As we head toward fall and winter, alot of people opt for portrait sessions during these season because there is a special kind of magic that comes with outdoor, winter photo sessions. The snow lightly falling and icicles hanging from the branches create a lovely backdrop for any photo session. Here are some tips to make your winter or fall photo sessions go smoothly.

Dress warmly.

You will be surprised at how often this is overlooked. Since you’ll be standing outside for a long period of time, short sleeves, thin fabrics, and open toe shoes will not be comfortable for very long. Shivering makes it hard to look happy and pose properly. Take this time to rock some of those really cute warm clothes – that fancy knee length jacket you’ve had your eye on, those beautiful leather boots and that really cute cable knit sweater.

Wear sunscreen.

Protecting your skin should be a priority throughout the year, not just in summer. Use a good moisturizer to protect your skin from chilly winds. Being properly moisturized will help to try and avoid the wind bitten skin look.

Watch the weather.

Warmer days may seem more pleasant but melting snow can change the entire look of your backdrop. If you are looking for light snow flurries, try and keep an eye on the weather forecast to make sure that you don’t end up with melting or heavy snow.

Be flexible.

If the weather isn’t exactly what you had hoped for, see if you can still make the photo session work. Sometimes this means you’re wishing for those perfect fall colored leaves but they’ve already fallen or they haven’t totally changed yet. Or we want snow on the ground and it just hasn’t snowed or the snow melted. So in situations like this, we can try and reschedule or roll with it.

Plan your day.

Taking your photos just after the sun rises or just before it sets will provide you with amazing lighting so try and plan your session around those times. Keep in mind that this means for fall and winter shoots, aiming to shoot around 7:00am for sunrise and 3:00pm/3:30pm for sunset.

Bring tissues and chapstick.

Walking around in the cold will definitely get your nose running and chap your lips. Bring along the tissues to help solve that first problem and of course the chap stick will help keep your lips moistened so that they don’t appear chapped in the photos.

Incorporate some cold themed props.

Why not bring along a blanket or two that you can snuggle up under. Or bring along some hot cocoa with some marshmallows to sip on. Or as Christine and Ryan did, some spiked apple cider and cinnamon stirring sticks.

Check out these portrait sessions for some inspiration for your shoot.
Fall Engagement:
Towson University Engagement Portraits
Centennial Park Couple Portraits
Old Town Alexandria Engagement Portraits
Larriland Farm Engagement Portraits

Winter Engagement:
Font Hill Park Engagement Portraits
Old Town Alexandria Engagement
Patapsco Valley State Park Engagement
Federal Hill Engagement Portraits

Fall Family Portraits:
Howard County Conservancy Family Portraits
Howard County Conservancy Maternity Portraits