Pumpkin Patch Pics: Henry's Guide

Pumpkins everywhere, changing leaves, golden afternoon light and children who have absolutely no intention of looking at the camera at the same time.

It must be fall family photo season.

A trip to the pumpkin patch has become one of our favorite traditions of the season - and it also happens to create a pretty perfect backdrop for family photographs.

But before you start trying to get the entire family into coordinating outfits, we have one important piece of advice:

Don’t match. Coordinate.

Here’s the Me & Henry guide to getting pumpkin patch pictures you’ll actually want to frame.

FIRST, CHOOSE YOUR COLORS

One of the easiest ways to make a family photograph feel pulled together is to choose a small color palette before deciding what everybody will wear.

Three or four complementary shades is usually plenty.

For fall, we particularly love combinations such as:

Rust + Cream + Denim + Olive

Or try warm brown, navy, oatmeal and burgundy.

The aim isn’t for everyone to wear exactly the same shade. In fact, photographs usually look more natural when they don’t.

Instead, let those colors appear in different places across everyone’s outfits — perhaps one boy wears a rust shirt, another has a cream knit, Dad wears denim and Mom or a sister introduces olive.

The result feels coordinated without looking like everyone was handed a uniform before leaving the house.

THINK ABOUT YOUR SURROUNDINGS

A pumpkin patch already has a very strong color palette.

You’ll usually be surrounded by orange pumpkins, straw, wooden crates, green foliage, brown earth and autumn leaves. Clothes in softer, earthy colors complement that background beautifully rather than fighting against it.

Creams, blues, denim, rust, olive, camel and warm neutrals are all easy choices.

You can absolutely include brighter colors too - just try to think about the family as a whole rather than choosing every outfit individually.

MIX TEXTURES, NOT JUST COLORS

Color gets most of the attention when planning family photographs, but texture can make just as much difference.

Think corduroy trousers with a soft knit. Denim alongside brushed cotton. A plaid shirt underneath a sweater. An overshirt layered over a simple tee.

Those little differences add depth to a photograph while allowing everyone to stay within the same overall palette.

Fall is particularly good for this because you can layer without everyone disappearing underneath enormous winter coats.

DRESS THEM LIKE THEMSELVES

There’s very little point putting your son into an immaculate outfit if he spends the entire afternoon trying to take it off.

The best family photographs usually happen when children forget they’re having their photograph taken.

Choose clothes they can move in.

Let them run between the pumpkins. Let them sit on the hay. Let them investigate the wheelbarrow. Let them choose a pumpkin that is approximately three times their own body weight.

Me & Henry pieces are designed to be worn by actual boys doing actual boy things — which is particularly useful when your beautiful fall photoshoot suddenly becomes a race through a field.

BABY TO BIG BOY

One thing we especially love about fall family pictures is seeing brothers together.

When dressing boys of different ages, you don't necessarily need identical outfits to create a coordinated photograph.

Instead, repeat smaller elements.

A baby might wear a rust onesie while his older brother wears rust in a plaid shirt. One boy might have denim trousers while another wears a denim overshirt. A baby in overalls can sit perfectly alongside an older boy wearing cords and a knit.

It creates a connection between their outfits without making everybody look exactly the same.

Our Fall collection includes styles from baby through to big boy, making it easy to build looks around brothers of different ages.

AND WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE FAMILY?

The same rule applies.

Rather than trying to find an identical shade for Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters, go back to your original three or four colors.

Our sister brand, Vignette, makes it particularly easy to coordinate the girls with their Me & Henry brothers. A Vignette dress can pick up one of the softer colors within the boys’ outfits without needing to be an exact match.

The overall picture is what matters.

Lay everybody’s outfits together before the day and take a quick photograph on your phone. You’ll immediately notice if one piece feels out of place.

BRING A FEW SIMPLE PROPS

You don't need to arrive at the pumpkin patch with half of your house in the car.

The best props are usually things that already belong in the setting.

A wooden basket, cozy blanket, little wagon or wheelbarrow can give children something to interact with and make photographs feel less posed.

And, obviously, you already have the best prop available:

Pumpkins.

Let the boys choose them, carry them, sit beside them or inspect the weirdest ones they can find. Giving children something to do is often far more successful than repeatedly asking them to smile at the camera.

DON'T CHASE THE PERFECT PHOTO

This might be our favorite piece of advice.

Get the photograph where everyone is looking at the camera, of course.

But then keep shooting.

Photograph them walking away holding hands. Picking up pumpkins. Laughing. Sitting together. Talking to each other. Running through the field.

Some of the best family photographs happen in the few seconds after everyone thinks the picture has already been taken.

A TRADITION THAT'S BEEN AROUND LONGER THAN INSTAGRAM

Pumpkin patch pictures might feel like a modern fall tradition, but the idea goes back much further.

Pumpkins became strongly associated with the American autumn and harvest during the 19th century, particularly in New England. By the early 20th century, pumpkins, hay, cornstalks and harvest scenes were already familiar symbols of fall family life and Halloween.

As family photography became more accessible and pumpkin farms increasingly became places families visited rather than simply working farms, the two traditions naturally came together.

Today, the annual pumpkin patch picture has become a little marker of time.

Same season. Same tradition.

Slightly bigger boys every year.

MAKE A DAY OF IT

Ultimately, our biggest piece of advice for Pumpkin Patch Pics is not really about the pictures at all.

Make the photographs part of the day rather than the entire reason for going.

Pick pumpkins. Get something warm to drink. Find the biggest pumpkin in the field. Let the boys get a little muddy. Take far too many photographs.

Years from now, you probably won’t remember whether everyone’s shirt stayed perfectly tucked in.

You’ll remember the little boy standing among the pumpkins.

And next fall, he’ll already look a little bigger.

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From baby to big boy, discover Me & Henry’s Fall collection and find something for all the little moments that make this season special.