Philadelphia Fall Family Photo Session in a Park

Two adults and two children pose together in a park with autumn leaves on the ground and colorful trees in the background.

I love watching the families of my previous clients grow, so I was over the moon when the Boyer Family reached out to me to do their fall family photos. I photographed Naomi and Jacob at their emotionally moving wedding at Philadelphia’s Horticultural Center a few years back. We also did some beautiful spring family photos when their eldest was younger, so of course, we had to update their family photos when their youngest was around the same age. But this time we decided to head back to Fairmount Park, where Naomi and Jacob once got married, in late October, just in time for the perfect peak of the fall season!

A family of four sits on the ground covered in autumn leaves. Two adults and two children are interacting and smiling among the fallen leaves.
Left: A young child smiles and turns in a field of autumn leaves. Right: A child and an adult crouch and interact among fallen autumn leaves.
A young child in a beige sweater holds an adult's hand while walking through fallen autumn leaves.
Two side-by-side photos of people in a park with autumn foliage: a woman with a young child on the left, and a man walking with two children on the right.
A child holding an adult's hand while standing on grass, both wearing sweaters and jeans.
A family of four poses outdoors on grass covered with autumn leaves. An adult man kneels beside an adult woman, with two young children standing close to them.

 

Now I know the thought of getting your two little ones to cooperate for family photos may seem a little daunting, but I’m here to reassure you that you will get some of your favorite photos to look back on, no matter the level of chaos. I always recommend that my clients fully embrace the chaotic energy, and we work with what the kids are willing to give us. We can always coax them to stand for a few posed, family photos, but when they’re this young, it’s better to work with them than against them. 

Capturing those moments where the kids are all over the place is truly capturing your authentic “day in the life”, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s something so sentimental about looking back on the photos where there are leaves all in their hair, their untucked shirts, and even the mid-family session snack time cookie crumbs around their mouth. Whether you believe it now or not, you’re going to look back on these sticky fingers and cookie crumb times and miss them. Personally, I know that for my own family photos, I tend to always reminisce and look back on the crazy, chaotic photos of the kids running around and being their goofy selves, rather than the perfectly posed family photo. My kids are now 11 and 14, and now when we take our family photos, they’re concerned with their appearance and trying to look cool, no longer being as chaotic or carefree as they may have been at 2 or 4 years old. We now have so many wonderful photos of the kids when they were babies and toddlers, where absolutely nothing is “perfect” about the photo, but the photo still captures that perfect time in our lives. 

A family of four stands together outdoors in autumn; the parents and two young children pose and interact on green grass with orange trees in the background.
Two adults and two children play together outside on green grass with autumn leaves, lifting and swinging the children in a park setting with colorful trees in the background.
A family of four stands outdoors on fallen autumn leaves, smiling. Two adults hold two young children, with trees and greenery in the background.
A man holding a smiling young boy outdoors in a park with autumn leaves on the ground and trees in the background.
A young boy is held by a man outdoors in one photo and sits on a woman's lap among autumn leaves in another.
Woman in a brown sweater hugs a young boy on the ground covered with autumn leaves. The boy’s face is pressed against her cheek and she appears calm and content.
A family of four sits on the ground covered in autumn leaves, with two young children holding handfuls of leaves and two adults smiling at the camera.
A couple sits on autumn leaves in a park, smiling and holding hands, while two young children play nearby.
Two people sit on fallen autumn leaves in a park, smiling and holding hands, with trees and a building in the background.
A young child in a beige sweater and jeans stands outdoors on fallen autumn leaves, raising one arm, with trees in the background.
Two adults and two children pose together in a park with autumn leaves on the ground and colorful trees in the background.
Two young children walk through fallen autumn leaves; the older child smiles at the camera while holding the younger child’s hand.
A family of four walks in autumn leaves; in a close-up, two children walk together surrounded by fallen leaves.

 

I always want your family session to reflect exactly how your life looks and feels at that moment, because the reality is, the kids grow up and their personalities change. Document each stage as they grow; that way, you have every memory to look back on and reminisce over. Your family session shouldn’t only consist of picture-perfect store-bought picture frame photos, because it’s not reality (psstt… it’s no one’s reality!) Let the kids run. Let them get a little messy (after we capture a few nicely posed photos, of course!) Let them (safely) play with sticks. And let them enjoy being out with their parents and siblings, before they think they’re too cool to take family photos! 

An adult holding a small child outdoors, both facing the camera, with autumn-colored trees in the background.
A family of four walks together on a grassy field with autumn leaves, surrounded by trees with fall foliage.
A woman and a young child smile while posing together outdoors on a ground covered with fallen leaves.
Two young children stand on autumn leaves in a park; one holds a stick, and the other holds a carton of animal crackers. Trees and a building are visible in the background.
A family of four walks away on a grassy field with autumn leaves, two adults holding hands with a child, one adult carrying a toddler. Trees with fall foliage are in the background.

Fall Family Photoshoot, Fairmount Park 

To see more of our family photo sessions, take a look at A Stunning Sunset Beach Family Photo Session, and A Perfect Spring Day at Longwood Gardens.

And if you would like to book your own maternity photo session with us send us a message here.

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