My wonderful morning out with the Whiting family began with, as so many sessions at that time of year do, a discussion about autumn leaves. Unfortunately, their dates wouldn’t coincide with the often very short autumn season in Seoul and we’d be making use of the last moments of the season. Never mind, though, there’s always a corner to be found that can bring the autumn to life.
As is so common at this time of year, there was a blanket of fog hanging over the park when I arrived ahead of the session. Fog helps to soften the light coming from the sunrise and bring a beautiful warmth to the entire scene. I was excited to say the least!
When the family arrived, it was clear from the get go that this one was going to be an active session. It was all we could do to keep the little man still for a quick ‘Christmas Card’ portrait at the beginning. From then on, it was all motion. With promises that the playground was coming, though, we managed to get ourselves a short while exploring a small corner of the park with a maple tree left in its full colour.
As we explored the park, the fog started to thin and we got the beautiful warmth of the sun in full force. It lit up the remainder of the leaves and gave them some strong colour to play off the light pastels the family were wearing. It was around that time that we discovered just how much fun piles of leaves could be and how hard it was to keep a certain member of the team from eating them!
Since we’d already got plenty of images, we decided to hit up the play equipment and see what would come of that, as well. It turned out to be a whole new kind of fun, but we finally drained the battery of the smallest member and his mood quickly changed to quiet and contemplative. Before he could go to sleep, we sat down right where we’d started and got a couple of quiet frames to offset the action we experienced earlier.
What a beautiful way to finish up a family shoot. It’s amazing how exhaustion can create some tender moments from even the most active children. This seemed like the perfect moment to put the camera away and let the session wind down.
If you’d like to have your own family photographed in Seoul, please reach out! I’d love to hear from you.