Autumn Whimsy
Marcie Reif and her Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 and 35-150mm F2-2.8 zoom lenses capture the spirit of the season with Fall portraits.
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By Jenn Gidman
Images by Marcie Reif
As we shake the last of the sand out of our beach totes and head into the fall, parents are gearing up for portraits with Fall-Themed Photoshoots. Marcie Reif recently headed to a farm near her home in Atlanta to capture the seasonal excitement, with her own kids and friends serving as ready-and-willing subjects. “The farm lets you rent a pickup truck there for photos, for 30 minutes a session,” she says. “They styled the apples, baskets, and other props for me. All I had to do was concentrate on taking pictures in this pastoral setting.”
Marcie’s lenses of choice for Fall-Themed Photoshoots: the Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD telephoto zoom and 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD all-in-one zoom for her Sony mirrorless camera system. “The 70-180mm is one of my favorite lenses,” she says. “When I was still shooting with my DSLR, the sweet spot for me for portraits was 85mm. When I switched to mirrorless, I wanted a lens that could offer me that focal length. The 70-180mm gave me that and so much more. It’s an incredibly sharp lens that renders colors beautifully, and the bokeh it’s able to create, especially when shooting wide open at F2.8, allows me to effectively isolate my subjects.”
Complementing her 70-180mm is the Tamron 35-150mm. “I’m so attached to how versatile this lens is, and also to that F2.8 aperture” she says. “I especially appreciate using the wider end of the lens when there’s a lot of movement going on. Plus, this lens allows me to incorporate more of the environment into my photos, which you want to do at the farm. These two lenses together offer everything you might need for an outdoor autumn portrait session, except for the mulled cider—you’ll have to bring that yourself!”
MARCIE’S QUICK TIPS
Aim for golden hour.
When it comes to capturing the warmth of fall-themed portraits, lighting plays a pivotal role. As summer fades into fall, the sun sets earlier, providing an ideal window of opportunity for capturing that coveted golden-hour glow, when the light takes on a more diffused quality (though you can also capture softer light earlier in the day by shooting in sunlight that’s filtered through trees, for example).
Shooting in the early evening during the autumn photoshoots has an added benefit: Because the sun sets earlier, you won’t have to keep your little ones out too late to complete your shoot. In the summer, you might be out past 9 p.m. to capture portraits in ideal lighting—way past many kids’ dinner-, bath-, and bedtime.
You can also make the sun a secondary “character” in your images. As the sun dips toward the horizon, position your subjects slightly in front of it until the sun looks like it’s almost touching them. You may have to move around or squat down to get the sun where you want it in the frame.
35-150mm (44mm), F2.2, 1/1250 sec., ISO 400
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Choose complementary outfits.
Parents love the whole back-to-school theme, so for little ones, playful clothing that incorporates fall elements—apples, pumpkins, etc.—works wonderfully. For older children, suggest earth-toned, rustic outfits that allow them to harmonize with the Fall-Themed Photoshoot. You want their clothing to complement the setting rather than overpower it, so avoid overly bright colors.
70-180mm (70mm), F2.8, 1/400 sec., ISO 500
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Subtly weave in seasonal props.
Embrace the bounties of fall—apples, pumpkins, autumn foliage, hay bales, and the like. There’s something about autumn Photoshoots and their motifs that evoke a feeling of nostalgia and comfort for many people.
70-180mm (70mm), F2.8, 1/400 sec., ISO 500
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Just make sure you don’t overshadow your subjects—the props should be understated companions to them. My daughter was decorating her room for fall and wanted some photos to be part of her decor. The woman who runs the farm had built this unique gourd wall, with pumpkins of all different colors: orange, of course, but also white, pink, teal, and other colors you wouldn’t expect. It was the perfect backdrop to place my daughter against. I opened up my aperture to F2.2 and kept my daughter as the focal point.
35-150mm (44mm), F2.2, 1/400 sec., ISO 800
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Follow your subjects’ lead.
Let kids’ creativity and enthusiasm shine through by encouraging them to take part in activities that interest them. For the photo of my daughter and her friend dancing in the field, we’d already spent some time doing more traditional portraits where they were posing for my camera. After that, I let them come up with the ideas and have some fun. That grants them more control over the shoot and fosters a sense of ownership for the images. Plus, you’ll capture candid photos that reflect their genuine joy and connection with the environment and each other.
35-150mm (42mm), F2.2, 1/2500 sec., ISO 640
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To see more of Marcie Reif’s work, check out her website and Instagram.
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