The leaves are changing and will soon start falling from the trees. Now is a great time to get outside and take pictures of your children. If you have a basic camera and a little bit of persistence, you can take great fall pictures of your kids without the hassle of going in to a studio. Just follow these tips and then come back and share how your pictures turned out!
First, I’ll share some basic photography tips.
Tip 1: Used diffused back-lighting in your photographs.
I like to have the sun behind some trees behind the subject. This gives them a nice “glow” around their head and ensures that no one is squinting into the sun. You may have to play with your camera settings a little bit because it will want to make your subjects too dark, but if you have a camera where you can change settings, you should be able to make this work.
Both of these photos were lit from behind, the second, almost from overhead. If the subjects had been in full sun, it would have been way too bright, but because I used the trees to diffuse the light, it works just fine.
Tip 2: Have your subjects stand away from the background so that your camera focuses on them and blurs the background.
When your subject is far away from the background, you can get away with not having the “perfect” setting.
Tip 3: Get away from home for your fall pictures.
Being at home, your children will most likely be too sure of themselves and be more likely to run amok. In a new setting (if you work quickly), they’ll be taking it all in and you should have more time to get in your shots before they’re ready to be done.
This photo was taken at the beginning of a photo shoot. The beginning is usually when I get my best shots because kids aren’t tired out yet.
Tip 4: Be ready to MOVE!
To get this first photo, I took picture after picture of this little girl running! She was having so much fun! But to get this shot, I had to constantly stay ahead of her and be ready to snap the photo right as she looked at me. Don’t sit down or expect your kids to sit down. You’ll get more authentic smiles if you let them run a little and then catch them in the act of playing. That goes right into my next tip…
Tip 5: Play!
Make these pictures fun! Get out and play with your kids. You’ll get the best smiles and the best memories!
Tip 6: Don’t always focus on the smile.
Capture the moment. Don’t worry if your child isn’t smiling right at the camera, take the picture anyway. As they grow up, you’ll want to remember every detail about them, even the moments when they were serious or focused or distracted. So take the picture and capture that.
Now we’ll talk about the things that make fall pictures distinctive.
Tip 6: Choosing a location for your fall pictures.
You can take fall pictures anywhere (we’ll talk about that in a minute), but my favorite places to take them are at parks, public lakes, and the pumpkin patch! Get out and go somewhere and take along your camera! Pose a few shots, get some candids, and just have fun!
Tip 7: Accessories for your fall pictures.
Head out to the farm store and/or farmer’s market and pick up some accessories for your pictures! A hay bale works really well and pumpkins, gourds, and big fall flowers make the pictures stand out. With accessories, you can take your fall pictures anywhere! These shots were taken in front of my front porch. Not a GREAT location, but one that worked well since I remembered tip 2 and had my girls far enough away from the house. I love these pictures and even have some hanging on the wall!
Let me know if you try any of these tips for fabulous fall pictures! I’d love for you to leave examples of your work on my Facebook page for me to check out! Good luck and happy shooting!
I really needed to see this Jessica. We went for a hike (granted I almost died because i am beyond unfit) and the scenery from the top of the cliff was breathtaking. Naturally I tried to take a picture and epic fail. Any tips for scenery?
Can you tell me what was wrong with the picture you took? Was it too dark, too bright, the wrong angle?
Great tips! I really like your first tip with the diffuse light behind your subjects. Thanks for sharing. Stopping in from the link today.
Hi Jessica! Awesome tips! I’m going to try them out with my kiddos! 🙂 Pinning
-Michelle @TheGraciousWife.com
Thank you for all of the great tips! <3
I love these tips! I will especially remember what you said about having the person step away from the background so the camera focuses on the person. Last year I took my own picture of my 2 year old daughter because she did not look happy at all in the school picture that was taken at her daycare.
Great tips, and I love the photos!!!
Great tips! (and beautiful pictures!) I have a pretty nice camera, I just need to learn my settings a little more. The f-stop and ISO and all of whatever that is! lol. My pictures always end up a little too blurry. Thanks for sharing on Equipping Godly Women Fellowship Fridays!
Thanks! The best advice I can give is practice, practice, practice! And do a lot of reading. When I was learning photography, I’d read for a while on my computer and then make my husband be my model and try things out on him. 🙂 But all that practicing paid off since I can now take pictures of our kids without having to stop and think about the settings.