Being from Southern California, I never paid that much attention to the fall season until I moved to the midwest and then to Denver.  Fall brings slightly cooler weather and with that the leaves begin to change to vibrant gold and orange colors.  Peak season, where the trees are still full of leaves with gorgeous colors is only about 2 weeks, but if you can catch it, it is truly stunning.  And because of all this beauty, it is the perfect time of year to schedule family photos, and for many family photographers, its the busiest season of the year.  And for those that have not updated their family photos in a while, I always suggest a fall session!  

That was the case with the R family, pictured above.  It had been a very long time since they updated their family photos, and they now had a tween and a teen at home!  Some families end up skipping photos during these years, but, WHY????  You still want to remember this time too!  The hormones, the little attitudes, the eye rolling, the new found opinions they have.  You want to document this because their time is winding down in your house and  soon they will be off to college, full time jobs, military etc and you will wonder what happened to that time!  Take a peek into what a tween/teen fall family session at Hildebrand Ranch Park could look like!  We even caught the leaves when they were on fire with gold hues!

As you can see, they brought their dog, which I loved, since dogs are part of the family too!  Mr. Teenager, also brought his lacrosse stick, so we could get some photos with it.  That is the beauty of personalized family sessions, you can craft them to show all the unique characteristics of your family members.  And last time I checked, you can't bring your dog or your lacrosse stick to a portrait session at Walmart or JC Penney, ha!   

When you haven't had family photos in a long time,  and your kids are not toddlers, I always encourage an hour long session.  You will get so many different family combinations, a variety in backdrops at a particular location, and we can just plain relax and have a little more fun.  In the photos pictured above, we were able to get poses with Mom and Dad individually with the kids.

As you can see, we have a totally different background for each kiddos' individual photos with Mom, then Dad, then with both Mom and Dad.  I always suggest locations with varied backdrops  such as Hildebrand Ranch Park in Littleton for hour long sessions, so we have flexibility in backgrounds and posing, and can move around based on what the light is doing.   

We ended our session, just as the sun was going down with a view of the foothills.  We were all happy and everyone still liked each other, which was a win-win!  I got to see what Mom ordered from the gallery and how she organized them on her walls, which is the last and final step to updating your family photos!  If you can't remember anything I talked about - here are your takeaways - 1) Get photos done of your kids into their tween/teen years 2) If you love vibrant colorful backgrounds, schedule your photos in the fall 3) Once your session is complete, actually print some of your photos and update your walls, even if you opt for a digital package 4) Call me if you want me to be the one to shoot you, your tween/teens in the fall!

Danielle Makia, Photographer is a South Denver Family Photography business also specializing in Maternity, Children, In Home Newborn, Senior and Extended Family Sessions; as well as Intimate Weddings/Elopements and Event photography. Service areas include Denver and Aurora, Colorado, Highlands Ranch, Colorado and surrounding Denver suburbs.