How to prepare for your fall family portrait session
August 1, 2026
Fall family sessions are the most requested time of year, and it makes sense. Changing leaves, golden light, everyone looking better in a cozy sweater. A little prep makes a real difference between photos you print and hang and photos that sit on a hard drive forever. Here's what you actually need to know.
What to wear (and what to skip)
Pick a palette, not a matching set. When everyone wears the exact same shade of navy, the result looks like a team photo for a company you don't work for. Choose two or three colors that work together and let each person find their own version. Dusty sage, cream, and rust? Great. Burgundy and camel? Yes. Bright white across the board? No.
Layers add visual interest and give everyone something natural to do with their hands. A flannel tied around someone's waist, an open cardigan, a jacket someone can hold or toss over a shoulder. They also solve the "it's cold in October" problem, which is real.
Skip anything with large logos, graphics, or text. Skip outfits themed to a specific holiday. Bring two or three options per person if you can manage it. When you're not sure about something, bring it anyway and we'll decide on location.
Timing: golden hour is worth the effort
The hour before sunset in October is genuinely different light. It goes warm and directional, shadows stretch long, and photos that feel intentional happen sort of naturally. We recommend evening sessions in September and October for exactly this reason.
That said, golden hour is not the only option. A fully overcast afternoon gives you even, flattering light that doesn't require anyone to squint. We'll help you pick the right start time based on your date.
Arrive 10 minutes early. Kids who showed up already stressed are not the same as kids who had a snack in the car and spent a few minutes running around the field before we started. It takes everyone about 15 minutes to settle in and stop performing. Plan for that.
Locations
New England in fall is hard to beat for family sessions. We have favorite spots for different situations: open fields with distance, wooded paths with real color, more architectural downtown settings. We'll share the short list when you book.
Have a place that means something to your family? A park you always go to, a property with good afternoon light, a street or neighborhood you love? Tell us. We've shot in a lot of unexpected places and made it work. Personal locations almost always produce the best images from a session.
What to expect once we get started
Sessions run 60 to 90 minutes depending on group size. We start loose, get everyone moving, and the real images come once people forget they're being photographed. If your kids are uncooperative for the first 15 minutes, that is not a warning sign. That's just how kids work. Give it time.
You'll hear "just walk toward me" or "tell her something funny" way more than "hold still and smile." That's intentional. The best fall family photos look like something that actually happened, not a catalog shoot arranged in front of a leaf pile.
Delivery is 5 to 7 days. You'll get a private gallery with all your edited images, no watermarks, downloadable in full resolution. Print whatever you want, wherever you want.
Fall 2026 sessions at TTS
We have limited spots left for September, October, and early November. Fall fills faster than any other season, and this year is no different. If you've been thinking about booking, now is the time to reach out.