When Filoli Turns on the Lights: A Holiday Portrait Session at Woodside's Most Beautiful Estate

Most people think of Filoli as a spring destination.

And they're right — the tulips in April, the wisteria in late March, the roses in June. Filoli's garden calendar is extraordinary and well-documented. But there's a version of Filoli that most people haven't photographed, and it might be the most dramatic of all.

In December, Filoli turns on the lights.

Thousands of them. Fairy lights woven through the hedges, paper lanterns strung along the garden paths, the Georgian mansion itself lit from within and without — warm amber light pouring through the windows, an enormous illuminated wreath hanging above the columned entrance. The formal gardens that feel so green and structured in spring become something nocturnal and theatrical in winter. Less English country house, more cinematic event.

I came here with two friends on a December evening. We had no specific plan beyond arriving early enough to catch the last of the natural light and staying late enough to photograph the estate fully lit. What we got was one of the most varied sessions I've shot — outdoor and indoor, natural and artificial, wide establishing shots and intimate close portraits, all within the same evening and the same property.

Late afternoon against the oaks — the last of the natural light before Filoli turns on.

We started in the late afternoon while the light was still natural.

The grounds at Filoli are extensive — over 16 acres of formal gardens, meadows, orchards and woodland — and in winter the colour palette shifts from the lush greens of spring to something more muted and interesting. Bare branches. Dry grass. The kind of warm amber that only appears when deciduous trees are letting go.

The oak trees near the main lawn are extraordinary subjects — their bark has a texture and scale that no garden plant can replicate. I positioned one of the friends against the trunk, the tree's canopy forming a natural arch overhead, and the warm afternoon light doing what late-day light always does — wrapping around the face and making everything it touches look significant.

The red coat against the grey bark was not something I planned. But you learn to notice when colour is doing work for you.

The transition moment — when the string lights start to register and the sky goes blue.

The transition between natural and artificial light is the most interesting moment of any evening shoot.

There's a window — maybe 20 minutes — when the ambient light and the artificial light are roughly equal in intensity. The sky goes blue-grey. The string lights start to register against it without dominating. Shadows go soft. It's the equivalent of golden hour but for evening sessions, and it's easy to miss if you're not watching for it.

We caught it here — the string lights tracing a line behind her, the smile caught mid-turn, the whole frame balanced between day and night. This is the kind of light that flatters everyone and photographs everything warmly. I try to always be ready for it before it arrives.

The moment when someone stops thinking about being photographed.

Some sessions have a moment when the subject stops thinking about being photographed.

This was one of those moments. Arms extended, full laugh, looking up and away — completely unselfconscious in the middle of the garden path with the string lights running behind her toward the trees. The vineyard section of Filoli in winter has this quality of openness — low dry grass, wide sky, the lights marking the path into the distance — that gives portraits a sense of space and freedom that the formal garden sections don't.

I didn't ask for this. I just kept shooting and it arrived.

The photograph that Filoli at Christmas exists to produce.

This is the photograph that Filoli at Christmas exists to produce.

The Georgian mansion lit from every angle — amber uplighting on the brick, fairy lights woven through the climbing plants on either side, the enormous illuminated wreath hanging above the columned entrance, the warm glow of the interior visible through the windows above. And in the doorway, small against the scale of the building, one of the friends in a dark dress — a deliberate counterpoint to the grandeur surrounding her.

Scale photographs in a portrait session are almost always worth attempting. Not every location gives you something this dramatic to work with. When it does, you step back, find your widest composition, and let the architecture do the work.

The figure in the doorway gives the frame a human anchor. Without her, it's an architectural photograph. With her, it becomes something with a story.

The bench, the tree, the fairy lights — a studio setup that Filoli provides for free.

The bench near the house exterior became one of the most productive spots of the evening.

Behind it, a tree lit from below — the golden light catching every autumn leaf still clinging to the branches, the brick wall of the mansion providing texture and depth behind. The combination of the warm uplighting, the fairy lights scattered through the hedges, and the natural bench as a prop gave us an almost studio-quality setup without a single piece of artificial equipment.

Sitting portraits are harder to get right than standing ones — the body position matters more, the relationship between subject and furniture tells you a lot about confidence and ease. She settled into the bench with her arm extended along the back, legs crossed, looking directly at the camera. Relaxed. Present. The light caught her face from the tree above.

That's the shot.

Inside the house — the room that most portrait photographers never reach.

Filoli's interior is rarely photographed.

Most portrait sessions here stay outside — understandably, given the gardens. But the house itself is a remarkable subject. Period furniture, hand-painted wallpaper, rooms that feel genuinely lived-in rather than museum-curated. The lamp on the writing desk in this room produces a warm pool of light that falls exactly where a photographer would want it to fall — on the face, from the side, with the ornate wallpaper as a backdrop.

She sat at the desk with a book, turned slightly into the light, and we stayed there for longer than I'd planned. The room rewarded patience — the more time we spent in it, the more details revealed themselves. The reflection in the window. The second lamp just visible in the background. The quality of stillness that comes from being inside a historic house after most visitors have moved on.

This is a different kind of portrait from everything else in this session. No movement. No outdoor energy. Just light and a room and someone inhabiting both.

Light source and subject simultaneously — the creative opportunity the lanterns provide.

The paper lanterns are strung throughout the garden paths in December — dozens of them, lit from within, in purple, pink, blue, orange and white.

The creative opportunity here is obvious once you see it: the lantern becomes both subject and light source simultaneously. Position the subject below it, close enough that the coloured light falls on the face, and the camera sees something that has no equivalent in natural light photography — warm skin tones lit by a large purple sphere, with the remaining lanterns going soft and colourful in the background.

She reached up to hold the lantern. The light it cast on her face was extraordinary — diffuse, warm, flattering in a way that artificial light rarely is. I shot from slightly below, keeping the full lantern in frame and letting the bokeh of the other lights create depth behind her.

This is the most technically unusual image from the session and probably the one I'm proudest of. It exists only because Filoli puts those lanterns there in December.

Two friends, matching reds, not performing for the camera.

The last frames of any session are often the best.

Two friends, walking together across the open meadow section of the estate, laughing at something between them. No direction, no instruction — just movement and genuine connection. The matching red tones of their coats was entirely their own choice and entirely perfect. The soft green of the winter grass, the warm bokeh of the tree line behind them, the natural morning light making everything even.

This is what a friend session looks like when it's working. Not two people standing side by side performing friendship for the camera. Two people actually being together, and a photographer who stays out of the way long enough to catch it.

About Portrait Sessions at Filoli

Filoli Historic House and Garden in Woodside is one of the Bay Area's most extraordinary photography locations — and one of the most underused by portrait photographers. The formal gardens offer variety and beauty across every season. The Georgian mansion provides architectural drama that no outdoor location can replicate. And in December, the Holiday Lights event transforms the entire property into something that looks like it was designed specifically for portrait photography.

A few practical notes: Filoli charges standard admission for all visitors, including photographers and clients. No separate photography permit is required for personal portrait sessions. The Holiday Lights event runs on specific dates each December — check the Filoli website for the current year's schedule and book tickets in advance, as evening sessions sell out quickly.

Personal lifestyle and family sessions at Filoli are available year-round. Get in touch here to talk about timing and what the estate looks like in each season. Sessions start at $450 for three hours and 20+ edited images.

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