Last weekend I had the pleasure of shooting a family photoshoot in a beautiful woodland setting absolutely packed with autumn colour.
I met up with Georgie, Matt and Esther (and their dog Douglas) at the edge of the Meanwood Valley Trail just north of Leeds. Matt had bought Georgie a family photoshoot gift voucher for her birthday a few months before, so it was great to finally meet them. I’d been warned it would be muddy (and that I might be getting my feet wet!)
Beautiful, relaxed family photography
When it comes to family photography, I don’t like to direct too much. I prefer to let families relax and go about their business as they normally would. The aim is always to capture the most relaxed and natural images I can that show the family dynamic.
The family walk here often so they were at ease immediately, heading off down one of the many trails. For the whole of this last week, Leeds has been shrouded in mist so there was a really interesting quality to the light. It did mean it was fairly dark but the combination of the mist and the autumn setting really gave us the opportunity to create some really magical images.
Shooting the colours of Autumn
Autumn is hands down my favourite season to shoot. The light is gorgeous and low and the colour palette it provides is absolutely beautiful. As we moved further into the woods I was stunned by the colours. I think this might be the most ‘autumny’ location I’ve ever shot in. The entire ground was a bed of leaves of yellow and red. It was stunning.
While I have a real passion for black and white family photography, I do also like to make the most of the colours available. Colour images can really capture those lovely autumn colours in all their glory. That said, don’t think that there’s no place for black and white photography at an autumn shoot.
Black and white can really pull out the textures from the leaves and trees, and work magic with the shadows created by the low light. I generally like to give clients a good mix of both in their sets. Sometimes a particular images cries out for a certain treatment so I like to let the images lead the treatment.
What to wear for autumn photoshoots
One thing that’s often overlooked when it comes to family photoshoots is wardrobe. I have a pre-shoot guide I send out to all families before a shoot that includes some pointers on what to wear. (It’s also full of useful tips to make sure they get the most out of their shoot).
The choice of clothes for this shoot was great. All quite neutral but with small accents that complemented the autumn colours (gold star!).
Going the extra mile to get the shot
After playing in amongst the trees, we moved on. I’d been told there was a stream that both Esther and Douglas loved to play in. I’d come prepared so while they played I waded into the middle of the stream, camera in hand. The water was moving pretty quickly and the rocks were quite slippy. I’ll be honest, I nearly came a cropper a few times! Sometimes you just have to work for the shot!
It was a really fun, muddy, wet session and I loved every minute of it. We came away with some gorgeous images that really captured the natural interactions between the family.
“Simon is a lovely guy and truly gifted at what he does. He has provided us with some gorgeous natural family photos (happy to get his wellies on to work with toddler & dog in the mud) and he was a pleasure to go out on a shoot with. Amazing communication all the way through and photos ready to enjoy within 24 hours – we will use him again and would highly recommend!”
Georgie
