Hampton Park is one of the Charleston community’s favorite spots for family photos. The park is stunningly beautiful with its ancient oaks dripping in Spanish moss. When photographed at the right times of the day, the sunlight filtering through the moss creates a warm, magical glow that is hard to find anywhere else in the city.
Especially around the holidays, it’s common to see multiple families having their photos taken in Hampton Park. So why are WE especially qualified to do your family photos at Hampton Park? Hampton Park is our neighborhood park.
We live in the Wagener Terrace neighborhood, which contains Hampton Park. The neighborhood is full of families just like ours – families with young children who go to the local elementary school, James Simons Montessori. After school most days, kids and their parents meet up at Hampton Park to let the kids play and let the parents catch up with each other. On Sundays, we love taking our daughter Roxy for family bike rides in Hampton Park. This is our park, and we know it inside and out. It’s common for us to ride our bikes to the park, with camera gear in a backpack, for our Hampton Park family sessions.
In addition, Hampton Park is also a significant location in Charleston’s history. Although it’s not as obvious as in places like White Point Garden downtown, Hampton Park has a lively history – most notably serving as a thoroughbred race track in the 1830s and as a zoo in the 1930s. Check out Hampton Park’s history here.
What we love about Hampton Park
- Spanish moss: The glorious, ethereal Spanish moss that Charleston is known for is on full display at Hampton Park. There are several areas in the park just dripping in Spanish moss, which makes for a magical backdrop for family photos. It’s only magical, though, when the sunlight is filtering through it. And we can tell you the best times of the day for that.
- Room to run and play: Hampton Park is amazing for energetic kids who need room to run around and get the wiggles out. Your children will be excited to go to the park. They’ll be focused on that instead of the photos themselves. We give kids time between photos to play and be free, climb the oaks with their low-hanging branches, to go see the ducks and geese. It’s all a part of the fun there.
- Bridge: We love the pedestrian bridge in Hampton Park, which makes for a beautiful architectural element in photos, and also, again, gives your kids something fun to do. It’s amazing how much they love running back and forth over the little wooden bridge!
- Duck pond: The duck pond is such a fun feature of Hampton Park. Children love watching the ducks and geese, and occasional turtles sunning themselves on rocks. The duck pond is pretty much right in front of the main parking lot, so it’s easy to find.
- The light: The sunlight in Hampton Park is warm, enveloping, and absolutely gorgeous. The best photographers will tell you, light is everything. And as long as the sun’s out that day, Hampton Park delivers on the good light.
Hampton Park certainly isn’t the only beautiful spot in Charleston for taking photos. Want to see more? Check out our other Charleston family portrait locations!