Autumn in Seoul is a beautiful time for a photo shoot. The cool weather and changing leaves (as well as the gorgeous sunlight when it is there!) make late October and early November the best time of year for autumn family photos. As with all season changes here in Korea, the weather can be somewhat unpredictable. But it’s still the nicest time of year to get out and about. Seoul’s parks, like Olympic Park featured here, are a beautiful place to experience everything that autumn has to offer.
Leading up to this session, it had been threatening to rain all day, but the clouds were thin and we knew it wouldn’t be a downpour. As I arrived to check out the location in advance of our session, the first few drops fell, but it wasn’t enough for me to call the family and aim for a reschedule. As our session time approached, the rain completely stopped and there were barely any traces of it ever happening.
To get the session started, we got a couple of images of everyone together surrounded by autumn leaves, flowers, and silvergrass. These are the elements of autumn here and despite it being late in the season, Olympic Park still had a few patches like this for us to work in. I’d been at Seoul Forest Park a couple of days before and the trees were almost completely bare. It’s a mere five kilometres between them and the difference was stark. So, it always pays to be flexible with your location when it comes to autumn. Things can change in an instant.
After getting everyone warmed up, it was time to introduce the newest member of the family. Big brother was super proud to be an even bigger brother soon and we managed to get him standing still long enough to snag a portrait of them together. Then, we needed to move again to get him involved. There’s only so much being in one place a little person can take after a day at school and a long car trip to the park!
As we started to get our next few images of the children together and some individuals with their parents, a few more drops of rain fell and it seemed like it might settle in this time. We decided to hurry the session and make the most of our time before the potential rain, but thankfully it never ended up happening. Cloudy days like this may feel a little uncertain when the first drops of rain fall, but they make for great photography. In the even light, not only do people look great, but the autumn colours take on deep hues that we don’t get on sunny days. It also means we can work in any direction, which is great when little people are involved, especially those that love to hold hands and walk around!
As we were working towards this portrait in the flowers, mum leant in and said that a rainbow had begun to form behind us! We quickly pivoted to another frame of the whole family with, you had better believe it, Little Mister Energy taking charge and leading his sister through the flowers. The rainbow ended up sticking around for a good ten minutes and we were able to make several portraits, shots of the children, and even some additional fun frames of mum and dad while it lasted.
By this time, it was getting very close to dinner for the children and it was clear we wouldn’t be able to hold them for much longer. So, we wrapped up and said our goodbyes after this frame. Can’t wait to work with this lovely crew again this coming year!
If you’re looking to have your own autumn family photos in Seoul, it definitely pays to reach out early. Autumn is extremely busy here and we book up a couple of months in advance. You can get in touch here and also see more autumn photos on my Instagram.