I often get questions about taking family, portrait, or engagement photos outside amongst the cherry blossoms. That’s not really my area of expertise, but here are some great local professional photographers that I can recommend.
Each has their own style and rates, so check out their websites to get examples of their work and to get their direct contact info. And I’d recommend scheduling a shoot sooner rather than later–they can be very high demand in the spring!
I don’t have any formal relationship with any of these photographers (although we have hired some of them for our own personal family photos), so please contact them directly for availability, rates, or other inquiries. You can find their contact information on their websites.
Stadtkind Photography
Theresa Rasmussen Photography
Bizzy B Photography
Chelsea Hudson
Stephen Bobb Photography
Jim Craige Photography
Do I Need a Permit to Take Engagement Photos at the Cherry Blossoms?
This is a question I get asked a lot. In most cases, no, you don’t.
There are two criteria. Firstly, the NPS no longer distinguishes between commercial, non-commercial, or news gathering filming like it used to.
Secondly, most engagement shoots easily fall within the “low-impact filming” requirement. The NPS defines that as: “outdoor filming activities in areas open to the public (excluding areas managed as wilderness), consisting of groups of five persons or fewer, and involving equipment that will be carried at all times—except for small tripods used to hold cameras.”
An exception would be for much larger and elaborate shoots with a team of photographers, and assistants. But that is not a typical engagement photo session.
In practice, so long as you’re not disrupting others, creating a hazard, or damaging property or the trees, you won’t run into trouble.
You can find the official NPS guidance here.