Fall is one of the most popular times of year to take photos outside.  If you’re planning to head outdoors to take photos of your little one with the beautiful Fall colours, here are a few tips:

1.  The right time of day.  If you’re heading outside with a young baby or toddler, watch the temperature and forecast.  It’s typically warmer in the afternoons than it is in the mornings so I would suggest heading out before dinner.  The warmer it is, the happier your little one will be for photos.  

2.  The more colour the better.  For photos in the Fall leaves, I would encourage you to choose darker colours for your baby or toddler’s clothing and avoid white or very pale neutrals.  The paler colours tend to pick up the colours of the leaves, which can alter how they look in your photos.  

3.  Up, up and away.  A few suggestions if you’d like to take photos of your kids throwing leaves or of leaves being thrown around them:

  • Make sure the shutter speed on your camera or phone is over 1/250 of a second or the leaves in your photos will be blurry.  If they are blurry, adjust your shutter speed so that it is faster (e.g., 1/500 of a second, 1/1000 of a second). 
  • Watch out for what’s hiding in the leaves: Run your fingers through the leaves before throwing them to check for any sticks, garbage or anything else sharp.
  • Throwing leaves later in the day is generally preferable as they’ll be drier than they are first thing in the morning.

4.  Don’t look up.  Remember that babies and toddlers are small, which means you don’t need to wait until the leaves at the tops of the trees have changed.  Wait until the leaves have started to fall on the ground because that’s the colour you’ll see in the photos.

5. Ready for action.  There are so many fun action shots to take of babies and children in the Fall.  Here are some of my favourites:

  • have them lay on their backs in the leaves and take photos as leaves fall down around their body and face
  • have them play peek-a-boo behind a leaf
  • have them run towards you kicking leaves as they go
  • give them handfuls of leaves to throw in the air (and on you)
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