Best Spring Break Ideas for Families in New Milford, CT

Gilmore Girls Photoshoot Creator Tribe

Family-Friendly Spring Break IDEAS

Near New Milford, CT

gilmore girls photoshoot at River and Rail in New Milford CT

Spring break is the perfect time to take a break from routines and enjoy some quality time as a family. Whether you’re looking for outdoor adventures, hands-on activities, or quick day trips, there are plenty of fun things to do near New Milford, CT. Here are some of the best ways to make the most of your spring break!

CT_teen_Photographer_Styled_shoot

1. Explore Harrybrooke Park

New Milford, CT
Harrybrooke Park is a local gem with scenic trails, a duck pond, and picnic areas. Kids will love running around, riding bikes and meeting the resident peacocks. 

📸 Why You’ll Love It: A peaceful place to enjoy nature without traveling far.

2. Visit The Beardsley Zoo

Bridgeport, CT (About 1 hour away)
Check out one of the special programs or just say hello to all the residents of the zoo. 

📸 Why You’ll Love It: A great day out for the whole family.

Senior Portrait of a girl on the rocky coast

3. Hike at White Memorial Conservation Center

Litchfield, CT
Spring is a great time to explore the trails at White Memorial Conservation Center. Their boardwalk through the wetlands is perfect for spotting birds, turtles, and other wildlife. Make an ice-cream stop at Aretusa Farm in Bantham.

📸 Why You’ll Love It: Beautiful scenery, fresh air, and lots of photo-worthy moments.

 

4. Visit Lake Compounce or Quassy

Central CT
If you love theme parks and roller coasters then look no further than Quassy and Lake Compounce for a fun day out.

📸 Why You’ll Love It: Rides, games and lots of fun.

NMHS Senior Portraits beach

5. Explore the home of Yale University

New Haven, CT
New Haven is a fantastic family destination that offers something for kids of all ages. Whether you’re exploring a museum, hiking East Rock, or devouring world-famous pizza, it’s a day your family won’t forget!

📸 Why You’ll Love It: A little something for everyone!

6. Spend the Day on Bank St

New Milford, CT 
Visit some of the shops and cafes on the New Milford green, check out the newly renovated library, get creative at the Village Center for the Arts, and catch a movie at the Bank Street Movie Theater – Tuesday is discount day!

📸 Why You’ll Love It: New Milford was one of the towns that was inspiration for Gilmore Girls. 

 

gilmore girls photoshoot bank street theater New Milford CT

7. Go Bowling & Arcade Gaming

New Milford or Danbury, CT
Spring weather can be unpredictable, so it’s always good to have indoor options! Head to places like New Milford Lanes Bowling in New Milford or Round 1 in Danbury for bowling, arcade games, and so much more.

📸 Why You’ll Love It: A great rainy-day activity that the whole family can enjoy.

 

8. Take a Day Trip to Mystic, CT

Mystic, CT (About 2 hours away)
For a fun family road trip, head to Mystic! Visit the Mystic Aquarium, where kids can see beluga whales and sea lions up close. Then, explore the historic Mystic Seaport Museum and grab a slice at the famous Mystic Pizza.

📸 Why You’ll Love It: A perfect mix of education, entertainment, and great food.

Planet Photo Blog post on senior portraits

9. Take a Day Trip to  Harkness Memorial State Park

Waterford, CT
For families who love to be by the water, you will love Harkness! The gardens and views are stunning, it is well worth a drive. 

📸 Why You’ll Love It: The gardens, grounds, picnic area, and waterfront are open all year round, 365 days a year.

 

10. Have a Family Movie or Game Night

Right at Home!
If you’re looking for a cozy and budget-friendly way to spend spring break, plan a themed family movie night or game night at home. Make popcorn, set up a blanket fort, and enjoy classic movies or fun board games together.

📸 Why You’ll Love It: A simple but special way to enjoy family time without leaving the house. If he weather cooperates – make it a picnic in your own backyard.

 

This spring break, don’t just make plans—make memories. A custom portrait session turns a fun family outing into something unforgettable.

When you treat your portrait session as a family outing, everything shifts. Kids have more fun. Parents feel less pressure. The laughter is real, and the love shines through every image. At Planet Photo, we help you plan every detail—from outfit styling to location scouting—so your portrait session feels like a gift, not a chore. And when the session ends, your family’s already in the perfect mindset to enjoy the rest of the day.

CONTACT JANET

Daisy Jones Themed Photo shoot

Daisy Jones and the Six styled photo shoot with the Planet Photo Tribe

Daisy Jones Themed photo Shoot

Daisy Jones and the Six Thrift store challenge

Daisy Jones themed photo shoot with The Planet Photo Creator Tribe in Brookfield, CT

Based on the New York Times best-selling novel, Daisy Jones & the Six, follows the story of the iconic 1970s band, fronted by two feuding yet charismatic lead singers, Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne.

daisy jones themed photo shoot

Recreating a Laurel Canyon backdrop in Connecticut was a bit more of a challenge……  So we went with a “band on tour” vibe. One of our locations was a local motel, and another roadside pit stop. We added an acoustic guitar and a vintage camera and we had our theme. What do you think? Would you come and see our band on tour?

DaisyJones themed creator team tribe photo shoot in Brookfield, CT

Daisy Jones and the Six has been an immediate success as a short series on Amazon Prime. With a combination of 70s music, 70s fashion, and new young stars what is there not to like? Free People has even created a capsule collection around the series!

We used the Daisy Jones and the Six themed photo shoot as our Earth Day 2023 thrift store challenge. We tried to recreate a 70s band look, by sourcing most of the outfits from Goodwill, Platos Closet, and thrift store purchases! 

daisy jones themed photo shoot

Thanks to Gabby, Reagan, Declan and Sebastian for running with our Daisy Jones and the Six theme! 

The Planet Photo Tribe is a group of high school girls and guys who really love having fun and being creative. We take the time to plan and style group and themed photo shoots. I get to let my creativity go and they get some fun images for social media. If you would like to join us for our next group shoot then let me know, I would love for you to be part of the Planet Photo Tribe!

When planning your individual senior session we discuss styling and location during the consultation, you can draw inspiration from the Tribe themed photo shoots. 

 

THE TRIBE

Flower Crown Portraits

Flower Crown Portraits

Junior Tribe 2020

One of the very first teen group shoots I ever did was a flower crown shoot and I was excited to do it again with the 2020 Junior Tribe. We met at Hunt Hill Farm in New Milford and enjoyed their beautiful gardens and surroundings. The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm is a popular stop for both locals and visitors to Litchfield County. 

When we arrived the long horned cows were across the road to observe our group but of course they wandered into the back field when we were ready to shoot. There is something very magical about seeing them so drive by if you get a chance and see if you can spot them. 

Jordana, Grace, Katie and Ella were all beautiful and graceful in their flower crowns but you know we had lots of fun too!

If you have a creative idea for a group shoot or a themed photo shoot for you and your friends then a BFF portrait session is a great way to celebrate a birthday or a great friendship. We’ll plan the location and styling around your group and you’ll have the portraits as a wonderful memory of your special day. 

Now booking family, teens and high school seniors and personal branding for the most popular shooting time of the year – fall in New England!

Studio Portraits Taylor

Studio Portraits with The Planet Photo Tribe

Taylor

You know sometimes one item is all you need to figure out your whole outfit. It might be a certain pair of shoes. You know when you get that feeling that you HAVE to wear those shoes today so you build your entire look around them. Can you guess the focal point of Taylor’s styling (apart from already knowing that we were continuing with the studio portraits theme we had been creating with black and white bold outfits…..) If you guessed the white boots you were close, it was actually the black and white striped tights! I have had these stripy tights in my mind for a shoot for ages and I was SO excited to put them to good use so we started with those and built Taylor’s outfit around them. Because….

Stripes go with everything

And I could not agree more!!!!

Photo Shoot Kent Falls CT

Game of Thrones

Planet Photo Tribe

Photo Shoot Kent Falls CT

I have to admit I haven’t watched Game of Thrones!

I am in love with the styling though and absolutely crazy about the costumes and locations – we actually visited Iceland last year and heard over and over how parts of GOT was filmed there, but I felt like I was just too late to the party. Eight seasons to catch up? That is a lot of catching up!!!

My lack of personal watching history did not stop us for recreating a Game of Thrones theme for our Planet Photo Tribe group shoot. We had the perfect location (OK, I admit that I would have liked to fly to Iceland with the team but that was not quite in the budget….but we had the next best thing – Kent Falls State Park in Connecticut).

The falls usually freeze during the winter but you know what a crazy winter we had this year (do you remember our whiteout shoot with no snow?), so it was actually pretty warm on the day of our shoot. Can you even imagine how nervous I was on the drive up there? I was literally holding my breath when we turned into the parking lot. Thankfully, it was snowy, frozen and perfectly Game of Thrones-esque.

We were so excited to have Sue Snow from Deja Vudu Vintage as our stylist for this shoot. She has an eye for detail and a seemingly endless supply of amazing vintage clothes and accessories so she took our shoot to the next level.

It might have been unseasonably warm but it was still a little chilly standing on the ice waterfall so thank you to our models: Zoe, Sam, Cassie, Madi, Olivia and Julia.

I guess I can’t resist the hype any longer. Game of Thrones is the next thing on my binge watch list.

 

 

White on White group Tribe shoot teen senior portraits

White on White

Group Tribe Shoot

Everyone knows that you can’t count on the weather in New England. You’ve probably heard people say “if you don’t like the weather just wait 5 minutes”. Well we waited for the snow and it never came, but the rain sure did. So we moved our white on white  snowy, winter-wonderland group Tribe shoot indoors and made do with pretend snow balls and hot cocoa!

group tribe shoot
Did you ever read that book about snow, Miss Smilla’s Feelings for Snow? The Scandinavians apparently have hundreds of words to describe snow and frozen water in its various forms, not surprising when you consider that every snowflake is completely unique. I feel like we need more words to describe white… we probably had hundreds of versions between us but they were all beautiful. The Tribe did an amazing job of dressing in shades of white.

Thank you to Madisyn, Taylor, Cassie, Madi, Cadence, Zoe, Julia and Olivia for participating in our latest concept shoot. When you grow up in a small town then there is a really good chance that paths have crossed at some point or another. Have we met at a dance class or toddler program somewhere or have we been in the same school since Kindergarten? The girls love reconnecting with old friends!

Thank you to Seniors Ignite for featuring our shoot alongside some other amazing interpretations of the “whiteout” theme. Be sure to check them all out.

“Featured-On-UN-January-2019”

The Future is in their Hands Tribe Teen Photo Shoot CT

The Future is in their Hands

Planet Photo Tribe

Teen Photo Shoot CT

Much has been written about Generation Z. They are more tech savvy than previous generations, most don’t remember not having access to the internet via their phones and they multitask. They are also starting to express their opinions and frustrations with the current political system. Most American school kids experience drills to prepare for an active shooter situation and they want someone to do something about it. They care about the environment and animals, they have lived through the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements and they took notice.

The New York Times wrote: “Alex Dunphy from ‘Modern Family’ represents the Gen Z antidote, Alex is a true Gen Z: conscientious, hard-working, somewhat anxious and mindful of the future.”

The girls in the Planet Photo Tribe picked the issues that they feel most passionate about and we highlighted some of those things. They believe that we should PROTECT our schools, our planet, our children, our water supply, our food supply, the environment, animals, minorities and the earth.

They say NO to racial profiling, labeling, transphobia, violence, sexism, racism, fat shaming, homophobia.

For today’s teens, the nation’s first African-American president is less a historic breakthrough than a fact of life. It is the responsibility and privilege of Generation Z to vote and they intend to do so. They make up almost 25% of all Americans and THEY VOTE NEXT.

They are Stronger Together. The Future is Female. They Support Equal Rights……The future really is in their hands.

 

Birthday Cake Smash Celebration Darius

Birthday Cake Smash Celebration

Dariuscake smash celebration

What better way to celebrate a halloween baby’s first birthday than a halloween themed birthday cake smash celebration! Darius has some serious hair and he had a ton of fun with his birthday photo shoot. He obviously adores his big brother Frankie and the feeling is clearly mutual. Frankie was helpful and sweet with his little brother and he was just as excited to see him smash his cake as Mom and Dad! Can you even stand the cuteness factor???

A birthday cake smash moves pretty quickly and Darius LOVED the little monster cake that The Sweet Spot in New Milford made for him.

cake smash celebration
The bath part is a favorite of almost all the cake smashers and Darius pretty much looked like he could have splashed in the bubbles all day long.  I was so happy to have captured his personality and those big brown eyes for his first birthday. He was barely standing on his own when we did the cake smash but by the time I delivered the wall art and book his Mom chose he was RUNNING! I am so relieved that we did the shoot when we did – new runners can be a challenge and a work out!

cake smash celebration

Fitness Portraits Michelle Phys Ed New Milford

Fitness Portraits

Michelle

Personal Trainer at Phys Ed New Milford

Michelle competed in her first body building competition in 2000 but she recently told me that she feels like she is in better shape now than at any other point in her life, so a perfect time to take some fitness portraits!

I invited Michelle to write a post for the blog so here in her words.

What fitness and good health mean to me.

Our bodies are meant to move…that’s what we’re designed to do.  Good health and fitness does not require endless hours of exercise or severe dietary restrictions, but it does require finding some form of movement that you can enjoy enough to do consistently and it does require being fueled with whole, nutritient dense foods.  Many individuals get sucked into the lifestyle of instant gratification:   We want it now. We enjoy those things that give us that quick moment of pleasure and we avoid those things that bring us a little discomfort.

What we should really be aiming for is an entire lifetime of feeling good.  We need to find balance between what we want in the moment and what will help us live a fuller, healthier long life.

In order to be well rounded, we also need to include finding some way to improve our mental health.  This could be as simple as taking 5 minutes a day to just sit and breathe deeply and think about what we’re grateful for that day.  Taking a few minutes to “just be” can have a huge impact on our day.

I work with many older individuals and the ones who are feeling well and healthy as they age are the ones who have learned to balance out movement, nutrition and mental well-being.  In the long run, we need to learn to take care of ourselves so we have more to give to others.

I love my job…helping others find nutrition and exercise that work for them so they can truly live their best healthy life!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Michelle. You are an inspiration to so many of your friends and clients.