Everything you need to know to DIY your fall family photoshoot.
We have all seen beautiful Fall images on our Social Media feeds. The deep vibrant colors and beautiful smiling faces! You want those candid, emotive and timeless pictures of your family too.
Well, guess what? You can totally DIY your Family Photoshoot this fall.
Let me tell you how.
Equipment
First things first, you need some basic equipment to get images of your family and be in those images too!
Photographing Equipment: You need an equipment to click a picture. Now, you can use a high end DSLR camera or a point-and-shoot or your phone. As long you you are able to press a button manually or automatically to snap your image, you can use anything.
Interval timer or remote: Most cameras and phone these days come with an internal interval timer. You can easily set an interval timer to fire twice every few seconds. If your equipment does not have an inbuilt timer, you will need to pair your equipment with a remote.
Tripod: This is required if you want to be present in your family pictures, which I strongly recommend! You can easily get in-expensive tripods to go with your equipment from Amazon or buy a used on from craigslist.
Outfit
Colors are everything when it comes to photography. Colors can take your pictures from aww or OMG! Here's a guide I wrote about choosing the perfect color palette and outfit for your family photoshoot. To sum up here, choose colors that will enhance the colors of your surrounding. My most favorite colors for a Fall Photoshoot are:
Hues of Reds, Oranges and Yellow
Deep and earthy colors
Non reflective and muted
Layers! Layers photograph so well!
Location
Location is so very important for Fall Photoshoots. You need some place with gorgeous colors but also some place thats not too crowded. It's hard to photoshop people out of your images after the fact. Another important thing to consider is the amount of walking required from the parking to the place you would want to photograph. Too much parking and you will loose the interest of half of your party!
Reduced Expectations & Family Involvement
A lot of time Family Photoshoots end up with frustrated Moms, angry Dads and angrier kids! This is because we have these expectations that our Family is going to smile perfectly and snuggle in for a beautiful, candid images that we are going to enlarge and place over our fire place.
But in reality kids(read dads) don't want to be at the photoshoot. Over the years I have realized if you include the entire family in the planning they are much less likely to throw a fit! Let your kids and partner help pick their outfits. Give them enough heads up and tell them how much fun it will be and how important it is for you. Ask their ideas about what a family picture should look like. Would you like to kiss your sister? Would you like to bring your favorite lovey at the photoshoot? Would you like to keep it short and simple?
Have Fun!!!
We often forget the most important part! The reason we are taking pictures is to preserve the beautiful memories of our family, to bottle all the love we feel for our tribe. So setup your tripod and let go of all the expectations. Have fun, play games and enjoy each other's company. You and your family deserve some amazing time together.
Beautiful Stories Photography
Maternity, Newborn and Family Photography
by Heena Mukhi
Beautiful, emotive and authentic photography for busy families and couples looking for a premium boutique photography experience. My style is influenced by beautiful light and genuine connection.
I believe every family has a story worth telling, a story of love and warmth. I am here to capture yours!
Serving South Bay Area, Los Gatos, San Jose, Saratoga, Cupertino.
Got questions? Check out my FAQ page
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