More Than a Backdrop: Photographing Where Your Memories Live
There are places that hold your story long before we ever meet.
It’s the stretch of sand in Bethany where you built sandcastles every summer as a kid. The boardwalk in Rehoboth where you shared fries and laughed until your cheeks hurt. The winding trails at James Farm where your babies learned to run barefoot, chasing fiddler crabs as the tide came in.
When we choose your session location, we’re not just picking a “pretty spot.” We’re stepping into your history, the spaces that already feel like home.
Why Sentimental Locations Matter
I believe photography should feel. And the places that hold your memories, the backdrops where your story began, carry a quiet kind of magic you can’t recreate anywhere else.
Because when you look back on your photos years from now, I don’t want you to just remember how it looked. I want you to remember how it felt:
The salty air sticking to your skin. The warmth of the dock under your feet. The way the dunes hid you from the rest of the world while your kids tumbled down them, screaming with joy.
The right location doesn’t just set the scene, it deepens the meaning.
Delaware Beaches: Where Memories Meet Magic
Some of my favorite sessions happen in places where families already have roots:
Lewes Dunes at Cape Henlopen. Golden light spilling across the grasses, perfect for barefoot walks and quiet moments.
Bethany Beach Boardwalk. Nostalgic and playful, capturing the chaos of kids with dripping cones and sticky fingers.
James Farm Ecological Preserve. A secret gem with winding trails, hidden marshes, and views that stretch endlessly into the horizon.
Private Family Cottages. Where generations have gathered for decades, the peeling paint, worn porches, and salty air hold stories in every detail.
Every spot carries its own energy and when we choose one tied to your memories, the images become more than portraits. They become proof of a life well-lived.
For My Wedding Clients
The same is true when we plan your wedding portraits.
Winterthur’s hidden gardens. Baywood’s sweeping green lawns. The quiet, romantic nooks at Rehoboth Beach Country Club where the light dips behind the water just before sunset.
Your venue becomes more than a backdrop when it’s tied to the meaning of your day and we build your portraits around the moments that matter most to you.
The Places That Hold Us
I think about it often, how our lives are stitched together by the spaces we return to again and again. The laughter layered into the boardwalk planks. The footprints left in the same stretch of sand each summer. The echoes of your family gathered around one tiny kitchen table, year after year.
Choosing a sentimental location isn’t just about the view. It’s about grounding your images in memory so every time you hold your gallery, you feel the rush of those moments all over again.
www.MariaDeForrest.com | Follow along on Instagram @mariadeforrest