Use these as guidelines for your photos, and let us know your favorite backgrounds! 


©2015 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Published by

Karen Z.

Karen Zaworski is a writer who likes to use as few words as possible, a photographer who still works with black-and-white film and a darkroom, and a gardener who actually likes to weed.

8 thoughts on “Top 10 Backgrounds for a Holiday Family Photo”

  1. Great photos…who is the photographer? It makes me miss my forays to the gardens, here in WNC everything is wild and riotous! Thanks for the wonderful post.

    1. Hi, Cathy: Both our staff photographer and PR manager took the photos. Wild and riotous sounds like it would make a beautiful photo background, too!
      :)

  2. Letting you know that this is a beautiful idea. As a personal card designer, I agree that it’s such a natural collection of Nature Framed at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

    1. Thanks, Sandy. It’s great to think about how the Garden inspires creativity in so many different ways.

  3. What a great way to encourage visits to CBG! I only wish I lived closer than Philadelphia so I could sample the settings.

    1. Thanks, Patricia, and how awesome of you to write from Philadelphia! There are always great photos on our Facebook and Instagram pages, too:
      facebook.com/chicagobotanicgarden
      instagram.com/chicagobotanic/

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