Service area · Bolivar Peninsula, Texas
Photographing Bolivar Peninsula Families, Bumps and New Babies
Life on Bolivar Peninsula runs between Galveston Bay and the Gulf, from Port Bolivar and Crystal Beach out to Gilchrist and High Island. I’m Jen Duke. If you’re expecting, or your kids are growing faster than you can keep up with, I photograph maternity, Fresh 48, newborn and family sessions so you have real photos of this time, with you in them too.
Newborn sessions are in my natural-light home studio in Richwood. Fresh 48 can happen in the hospital or at home, and family sessions can be at your house or outdoors. You get a digital gallery to download, share and print from.
15+ years photographing families · Natural-light home studio in Richwood, by appointment · Digital gallery with downloads and print ordering
Local to the peninsula
Planning family photos on a barrier peninsula
About 2,769 people lived on Bolivar Peninsula at the 2020 census, spread across Port Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Caplen, Gilchrist and High Island. At its narrowest point near Gilchrist, the peninsula is only a quarter mile wide (Wikipedia). Here is how peninsula life can shape the photos you plan.
New houses after Ike
Hurricane Ike came ashore on September 13, 2008, and about 3,600 structures on the peninsula, 62% of the total, were destroyed or badly damaged (Wikipedia). Many families now live in homes built since. A family session at home puts the porch, the stairs and the kitchen you rebuilt into the pictures.
Crab Festival and Mother's Day
The Texas Crab Festival has filled Festival Park in Crystal Beach over Mother’s Day weekend, with crab races, a gumbo cookoff and live music (Galveston.com). It’s a good reminder that moms are often missing from the family album. Hand someone your phone and get in a few shots.
Birds, dunes and Bolivar Flats
Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary, by the North Jetty, hosts hundreds of thousands of birds a year. Birds Houston, which manages the sanctuary, asks visitors to walk the beach and stay out of the vegetated dunes and marshes, where birds nest (Birds Houston). If you take your own beach photos, keep to the open sand and leave the dunes as background.
Sessions
Photos from the first bump to the busy kid years
Maternity
Bump photos taken outdoors at a spot within 15 miles of the Richwood studio. Book them alone or pair them with a newborn session. See maternity sessions
Fresh 48
The first 48 hours with your baby, photographed at the hospital or after you get home. See Fresh 48
Newborn
Soft, natural tones and classic posing with a modern feel, in my Richwood studio. Ask during your second trimester, because spots fill months ahead. See newborn sessions
Family
Photos at your house or an outdoor location, with time for kids to be kids. See family sessions
Before you book
Easy phone photo tips for peninsula families
- Gulf wind blows hair across faces. Stand so the wind is in your face, not at your back, and tie long hair back for close-ups.
- On the beach, shoot early in the morning or right before sunset. Midday sun on bright sand makes everyone squint.
- Riding the Galveston ferry? The railing makes a simple frame for a photo of you holding the baby. Ask your partner to take it.
- Indoors, turn off the overhead lights and put the baby near a window without direct sun.
- Take a few close-ups of the little things: tiny toes, a hand around your finger, the outfit they came home in.
Where I work
Getting from the peninsula to the Richwood studio
I work from a natural-light studio in my Richwood home, in Brazoria County, by appointment. That’s where newborn sessions happen. For Fresh 48 or a family session, tell me where you are on the peninsula and which hospital you plan to use, and I’ll let you know what works.
Port Bolivar connects to Galveston by a state-run ferry that runs about every 30 minutes off-season and as often as every 15 minutes at busy times (Wikipedia).
Nearby towns: Galveston, Jamaica Beach. See every town I serve.
Studio: 239 Stuart St, Richwood, TX 77531 (by appointment)
Phone: 409-392-6844
Questions
Questions Bolivar Peninsula families ask
How much does a session cost?
Pricing is shared by inquiry. Tell me which session you want and your due date or how many people are in the family, and I’ll send you the details.
Where do the sessions happen?
Newborn sessions are in my home studio in Richwood. Fresh 48 is at the hospital or your home. Family sessions are at your home or an outdoor location. Maternity sessions are outdoors at a spot within 15 miles of the studio.
Can we do family photos on the beach at Crystal Beach?
Family sessions can be at your home or an outdoor location. If you have a beach spot in mind, put it in your inquiry and I’ll let you know what works. Maternity is different: those sessions are at a location within 15 miles of the Richwood studio.
We live on the peninsula. Does the newborn session happen at our house?
No, newborn sessions are in my Richwood studio. If you’d rather not leave the house in those first days, Fresh 48 can be photographed at home, and family sessions can be at home too.
How early should we book newborn photos?
Reach out during your second trimester. Newborn spots are limited and usually fill months ahead.
What if our baby fusses the whole time?
That happens. I have more than 15 years of experience and aim for a safe, fun and relaxing session. One client called me “very patient” and said I “did not rush the session at all.”
Will we get files we can print?
Yes. You get a digital gallery of edited images. You can download them, order prints from the gallery and share the high-resolution files online.
Ready to capture these days before they're gone?
Tell me where you are on the peninsula, your due date or family size, and the session you want. I’ll reply with dates and pricing.