Rod was recently interviewed by Elizabeth Barnes for a school project. Here are her questions and our answers, which make an excellent opportunity to blog! Find out when the best time to take fall pictures is, why, and how weather affects the photography business.
Has all the rainfall lately affected the leaves on your trees? Well all the rain we are having is actually keeping the leaves on the trees longer. My backyard has a sprinkler system so typically we are still watering the trees this time of year to keep the leaves on the trees longer to attain a longer fall shooting season. This year we actually turned off our sprinkler system to save money because mother nature has been doing such a good job. A severe frost will kill the leaves, turning them brown and causing them to drop early. The best autumn colors come when there's been:
* a warm, wet spring
* a summer that's not too hot or dry, and
* a fall with plenty of warm sunny days and cool nights
Is the color on them coming along as it did in previous years? In our backyard I think my end of Aug early September was spectacular for fall color, my Japanese Maples (reds) and Tiger Eye Sumac (yellows) both "bloomed" nicely at the same time.
Are they late, early, or at peak now? Well I usually tell people that the fall colors will peak in our area around the last week of Sept. and the first 2 weeks of Oct. They are starting to peak in the 2nd week of Oct. this year.
When is the best time of the year to take fall pictures with the best colors? Usually a Tues. Wednesday or Thursday about the 8th-14th of Oct. I would say is when the peak happens in our area. Weekends tend to be when it rains for some odd reason, which leaves many people "soaked" from getting their fall photos done. However, fall colors are usually spectacular when it rains. The light glistening off the wet leaves really helps enhance the color in pictures. Families are usually are not keen on doing pictures in the rain thou, particularly with young children.
Has the weather lately affected your outside studio in any way or how business has been running? Weather is a big factor in how the business is running. It's a matter of how people are feeling that gets them to book sessions. When the leaves start turning they know the weather is going to start getting colder and the holiday season will soon be upon them, so they are more urgent to call. We have had a very mild fall so far, and people don't "feel" the cold coming on yet. In the summer, if the weather stays cool through June, we may get a late start to our short picture taking season for Senior photos, and that can be very detrimental to the business as well. This year we have had both scenarios and we've seen a significant drop in the number of sessions.
Where are some great local places for pictures with vibrant fall colors? My backyard! Of course we always go where the color is currently the best and we have the best light. Great places to take clients (besides our backyard), in our area, are Lebanon Hills Regional Park and Thomas Lake Park, as well as Red Oaks and Terrace Oaks that are just down the street. I was just up in Maple Grove and the leaves around the lakes up there were unbelievable on Wednesday. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum I am sure is beautiful, but it has been a few years since I have been there, way too many people for me when I am taking pictures to really be fun. I also just drove on York Ave in Bloomington and by one of the office complexes the yellow leaves covered the green grass... There was a nice blanket of yellow leaves and still yellow on the trees - but there was no kids in site to shoot...and soon all this will have disappeared before I would ever get a chance to return there with a client. The DNR keeps a website to track leaves that I often check if I'm going to travel: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fall_colors/index.html Another resource locally is:
http://twincities.citymomsblog.com/directory/categories/twin-cities-south-metro-parks
What kind of trees do you look for when shooting? Actually when I am scouting areas to shoot... I am looking for hillsides that are higher than the tree tops in the background. I am looking for a place where I can be slightly above the subject, typically people like themselves in pictures when you shoot down at them vs up into their nostrils. I am looking for where the light will be at the time we are shooting usually I want the light behind the subjects so they do not squint and the light will bounce between the leaves on the trees. I look for Oaks, Hickories, Dogwood, Birch, Poplar, and of course Maple trees.
What weather conditions make for the best trees to shoot? Just after it has rained and the light is breaking through the clouds. The leaves will sparkle when this happens.
Has the wet October been good or bad for the natural backdrop for pictures? I think this Fall has been one of the best Falls I have seen for a long time...and very few are taking advantage of it.
When should people book their appt so it’s not too cold outside? So all the leaves are still on the trees? Earlier the better, as it gets later in the season and frost hits - sending the trees into hibernation, the wind and rain will pick-up and knock the leaves from the trees. As you get closer to Nov the temperatures keep dropping too.
We can always enhance leaves digitally if they are not all turned yet, but we can't add leaves to the trees. I always recommend scheduling for late September.
In The Imagery's Portrait Park we mix a bit of reality in with imagination. We use some fake leaves intermixed with real leaves to create the illusion of fall before it is fall, and also to extend the peak season. With the mix of trees we have (Birch, Willow, Cottonwood, Sumac, Japanese Maple, Burning Bushes, Oak) we can do "fall" pictures long after the trees in the parks have lost their leaves. Fall equinox is from September 22nd to December 21st, but leaves usually are completely gone by the end, and it's too cold if you wait until mid November when extended families get together on fall breaks (Thanksgiving). Our "holiday sessions" are typically run all indoors, unless we have a beautiful snowfall, and then it's fun to pose (if they are willing) in hats and scarves outside.
More links to resources used:
https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-seasons . And with the magic of Photoshop we can enhance colors to create that perfect backdrop without if being the perfect time of year!
http://eekwi.org/veg/trees/treestruecolor.htm
Questions provided by Elizabeth Barnes.
