It’s been a hot second since we have taken new family photos…
THE STORY
…The last time was about four years ago so new shots were definitely in order. Back in the day when my son was a mere wee one we would often have professional photos done at Sears or Olan Mills…a big shout out to anyone out there who remembers Olan Mills because that is definitely a blast from the past isn’t it? Looking back at them amuses me; they were so stiff and unnatural looking with those hideous swirly gray and blue backgrounds that you see in bad school pictures. Serious crimes against photography is all I can say.
Since I started blogging and taking my own outfit shots I have both upgraded my camera equipment and honed my photography skills. I’m nowhere near professional level, but I know my way around a camera well enough to take our family photos myself.
The nice thing about doing it myself is that I have full control over the setting, poses and style of the shots. Since we’re super casual folk, we obviously keep things simple and realistic. It’s no secret that fall is my favorite season hands down, so that’s typically when I choose to do family photos.
This year, as per usual, I stalked the live fall foliage map so I knew exactly when peak leafiness would occur. My husband and I scouted locations the week before, the outfits were picked out and I knew exactly when the leaves would be their most luscious so I was set, right? Not so fast there skippy…
Of course the entire week prior was windy and rainy as hell, so I was checking the trees constantly hoping they’d hold on to their leaves. Fortunately they did, so we set out on the predetermined Saturday morning to take our photos at the old abandoned railroad trestle in the woods by the lake that we had scoped out the week prior. Perfect setting am I right? Ya, there was one small problem…apparently small game came into season and there were hunters literally everywhere. Since dodging arrows wasn’t on my list of top ten things to do on a Saturday morning we improvised with a hasty Plan B.
When it was all said and done, I think the photos turned out really well…and bonus points because we got to spend a nice day together outside enjoying all of the autumnal gorgeousness. Unfortunately my boys don’t live close enough to just pop over for a photo shoot. However my son has mad photography skills of his own and sent me a few shots that they had taken so I have current photos of all of us.
THE OUTFIT
What kind of a fashion blogger would I be if I wasted an obvious opportunity for outfit shots? Since we were going for all the cozy fall vibes that day, I chose to wear my red plaid hooded shawl over one of my favorite slouchy sweaters from last year’s collection at American Eagle. I knew for sure that I wanted to wear the plaid hooded shawl so it was the foundation that I built the outfit around. Seriously, what says cozy fall/winter look more than plaid? The red plaid also played really well against the mustard yellow/orangey sweater and made the perfect third piece for the look.
I kept the bottom basic with distressed (is there any other kind?) skinny jeans and black over the knee boots. On a side note…I don’t recommend schlepping through nature in a pair of high heel over the knee boots…you know, just in case you were considering it.
THE TIP
If you don’t already own some, you should really add a bit of plaid to your life (and your closet). It’s such a traditional fall/winter print and in my opinion, plaid is one of the easiest prints to mix with other prints. It works well with floral prints, leopard print, stripes…really any other print is fair game.
THE LINK UPS
Check out the weekly link ups I participate in for even more fashion and style ideas…
Shawl: Similar; Sweater: American Eagle (Similar); Jeans: JCPenney (Similar); Boots: Amazon (Similar)
