Fall Senior Session Tips: Locations, Senior Picture Outfits, & More!

Having your senior photos taken in the fall?! Yassss! Today I’m giving you all my tips for fall senior picture outfits, locations, & more good stuff!

First off, why choose fall for your senior session?

Real quick, let’s get into WHY I absolutely love fall for senior sessions + why fall might be right for yours!

1. The changing colors, obvi

 

This is the obvious one!! If you do your senior shoot in the fall, we’ll get the most gorgeous changing fall colors everywhere. I love the fall season in Oregon because we already have stunning trees + landscapes year-round, but they’re made even more amazing when colors are changing from greens to yellows and oranges. 

 

 

It is SO dreamy getting those changing leaves in your photos – they add so much beauty and uniqueness to the landscape we’re shooting at. And it’s so cool when we shoot right at the time where the leaves are still in the process of changing – we’ll get greens, yellows, oranges, reds, ALL the colors!!

 

2. Yummy fall lighting

Golden hour lighting is sooo yummy in the fall. I love golden hour year-round obviously, but in the fall with the changing colors + warm tones everywhere, it truly makes your photos so soft and beautiful! 

 

 

Since it is fall in Oregon, we might end up without golden hour and instead with a cloudy, overcast day. But don’t worry – even on overcast days, fall lighting is so beautiful and soft, plus you have the gorgeous colors around you to make up for it!

 

3. All the warm tones

Like I mentioned before, fall is my fav because of all the warm tones we get!! Warm tones are ALWAYS what I love most, because of how amazing they make skin tones look in photos + just how yummy warm colors are (can you tell by all the oranges + deep yellows on my site?!). 

 

 

Warm tones in the natural landscapes around us (trees, mountains, bushes, etc.) also make it super easy for you to choose your outfits – just choose warm, earth tones that complement the location you’ll be at!!

(I’ll talk more about outfits below, too)

4. You’ll *actually* be a senior in school

 

And finally, if you do your senior sesh in the fall, you’ll actually be in school at the time of your session! This doesn’t really matter for photos, but for some of you it might make it extra special that you took your photos at the beginning of your real senior year.

 

Location ideas for your fall senior portraits

 

Another reason I LOVE fall for senior photos: the location options we get!!

 

 

Oregon already is the absolute best state for senior photos, because we truly have every landscape + type of scenery possible. But in the fall, every landscape looks *more* amazing because of the colors, AND there are a few extra locations that are perfect to consider for the fall that might not be so great in the summer!

 

1. A pumpkin patch

Pumpkin patches are so so fun for senior photos, I freaking love pumpkin patch senior photos!! First of all, any senior just looks SO cute standing with pumpkins surrounding them, plus pumpkins add some more pretty warm (orange) tones!

 

 

Pumpkin patches are also great for senior sessions because they’ve got some variety! Often at pumpkin patches, you can take a ride to a nearby orchard, to a further point in the pumpkin patch, you can play cornhole/fun games, and you can go through a corn maze. All of these provide such fun opportunities for unique & personalized senior photos!

 

2. Orchards

I just LOVE orchards year-round, but you really can’t beat a beautiful orchard in the fall. The trees changing colors are just everything, and the light that comes through orchards around golden hour never fails to disappoint!

 

3. Open fields

Open fields are always an easy location for senior photos because they give the senior a chance to SHINE + stand out. In the fall, even open fields usually have some sort of changing colors, whether it be bushes or random little trees in the field! Fall sunsets also look AMAZING over open fields, with the sun directly setting behind you + giving you that soft golden hour glow that we all dreammm of.

 

4. Changing-colored forests

Forests are obviously the perfect place for anybody wanting lots of changing colors! Oregon forests are amazing in the fall because you’ll get a variety of trees that are green, yellow, in the middle of changing (some green leaves, some orange, etc.), red, all across the spectrum of yummy warm colors.

 

5. Sunflower fields

And finally, sunflower fields are another fun location for a fall senior session!! Sunflowers bloom beautifully in the fall and add yet another gorge warm tone to your photos – that deep yellow is to die for. Sunflowers will seriously make anybody look extra cute!

 

 

Fall senior picture outfit ideas

Now, let’s talk about my top 5 tips for your fall senior picture outfits!

 

1. Earth tones all around

Obviously, I’m in love with earth tones because I’ve been talking about them throughout this entire blog post hahaha.

 

 

For your fall senior session, pick out a few earth tones that will go great with whatever location we’re shooting at! I’m talking rusty reds, burnt oranges, mustard yellows, deep greens and blues, beige, cream, black, shades of gray, etc. These are all colors that you’d naturally find in the earth’s landscape (makes sense as to why they’re called “earth tones!”) and that will make any skin tone look amazing in photos.

 

 

One thing to note: make sure you don’t wear a color that will blend in with the location! For example, if we’re shooting in a big open field of beige grass, avoid wearing an outfit of the same shade of beige – you don’t want to blend in with everything around you! Instead, go for a deep orange or a deep yellow if you want to keep it to those sunset colors.

 

2. Dresses

Even though the fall is a little chillier weather-wise, dresses always look SO cute with fall colors!! Wear a short dress to keep it a little more casual, or a long flowy dress if you want to spice it up a little bit. Dresses are also super easy to accessorize + pair with something else like a cute hat, jacket, necklace, etc. which I’ll talk about more in a minute!

 

3. Boots

I LOVE me a good pair of cute boots, which is one of the reasons why I’m obsessed with fall!! Boots are an easy way to spice up any outfit – ankle boots, boots with wedges, knee-high boots, boots that go up to your calf, brown boots, black boots, the list goes on and on. 

 

Add a cute touch to a simple outfit with your fav pair of boots just like you would with any other accessory!

 

4. Hats

HATS are another super fun way to accessorize any outfit. Gigi Pip is by far my favorite place to buy hats from, so I suggest you look there to find your dream hat!

 

 

(Here’s a fun video showing off some of my seniors with their cute Gigi Pip hats!)

 

5. Layers!!

Finally, layers are such an easy way to create variety in your outfits, super easily! I’m obsessed with when my seniors layer outfits with sweaters, jackets, and cute tank tops. It makes it easy to create a whole new ienor picture outfit/look just by taking off one layer or accessory!

 

Real-life fall senior photo inspiration

 

I wanted to end this blog post by showing you some of my recent seniors who did their sessions in the fall, to give you some more real fall inspo!

Hailey

Libby

 

Whitney

Carly

Trent

 

Check out why I think you should have a cap and gown session on this blog I wrote!