Autumn in Seoul is a short-lived, but beautiful time of year. Typically, we’ll get a week or two of gorgeous colours on the trees around the last week of October and the first week of November. Then, all the leaves fall to the ground and the temperatures start to drop. That’s what I was afraid of when Jane contacted me from Singapore. The end of November is usually freezing cold and the trees are barren. However, as we’ll see, in an unusual turn of events, the leaves just didn’t seem to want to drop in 2023!
We discussed the idea that the leaves likely wouldn’t be around, but I agreed to keep a lookout for patches of remaining colour in the lead-up to the session. Seoul’s weather is typically patchy. Cherry blossoms can be in full bloom in one corner of the city and completely absent from another. The same applies to autumn leaves, so it pays to be flexible when it comes to these. I checked the parks in the second and third weeks of November and there was absolutely no foliage left after a couple of rain showers, but stopping by Changgyeonggung, I found that this part of the city just hadn’t got the memo that winter had started! The leaves were not their vibrant autumn shades from earlier in the season, but they were there! So, we settled on getting the most out of those leaves and then using the palace as a backup if things suddenly changed.
When the family arrived at the palace, I was ready to go immediately as we couldn’t be sure how long young Xander and Maya would last in the cold. It was just above zero when we began and would only drop from there. We set up our first frame in a tunnel of autumn leaves, a nice family walk to keep everyone warm and happy in the beginning. If you look closely, though, it began to snow just as we started walking. It was too warm to settle and there wouldn’t be enough snow for that either way, but there was certainly enough for the kids to try and catch some, even with their tongues!
We got really lucky at this shoot and the light snowfall continued for our entire session. Between that excitement and plenty of running and playing, we managed to keep the children on board and in good spirits for the full hour, despite the cold. Our next few images were just that. We’d stopped still for a couple of family group shots, but that can accelerate the cold settling in very quickly. While zero degrees is fine for those of us living here, it’s 30 degrees colder than where this family just flew in from. So, we got back on the program of running and distracting their little minds from the cold! Of course poking our tongues out and trying to catch snow had to be a part of that!
Then, it was time to reign things back in for some closer portraits of the children before sitting down for one last family portrait in the leaves. Of course, we wrapped up the session with trying to catch the snow, yet again! A big thanks to Jane and her family for braving the cold, rolling with the punches when it comes to Korea’s weather, and being such open and fun people to work with!
To enquire about having your own family photos in Seoul, please reach out! Also, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for even more family fun. Until next time!
