How your Christmas cards are helping New Orleans City Park
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Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Put on your best smile because it's that time of the year again: holiday family portraits.
Why it matters: The park requires permits for professional photo sessions, and New Orleans City Park police may ask to see yours.
The big picture: The permits are a big money maker for the City Park Conservancy, which manages New Orleans City Park, says Julie LaCour, the park's director of special events.
- While families pay photographers, photographers are required to pay the park. Permits are $75 per session.
- "Consider it like rent on a studio," LaCour said. "Instead of rent, you are paying the park."
- The money goes to the park's operating fund, which is used to maintain the grounds. She said she didn't have an estimate for how much it raises annually, but says it is a "healthy amount."
Between the lines: New Orleans voters in 2019 passed a park and recreation millage to partially fund the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, the Department of Park and Parkways, Audubon Park, and City Park.
- City Park and Audubon both use fees, including ones from photographers, to fill the gap.
- Audubon Nature Institute charges $25 to $50 for photographer permits.
How it works: About 200 photographers apply each year for permits at City Park, LaCour said.
- Photographers are expected to pay a permit fee per session. So, for all those 15-minute holiday minis? The idea is they are paying $75 for each one to the park.
- The permits give you permission to snap pictures, but don't guarantee you a specific spot in the park.
- City Park police officers have the permit list and check on photographers daily, LaCour said.
Yes, but: You can buy one in person if you get stopped, with LaCour saying the park is still educating photographers about the rules.
- People taking personal photos on their phones don't need a permit.
State of play: The most popular places in the park for portrait sessions are in front of bridge near Cafe du Monde and at the Peristyle, she said.
- "It makes for a very iconic image of New Orleans," LaCour said of the 1,300-acre park. "There's always going to be a beautiful spot."
- The poinsettia tree in Celebration in the Oaks is a huge draw for family portraits every year.
If you go: Celebration in the Oaks is one of the busiest times of the year for group pictures. Other peak times are March, April, September and October, she said.
- And, of course, everyone wants to shoot at golden hour right before sunset.