When Is the Best Time for Family Photos in St. Louis?

An honest (and maybe a little unpopular) answer from a St. Louis family photographer

This is a great question, and it’s a sincere one. Somewhere along the way, fall became the season for family photos. It’s easy to see why. As times changed, we went from portrait studios to sessions at our local metro parks, and fall here in St. Louis is a picture-perfect backdrop, with the trees at their peak in full shades of orange, red, and yellow.

The holidays had a lot to do with it, too. Holiday cards changed. We went from a box of matching store-bought cards with one family photo tucked inside, or the family newsletter printed on the home computer (anyone else grow up in the ’80s and ’90s? Does anyone still send out a yearly holiday newsletter? I digress), to the photo card with the picture-perfect family portrait on the front. That card became the societal thing, and fall became the season to make it.

So here’s my maybe-unpopular opinion: fall photos at the park with the beautiful colors don’t have to be the reason or the season for your holiday card. I’ll also share when they might be exactly right for you. And I’ll answer the sincere question underneath it all: no, really, when is the best time for a family photography session in St. Louis?

The Rules Are Fake

I like to shake things up a little, without running a smear campaign on any photographers or families who love their fall sessions. But I do like to say this: the rules are fake.

What? What does that mean, Rachel? It means the rules we come up with as a society. You know the ones. We all seem to follow them without even stopping to think it could look like something else. Somewhere along the way, fall became the top season for family photographs and the busy season for every photographer. So here’s where I call it out. You don’t have to take your family photos in fall. You don’t have to go to the metro park for them.

About a year ago, I began to realize I wasn’t quite happy with my work or my business. Don’t get me wrong, I love taking family photos! It’s my specialty. But as beautiful as the season gets, we only get about two weekends of the most beautiful fall leaves. That makes every metro park extremely busy in the morning and at golden hour, with tons of families and photographers in one place.

I’ll never forget one fall session at the very beginning of my photography career. I suggested Faust Park, by the Governor’s Mansion, during golden hour, because golden hour is usually the best time for family photos. As I arrived, there were so many cars parked there that it was busier than the mall at Christmas. I could barely find a parking spot, and neither could my family. There were photographers every which way: in the grass, on the gravel, on the green behind the white house. I thought, this is insane. There was barely space for my family to be. How could they relax with all these other photographers surrounding us? How could I relax?

So now, I don’t recommend the Governor’s Mansion at Faust Park at golden hour in fall. Sessions like that created a plethora of problems. It’s crowded, and parking is stressful. Families and photographers are politely competing and taking turns for the best spots and the best light. I found myself overstimulated, and it was distracting me from giving my full, present self (and my art) to each family. I noticed it wasn’t comfortable for young children, either. It’s overstimulating and distracting for them, too. And then I think about how many other families have nearly the same photo.

What Kind of Photo Do You Really Want?

Here’s the real root of it: what kind of picture do you really want to have? What kind of experience do you really want?

I’m not saying beautiful fall photos at the park are a bad thing. Maybe you want a quick update for your holiday card, you love the fall colors, and you want everyone looking at the camera in the outfits we coordinated to look really pretty and nice. That’s okay. I’m just asking a deeper question.

Does it feel like you?

Does your child wear that cream sweater and dressy pants or jeans every day? Did you buy that dress from Amazon or the store around the corner because it matched the family color palette?

Let’s go deeper. What does your child wear that they love? What’s their personality right now? Maybe we find an outfit that looks great in photos and is something they actually wear, something that helps you remember what they’re really into right now and who they are, so it takes you right back to this season.

And what feels like you? What makes you feel like the best, most beautiful version of yourself when you get dressed? Do you have a special green dress you just love? Are you a pants-and-a-cute-top person? Wear that.

If You Still Love Fall, Ask Why

Let’s take it even deeper. If you still want photos in fall, why? Do you want a session that feels special, like a unique experience, rather than something to get through and dread?

What does fall look like for your family? What’s something fun and meaningful you do together in fall that captures your truly genuine, one-and-only family? Is it soccer or football? Carving pumpkins? Riding bikes? Drinking hot cocoa under blankets?

When you think about this season of your family, what you do together, what your child is really into right now, and the things you’ll want to remember in 20, 30, 50 years, we can still do a fall session. Just maybe in a meaningful place, with an activity that’s truly unique to your family.

Sometimes the Fall Foliage Session Is the Right Move

Sometimes a family dreams of one session in the most beautiful fall colors, and that’s great! Let’s do it! I had one family who had just moved to the area. They’d never had fall photos in the foliage, and they’re an outdoorsy family, so it was true to who they are and a meaningful first-time experience.

If this is the session you want, I’ll work with you to find the best spots, ones that will hopefully be beautiful and a tad less crowded. I’ll help you find a less busy time, while still photographing you in the most beautiful light of the day.

When Do Fall Colors Peak in St. Louis?

It varies year to year, but peak fall color in St. Louis generally happens from the last weekend in October through the first weekends of November. It depends on the weather and how much rain we get. Sometimes you get one good weekend, and the leaves change quickly. It’s Mother Nature, and she’s unpredictable! But if you want to plan for the best fall colors, I’d aim for the last weekend in October or early November, as long as the leaves don’t drop too quickly.

November is a beautiful season for photos, but it can be really cold. If you don’t mind the cold, November is great. Photos with lots of layers can be so beautiful: blankets, coats, chunky knit sweaters. (Another great reason to have your session at home: you can come in and out to warm up!)

Planning a Fall Session? Start Looking in Summer

Whether you want a fall session at the park or at home, and whether it’s for your family or your senior, start looking in summer. It might sound silly to plan that far ahead for a fall session. But fall is always the busiest time of year for photographers, and if you wait until September or even October, you’ll likely feel stressed and find very few photographers with openings left. So if you want a fall session, I recommend starting your search as early as June or July. Photographers open their fall calendars that early because the season is so popular.

My Favorite Fall Photo Spots in St. Louis (and When to Go)

If we’re going to a popular park, I want one with lots of space, where we can spread out away from other people. These are my favorites.

Oak Knoll Park in Clayton. One of my very favorites. It’s beautiful in the morning light and in the afternoon golden hour light. You can’t beat it. There’s a little secret garden, lots of room for the kids to roam about, and so many spots that even if it’s crowded, we can spread out. I know it down pat.

Forest Park. It’s such a beautiful, big park, but it also holds lots and lots of events, which can make parking a logistical nightmare. It can be really crowded on peak fall weekends, and you have to be careful on Saturday nights in fall, when everybody goes to take homecoming pictures. We can do Forest Park, we just have to be careful.

Forest Park’s Nature Playscape. It’s lovely for all families and such a great place to play. If it’s warm enough, kids can splash in the creek, and there are logs to climb on. It offers so many chances for beautiful photos of families being connected and playful together, with children of all ages. It’s beautiful in the morning and especially beautiful at golden hour, and in fall you get the lovely backdrop of all the trees. It’s a win-win for everyone, year-round. There’s plenty of room to spread out, with a million beautiful backdrops, so even if it’s crowded, you won’t be fighting the crowds or other photographers.

The Saint Louis Art Museum grounds. I know them really well, the light is beautiful, and I know all the best spots. Morning or golden hour, it’s beautiful for either one. It’s unique, with flowers and tons of different backdrops, and even if it’s crowded, we can find a spot that works. We just have to be really careful during peak season, because parking can be extremely stressful, and stress is the last thing we want for family photos.

Queeny Park. Lots of space for kids to roam and break away from the crowds if we need to.

My Top Recommendation for Fall: Your Home

The other thing I recommend is your home. We can go in the front yard or backyard, take a walk around the neighborhood, do an activity together, and be inside or outside. It can happen in the morning or afternoon, and I’m the expert in guiding you to the best light for your home. Is your light best in the morning or the afternoon? We’ll decide together. We don’t have to fight the crowds. And often, your neighborhood is where the most beautiful fall trees are anyway. It’s where all your memories are.

Not a Fall Family? Every Season Has a Story

Maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t want fall photos, but I don’t know when to have family photographs done.” That depends on a myriad of things, mostly your family.

Summer. Maybe you’re a summer family and you love the warmth and long days. Maybe you’re a family who runs through the sprinkler. Do you swim together? Eat popsicles with sticky hands, or watermelon? Maybe you catch fireflies, or have the same root beer floats every summer. Maybe you love going to the carnival! There are so many ways to make a meaningful summer session. I love bare feet, golden light, and all the ways summer looks.

Winter. Maybe you really love winter. Maybe your family sets up the tree every November or December and it’s your favorite season. Maybe you decorate gingerbread houses, bake the same cookies with Grandma, or trim the tree with the same special ornaments. A cozy at-home session doing a winter holiday activity together can be so beautiful. In winter, homes get the most beautiful golden light streaming in. Winter light is some of the most beautiful light, inside and out, and photographs can be stunning even when it’s cold. Think snuggling under blankets or walking among the pine trees. It’s the perfect excuse to get close, snuggle in, and capture genuine, connected, affectionate family moments.

Spring. Maybe your family loves spring. Maybe you love flowers, blooms, and gardening. This would be your season. Maybe the most beautiful flowers bloom in your yard every year, and you’ve always wished you could capture your children or your whole family beside them.

So, When Is the Best Time for Family Photos in St. Louis?

My answer: any season. The best time to take your family photos is now.

You don’t have to wait for fall. You don’t have to wait for summer. Maybe your toddler just started walking, with that proud brand-new waddle, and you really want it captured: the way they walk proudly to you, and your face all lit up, perfectly captured so you remember for years to come how your children see your face, and how proud you are of every step.

Family photos can be taken one year in spring and the next in summer. Family life is always changing, and your kids are always growing. What about this season do you want to remember? What is the family story you want told?

The best time is now, in the season that captures your unique story and the vision that belongs only to you. Not fall just because everyone else is doing it and society made up the rule that this is the time to take the photo.

Wear the outfit that makes you feel great and captures who you are. Book your session in any season you wish. Just make it your season, and your story.

Documentary and lifestyle photography is my jam. If this sounds like you, I would be honored to tell your story.