Hey Photographer,

October brings some of the year's best shooting opportunities: rich colors, soft light, and clients eager to book sessions. Whether you're managing back-to-back wedding weekends or filling your calendar with portrait sessions, this month offers unique possibilities to create standout work.

^{_{Here's how to make October your strongest month yet.}}

^{Capture The Golden Hour Before It Ghosts You}

October's golden hour delivers that warm, directional light everyone loves, but it's fleeting, often just for 20 to 30 minutes. During this short window, the lower sun angle creates longer shadows and wraps subjects in flattering warmth.

What you should do: 

• Scout your location 20 minutes early to find where light filters through trees, sweeps across open fields, or creates rim lighting on your subjects.

• Backlit engagement shots in October's amber glow have a way of stopping scrolls, the kind that end up framed on mantels, not just on Instagram grids.

• Use this sun calculator to find the exact golden hour window for your location.

Work With Fall Colors, Don't Fight Them

Autumn's palette, deep reds, burnt oranges, and golden yellows, adds natural richness to your compositions. However, those colors should enhance your subjects, not overpower them.

What you should do: 

• Have clients interact with their environment naturally, couples walking through leaves, families near pumpkin patches, or portrait subjects in layered fall settings. 

• In post-processing, enhance warmth and saturation slightly, while maintaining a natural contrast. 

• Overcast days provide a soft, even light that makes colors pop without harsh shadows.

Don’t Let The Trees Sabotage Your Portraits

Shooting under fall trees seems perfect until you see harsh, spotty shadows on your subjects' faces. It's one of October's biggest technical challenges.

What you should do: 

• Position your subjects at the edge of tree cover, not directly under it. This gives you Fall context in the frame while avoiding the harsh light patches. 

• Use a reflector or fill light to even out shadows on faces. Let dappled light fall on clothing, the ground, or background elements, not just on faces.

Guide Your Clients on Wardrobe

Wardrobe is not optional. What clients wear makes or breaks October shoots. Many don't realize how much wardrobe choices affect the final images, and they're often looking to you for direction. Left to their own devices, you'll get neon sneakers against crimson maples, which is a choice, just not the right one.

What you should do: Send wardrobe guidance a week before the shoot, not the night before when panic shopping begins. Here's what actually works:

• Earth tones work best: rust, olive, burgundy, camel, cream, and denim.

• Textured layers add visual interest, knits, jackets, and scarves.

• For families, coordinate colors rather than matching exactly.

• Avoid bright whites (they pull attention) and colors that clash with foliage.

• Remind clients that fall sessions mean potentially muddy conditions, practical footwear matters.

The Foliage Should Be Orange, Not Your Clients

October's light has a warm, golden quality that's stunning on leaves and catastrophic on skin if you're not paying attention. Clients might not articulate what's wrong, but they'll feel it when their complexion looks more autumn squash than autumn glow.

What you should do: 

• Set a custom white balance rather than relying on auto. Shoot a gray card at the start of each session for consistent reference points in post. 

• When editing, boost fall colors in the environment but protect skin tones, use selective color adjustments or HSL sliders to keep them natural while enhancing the autumn palette around them.

Plan Around Peak Foliage. Because You Get ONE Shot

Peak fall color lasts for two weeks in most regions, and the timing shifts based on location and elevation. Miss it, and your October sessions happen against brown sticks. For wedding photographers, this narrow window can make or break bookings. For portrait photographers, it's your entire mini-session jackpot.

What you should do: 

• Track foliage reports religiously; most state tourism sites publish weekly updates. 

• Schedule engagement sessions during peak color (those clients become next year's wedding bookings). 

• Build backup dates into contracts for when Mother Nature doesn't cooperate.

• If you cover multiple locations, know which areas peak first so you can shift sessions accordingly.

Embrace October Weather (Even Rain)

October weather is unpredictable. Fog, rain, and overcast skies can feel like obstacles, but they're actually great opportunities for shooting distinctive images.

What you should do: 

• Protect your gear, but don't cancel shoots at the first sign of clouds. Overcast light is even and flattering, perfect for portraits. Fog adds depth and mood, especially in morning sessions. Rain creates reflections and rich, saturated colors. 

• Keep clients comfortable with umbrellas and backup plans, and you'll capture images no one else gets.

Bonus Tips To Stay Booked and Organized

October can be chaotic, especially for wedding photographers juggling multiple weekends. A few practical strategies keep you ahead:

• Scout locations a week before shoots; Fall does not wait for anyone.

• Pack reflectors and small LED panels for fill light on cloudy days.

• Bring rain gear for yourself and clients (dry clients are easier to manage).

• Communicate clearly about weather plans and backup options.

• Keep your editing consistent: enhance warmth and contrast, but stay subtle.

October rewards photographers who show up prepared. The light is generous, the colors are rich, and clients are motivated to schedule more bookings. With these tips, you'll fill your calendar, strengthen your portfolio, and deliver frame-worthy images your clients will love.

And Remember, Great Shots Start with Great Communities

As much as lighting, angles, and timing shape your photos, the community you build around photography makes a huge difference in your growth and inspiration.

Through Aftershoot's Create Together Fund, a $1 million grant program, dozens of photographers are building stronger local networks through workshops, photowalks, and meetups where they learn, share, and push creative boundaries together.

Dive into the full wrap-up of Cohort 2  to see how photographers were empowered to turn their vision into a reality and how you can do the same.

Now get out there, make the most of October, and have a blast doing it.

Team Aftershoot