You wouldn’t know it if you were just passing through, but Hampstead is a hidden gem and one of my favorite places in North Carolina for family portraits! I’ve reached out to a handful of really awesome local businesses that have allowed me to shoot at their locations. One of these lovely businesses is Ash’s Japanese Maple Nursery, which I love to offer around mid-fall when the Japanese Maple Trees turn a variety of gold, yellow, red and orange colors. This rare sight only happens for a couple weeks out of the year before they lose their leaves for the winter!
Along with Ash’s Japanese Maple Nursery, I love to photograph at Carol Sue Farms u-pick blueberry and strawberry farm where the kids can enjoy a fun activity and are able to pick their own blueberries and strawberries! This is a super fun experience for the whole family and is a great way to have a storytelling family photo session. Not to mention, you’ll go home with a bunch of berries to enjoy later! The berries may not last long, but with an artfully captured photo session, the memories will last a lifetime.
Last but certainly not least, Pender Pines is another location on my list for beautiful Hampstead NC photography. This little plant nursery is filled with gorgeous greenery and a fishpond where the little ones love feed the fish and turtles! Inside their large greenhouse, they have macaws and various other types of parakeets and small birds that make a lot of noise and are fun to chat with. And that’s not all! Out way in the back, there are goats, llamas, and emus! That’s right, they have emu’s! It’s basically a mini petting zoo for the kids and a wonderful location to get some portraits of the family among all of the flowers and animals.
