Autumn has definitely arrived and I LOVE IT. My absolute favourite time to capture Family Portraits and work with children… here’s some ideas for why Autumn works so well for photographing your kids.

1) Autumn colour = impact
Autumn as a season provides us with a vast kaleidoscope of colours…. Look outside and it’s happening right now! The greens of summer are already starting to turn into yellows, oranges, reds and browns. There is no doubt about it, autumn makes for the most amazing backdrops to photos and I know this is why it’s my busiest time for Family Portraits. Woodlands and heathlands are both great places to start looking for stunning backdrops to use. Keep your eyes peeled around your area for the best local colour.

2) Playtime!
Autumn really does turn the outdoors into a complete natural playground… And you can turn this to your advantage and capture some really playful photos of your children. Think throwing leaves up in the air, hunting for conkers and acorns, making giant leaf piles (to then jump on of course)… There’s so many opportunities to let them have fun whilst capturing it through your lens.

3) Incredible light
As much as I love summer, there is no doubt that it’s challenging in terms of the very harsh summer brightness. There are ways around this of course, but in Autumn the sun is lower in the sky and the light is so much softer, especially at the beginning and end of the daylight hours. If you have early risers, then try photographing them outside soon after the sun has risen for really gorgeous early light.

4) Rock the clothes
Autumn allows us to be creative with our kids clothing… Not only do you have the flexibility to introduce super-cute accessories into your photos like knitted hats and scarves, you can also really play about with colours. You can choose your kids clothing colours to either tone in beautifully with the autumn palette (think oranges, reds, yellows) or give a real POP of contrasting colour (think blues through to purples & pinks).

5) Autumn photos make wonderful Christmas gifts!
Sorry for mentioning that word in October but…. It would feel pretty good to be super organised in advance of the festive season, wouldn’t it? Capture some autumn photography of your children and you have ready-made gifts to give.

Would you like to learn more about your camera and how to get the best out of your kids when taking photos of them? My next Photography for Parents Workshop is on Fri 18th October, held just outside of Woking. We cover all of the topics mentioned above, like light, colour and how to get really lovely natural photos of your children that you’ll be proud of. Click here to find out more about what you’ll learn on this jam-packed Workshop >