Family photographer in Bilbao

Families in Bilbao have one advantage over families anywhere sunnier: nobody has to be woken up for the light. Cloud gives the same soft light at ten in the morning as after the afternoon nap, so the session goes to the hour when the children are at their best, not to the hour the sun allows. What the city asks you to plan for is the wet. The grass in Doña Casilda park, still called the duck park by plenty of locals after the birds on its pond, is damp for much of the year, so bring a spare pair of trousers for anyone under five and something waterproof to sit on. The other choice is Artxanda, three minutes up the funicular, where the ride is half the outing for a small child and the whole city lies below the railing. Both are a short trip from the centre, and both leave room to run.

When to book in Bilbao

Choose the hour around the children, not the sky. Mid-morning, after breakfast and before any nap, is the most reliable slot for under-fives; for school-age children a weekend morning or a light summer evening works. May, June and September are the most comfortable months, and the summer is mild, so July is fine for a park session in a way it is not in the south. In winter the cold is rarely the issue; damp is, and the light shortens, so sessions from November to February are best kept to late morning or early afternoon. Skip the Aste Nagusia week if you want a quiet park. If the forecast for your day is steady rain rather than drizzle, we move it; light sirimiri we work through.