We haven't gone to pick out our pumpkin yet, but here's a little recap of our trip to Bedner's Pumpkin Patch in Boynton Beach, FL in 2011. My little Safi wasn't even 1 yet! Memories....
This thriving family fun spot was SMOTHERED with Mamatographers! I was so busy with my cranky girl that there was no time to solicit photo lessons ; )
Here are some tips for shooting in a busy pumpkin patch:
1st, don't go at mid day! The best light is going to be early in the morning or late afternoon.I like the technique of a soft gleaming sun coming through my lens so Safi's back was always to the sun.
With that said, I experimented with Flash for filling in shadows. This gave my shots a nice saturation in the sky, pumpkins & her shaw.**Invest in an external flash, you won't be sorry you did**
CAMERA SETTINGS: Try to use your lenses WIDEST Aperture aka Fstop i.e. f2.8 or f3.5 for a painterly blurry background. To achieve this you might have to use a low ISO, i.e. 200 becuase there will probably be quite a bit of sunlight in the scene. As for your Shutter Speed, it will probably fall in a fast range of i.e. 1/500th of a Second.
For More on Camera Settings, Read my book or ebook, Photo Basics & Bayond- A Mamatographers Camera Bag Companion
As far as beating the farm stand crowds...we booked it to the back corner of the farm where they had laid out cucumber plants to serve as imitation vines for the pumpkins. (It's very unlikely to find naturally growing pumpkins in South Florida). I tried to be mindful of my background and avoid capturing other patrons or farm workers in the frame. This gave my shots a feel of peaceful isolation so that the focus was ONLY on Safi.
I brought my Mom with me to help with Safi. Of course she wanted to eat dirt and gnaw on the bright orange pumpkins so it helped to have Grandma as a "Baby Stylist".
Here's some varied lighting examples...
Without Flash~
With Flash~
Happy Fall Shooting!
xo, Vicky & Safi
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