5 Fall Family Photography Tips: Capturing Leaf Pile Play

Some of my favorite pictures in my photo library are traditional fall leaf pile shots. Autumn is the perfect time to capture authentic smiles with colorful natural backgrounds.

Are you getting to know your DSLR camera?

Below are five beginner tips to help you take advantage of that lovely camera you own. Let’s play and make it work for you!

5 Fall Family Photography Tips: Capturing Beautiful Photos of the Kids Playing in the Leaves

1. Bring the kids outside late in the afternoon to play in the leaves. The light in your photos will be amazing! As we head into the fall, we are able to take advantage of the golden hour (period of time before sunset) earlier in the day.

2. If you are new to your DSLR (or using a point-and-shoot camera), adjust your settings to the little running man. This means your camera will take faster photos, which will reduce the blur of flying leaves and running children. Here is a fall photos from my point-and-shoot that I adore.

Remember friends…

The best camera is the one you have with you.

Some of my favorite photos haven been taken on my iPhone. If you’ve got a point-and-shoot, use the settings to the best of your ability.

The point is to always find creative ways to use the tools you have!

So if you are on a DSLR, take things to the next level. Play in the shutter speed priority setting (Tv). Start out setting your camera to a speed of 1/800 sec. The camera will automatically adjust the aperture and ISO for you.

Play with different shutter speeds to see how your photos change.

3. Let them play. You’ll get the most beautiful smiles if you simply try to capture the moment. Setting the scene for a perfect picture generally causes unwanted stress and frowns.

4. Wait them out. Eventually they’ll slow down and you can get some more traditional portrait shots. If your children seem like they’re just going to keep on go-go-going, set-up a picnic in the leaves to get them to slow down. Last year we enjoyed an apple cider picnic.

5. Now let’s do something really fun. Let’s experiment with the aperture priority setting (Av) on your DSLR camera.

This is a simple way to get a bit of that artistic blur of color in the background.

Start by reducing the displayed aperture number as low as your lens will allow. This might vary depending on what lens you have and also if you’re zoomed in or out.

Take a few shots and then begin to play with adjusting the aperture number up and down. If you’ve never done this before, I guarantee you’ll be amazed at the cool things your camera can do with a bit of experimentation.

IMPORTANT TIP FOR BEGINNERS:
I am going to share the best photography tips I’ve ever received with you… You will never learn to truly take advantage of the power of your DSLR with your kit lens. Invest in a f/1.8 50mm lens (about $100 for a Canon) for your DSLR camera. This is a FIXED LENS which basically means it can help you learn to shoot in manual or use things like aperture priority (discussed above) with ease.

All the pics above were done with my 50mm. I shoot almost exclusively with this lens. It is a perfect lens for everyday moms who don’t want to spend a ton of money on fancy equipment. Once you have it on your camera, you won’t want to switch back. If you have any questions about the 50m, please don’t hesitate to chat with me in the comments below.

If you have any questions about the fall family photography tips above, let me know in the comments below.

Keep on clicking,

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”