Fall is upon us! I can see and feel it already. This is my favorite time and I am excited to be able to photograph the most beautiful season of the year. Here’s a quick list of four tips on WHEN-WHERE-WHAT-HOW for anyone who wants to attempt capturing the beautiful backdrop of fall colors in their family pictures. I know the struggle (especially when getting littles to all smile at the same time!) and have a few suggestions to make it a success.

Photographer Sarah Baldwin's Fall Family Photoshoot Surrounded by Leaves

Tip 1: WHEN 

In my opinion, the prime color time is the second and third weeks of October in Pleasant Prairie. It varies each year with the intensity of the color but I have been shooting professionally for 17 years and weeks 2 and 3 have not failed me once yet. A good bet would be to aim for the second week and have the third week as a backup in case it’s rainy or too windy. 

Tip 2: WHERE

Pick a location with a few background options. You probably will know what day you and your family can all get together to attempt pictures but you won't know the weather until the last minute. If it is a super sunny day, you don't want to be in an open field without any shade. If it is super cloudy, you don't want to be in a heavily wooded area where it will be too dark. In Pleasant Prairie, a great place to go is Prairie Springs Park. They have open fields and a wooded path with countless trees and a beautiful bridge over the Des Plaines River that will provide a great backdrop for pictures.

Tip 3: WHAT

What to Wear - The hardest decision of the whole process. This question is asked the most and is often the biggest stressor for families. This event doesn't happen often and you want everyone to look their best. I will start out with the easy answer of what NOT to wear...summery clothes: shorts, tanks, sundresses. That is obvious but needed to be stated. Along those lines, pastel colors and white are off the table. Cream works, white does not! Now, on to the more complicated part of the answer to what TO wear. Color combinations vs the same color tend to work best. No matchy matchy, think complementary colors instead. Here are some no-fail color combos: Color combos that work in Fall photos

    1.  Navy and Mustard Yellow with Dark Denim  

    2.  Coffee and Cream - a fancy way of saying Browns (any shades of brown) with Cream

    3.  Burgundy and Navy (throw in a touch Cream if you would like)

Can't find anything in your closet? You can head over to the Pleasant Prairie Premium Outlets and hit up Old Navy or Gap; they always seem to have coordinated clothing options for the whole family at affordable, discounted prices.

Photographer Sarah Baldwin's Fall Family Photoshoot Surrounded by Leaves

Tip 4: HOW

If you have a professional photographer to take your pictures, easy peasy, let them worry about the how. Just relax and have fun. Your kids can pick up on your energy so make sure it is a positive and fun one. If you are going to take your own family pictures, go back to Tip 2 of picking the best spot within your location, and focus on that. Get all your pictures done in this spot that you wanted to get, then you can move on to other spots. That way if the next spot doesn't have great lighting or if the kids start to get tired and restless you know you have your shots and everything from here on out is a bonus. One more tip on picking "the spot" in your location, try to pick an area with open shade. What is open shade? You are standing in shade and you look up and nothing is covering you (for example tree branches are not over your head). This place will work well if your photoshoot day is super sunny or a little cloudy. 

I hope these tips help and make you want to get outside this season to take great pictures with your family.