October is to photographers = what April is to accountants. It’s crunch time. EVERYONE wants their portraits in Autumn because let’s face it - it’s the most wonderful time of the year (Sing that, please). My calendar books up so quickly. Funny how no one is clamoring for photos in February! HA!

I wanted to touch on a couple of things to help guide my clients this month. There is always a lot of concern about two things:

Fall Color
WEATHER

I know you get worried when we get some wind and you see your favorite tree shedding it’s leaves! You might say “OMG! The leaves are going to be all gone by the time our session arrives!!”

I need you to do me a favor and grab some pumpkin spiced whatever (coffee, beer, tea, bubble bath, cereal, pop tarts, mashed potatoes….) and take a deep breath.

It is my job to seek out color and light and follow the weather.

This is my 14th year as a photographer and I am like the commercial “I know a thing or two because I’ve seen a thing or two.

I can find fall colors from September through the end of November. It’s probably the best part of my job - I already spent time this morning driving around seeing where the leaves have changed and where they have not (so I can note the late bloomers for later).

Here are some photos that were all taken in NOVEMBER!!

I know it’s different from year to year but I consider the second week of October to be the “peak time” for fall foliage, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t pretty locations wayyy before that and after.

Now, let’s talk about weather.

Weather is the bane of my existence. I fancy myself a freelance Meteorologist. I have a son who is a Weather Forecaster in the Air Force and although I haven’t pieced together the logistics of how it works - I think that makes me good at predicting weather. HA (Actually I am probably like a weather person because I am often wrong. Sorry, Weather Friends!)

Even though my schedule is crazy full, I do leave times open for immediate rescheduling if the weather is bad. Not only am I concerned about rain - I am not a fan of 100mph winds so that could also be a factor in my decision making. If it’s a mild but annoying wind - I do have beautiful spots in mind that are in low lying areas which cut down wind issues. I look at wind speed and direction - the radar - chance or precipitation etc…. when making my decision about locations.

This is part of my job that I do not enjoy. Looking for leaves = yayy!!! Stressing about weather = baddd!

So, as we look forward to our upcoming October/November session, please know that I am behind the scenes looking for color and keeping an eye on the weather as I consider the best locations for your shoot.

I don’t like to choose the location until the week of because as you know the leaves look different from day to day!!

Just know that as always, I really want to make this the best experience for my clients. I want to have fun and of course I want to make beautiful photographs that you will cherish for years to come.

Let's talk about Fall, Y'All!