Family Photographer in Auburn, CA

Auburn is a gold rush town that stayed, and it is hard not to be charmed by it. Gold was found here in May 1848, the camp became a town of fifteen hundred within the year, and Placer County made it the county seat in 1851. Old Town sits on the same ground, the streets follow the footpaths the miners wore, and the 1890s courthouse with its clock tower still stands over all of it.

That makes unusually good ground for family photographs, because there is something to look at. Brick, timber and iron give a background with age in it rather than open field, and Old Town is small enough to walk end to end with children without anyone being carried the last of it. It is the rare downtown that entertains a four-year-old and an adult equally.

The American River canyon is twenty minutes away and a different proposition entirely. The Confluence, where the North and Middle Forks meet, gives water and rock and elevation together; the easy riverside paths suit families who want the wide frames without the climb, and the oak woodland above gives shade when the canyon floor is too bright.

Auburn is about an hour and fifteen minutes from the studio, so a session here is a day rather than an errand — which suits some families and not others. Jesica is up in this country often and is always glad of the excuse; late afternoon is the hour in both settings, and the canyon empties as it cools. Families who would rather not make the drive photograph in the Lodi studio instead — the same session indoors, and with a baby along usually the easier one.