A few years back, I worked with Peik Ai and her family when they visited in late spring. At that time, they had been a family of three, and a rambunctious Leah was the true master of our photo shoot. We had an absolute blast that day. I recommend checking out that session if you’re interested in a Seoul palace photo shoot. This time, though, they returned in autumn and were hoping for a different kind of uniqueness, the changing leaves.
I offered up a few different potential locations, and we initially settled on Seoul Forest Park for an early morning session to avoid the crowds. As their session approached, it was clear that Seoul Forest was still going to be mostly green by the time they arrived. Autumn is unpredictable at best, so it’s always good to be flexible. To update myself on the situation, I spent an afternoon scouting the city’s parks and found that Peace Park was looking much better. We made the switch and rearranged our schedules to have an afternoon shoot there. As you can hopefully see, that was a great decision!
The other challenge we face in autumn is the temperature swings. It’s a transitional season, which means that the mornings and afternoons can be vastly different. Mornings can often be very cool, approaching zero degrees at sunrise, which often brings fog with it. Afternoons can be 10-15 degrees, which is lovely in the sun but still cool in the shade. Some locations get incredibly busy in the afternoons, but this is one that we can use in both the morning and the afternoon.
We kicked off our shoot with several shots of the family as a whole with the gorgeous autumn sunlight behind. Of all the seasons, autumn offers the nicest light in Korea. There is a certain warmth and softness to it that doesn’t happen in our other seasons. This makes it the ideal time of year for a portrait shoot in nature.
As with my last session with this family, it didn’t take long for the fun to kick in. The kids took everything we offered and ran with it in their own little ways. This makes for unpredictable and memorable sessions, just the way we want them! Peace Park allows this sort of session to happen freely since there aren’t too many visitors and there are plenty of wide-open, child-safe spaces.
Kids will be kids, and to keep them on board, I always like to switch the shoot up between their ideas and my own. With each and every shot, we start with something simple and let it evolve into something special. Children always have something to bring to the table, and that’s what makes a family session unique. These two brought so much spunk to our session, making it such an easy time. Can’t wait to see you again!
Autumn is a great time for a family photoshoot in Seoul. It might be a short season with wild temperature swings, but it’s precisely those things that make is work so well. While it’s hard to predict exactly when the leaves will change in each and every area, it’s still best to book as early as you can since it’s the busiest season of the year for us. If you’re interested in your own family photos in the autumn, please reach out! I’d love to discuss making it happen.