Late Fall Portraits with Lesia: A Lifestyle Shoot at a Toronto Farm
The photographs look warmer than the day felt. It was late November, sunny and around −15°C when Lesia and I made this portrait series at a farm in Toronto. The wooden stables and her red lace dress gave the images an autumn palette, even as the weather was already making its case for winter.
An important part of the lighting was under our feet. The sun was lighting the wood, but the light on Lesia’s face was reflected from the concrete floor in front of the stables.
Wooden stables as the backdrop
The timber gave us texture and a simple setting to build the portraits around. Direct sunlight caught the wood, bringing its surface into the photographs. With Lesia in front of it, the background became part of the light and colour of the series.
A red dress against the wood
Lesia wore a red lace dress with a bold belt. The colour stood out against the stables while still fitting the warm palette of the wood. The lace added a different texture from the timber behind her.
The concrete floor did some of the lighting work
Natural light was our main source. Rather than relying on direct sun on Lesia’s face, we used the light bouncing from the concrete in front of the stables. That reflected light gave her face softer illumination while the surrounding wood received direct sunlight.
The contrast between those two kinds of light mattered to the result. The setting could keep its stronger sunlit texture while the portrait had a gentler light on the face.
Look at the surfaces around your subject
For photographers, this is the useful detail to take from the session: the light reaching a face may have travelled through the scene first. Alongside the direction of the sun, look at the ground, walls and other surfaces that can return light towards your subject.
At this farm, the concrete was part of that path. Noticing it helped me work with the setting we had. The stables supplied the backdrop, and the floor helped shape the portrait.
If you are planning an outdoor portrait session, we can discuss the setting, clothes, season and light together. Tell me the kind of photographs you have in mind, and we can work through the practical choices. Explore my personal photoshoots or get in touch about a session.
For another outdoor session with a different quality of light, see Eva’s late-summer sunset shoot.
