Cades Cove Family Session
I met up with the McCowan family last week for a sunrise Cades Cove family session. Typically, Cades Cove is open before sunrise, and you can roll in and watch the sun rise over the mountain tops. Since COVID, however, they don’t open until 8 am, and as the time approaches, there is a massively long line of cars just waiting for the gate to open. Normally, I have a spot where we meet (since there is no cell service), and we connect there before going into the park. With the line of cars backed all the way down the road though, we weren’t able to get to that spot without driving on the wrong side of the road. Rather, I just sat there waiting for the line to open and hoping the family wasn’t in that spot wondering where I was. I looked into my rear view mirror, and I see a family get out a couple cars back. They are dressed nicely and are putting dresses on these two adorable little girls. They are brushing their hair and putting bows on their heads. I open my door and sure enough, it’s the McCowan family. What are the chances we would arrive at almost the exact same time to be one car apart in this crazy line to get in the park? So, we connected, and when the gates opened, we made our way to our first spot!
When I shoot Cades Cove family sessions, I allow the family to choose 2-4 locations within the park. In my early years, I rolled through there and shot all the cool spots and would not be leaving until 2pm because there are just so many. I learned quickly that is a horrible strategy because after about 9:30/10 am, the lighting is SO hard to work with. Linda got back to me, and all of her spots were the ones with the most epic mountain views! So, we started, and with a little bit of low-hanging fog, we were able to get some beautiful Cades Cove family photos!
I’m a Knoxville Wedding Photographer that loves to travel…I shoot anywhere! Click here to contact me with any questions you have about pricing or booking! If you liked what you saw above, go ahead and follow me on Facebook or Instagram to see my daily updates of the latest sessions!
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