Sponsored by Solis Photography
When most people start planning their fall family photos, they immediately think about colorful trees and crowded parks. While those locations are beautiful, they are also the places where everyone else ends up. If you want photos that feel a little more unique and tell your family’s story in a different way, there are plenty of unexpected locations around Sioux Falls that make incredible backdrops.
As a photographer, I love finding places that create images that feel personal instead of looking like everyone else’s Christmas card. Here are some of my favorite unexpected locations for fall photos in and around Sioux Falls.
1. The Sioux Empire Fair
If your session happens while the fair is in town, the colorful rides, bright lights, food stands, and carnival games create a playful atmosphere that is impossible to recreate anywhere else. Cotton candy, ferris wheels, lemonade, and laughter make for photos that feel like memories instead of posed portraits.
Even outside of fair season, parts of the fairgrounds offer rustic barns, fences, open walkways, and interesting textures that work beautifully for families, couples, and seniors.
This location is especially perfect for families with young kids because they can play instead of worrying about sitting still.
2. Downtown Sioux Falls
Downtown Sioux Falls transforms during the fall. The streets are lined with color, storefronts are decorated for the season, and the brick buildings create a timeless backdrop that never goes out of style.
Instead of standing in a field, walk hand in hand down Phillips Avenue, stopping for coffee, browsing bookstores, or simply enjoying a Saturday afternoon together.
One of my favorite things about downtown is that every block looks different. In one session, you can capture historic brick architecture, modern murals, cozy alleyways, string lights, and vibrant fall colors without ever getting in your car.
3. Your Own Home
Some of the most meaningful photos you will ever own may never be taken anywhere famous.
Your home tells your family’s story better than any park ever could.
Think about baking pumpkin bread together, carving pumpkins on the front porch, decorating for Halloween, reading books under a cozy blanket, or roasting marshmallows in the backyard.
Children are naturally more comfortable at home, which often means genuine smiles instead of forced ones. Pets can also be included without worrying about unfamiliar surroundings.
Years from now, these photographs become more than portraits. They become memories of the place where your children grew up.
Lifestyle sessions at home create images that feel authentic because they actually are.
4. The Apple Orchard
Nothing says fall quite like an afternoon at an apple orchard.
Rows of apple trees provide beautiful depth, while baskets of freshly picked apples, wagons, pumpkins, and rustic barns instantly create a cozy autumn atmosphere.
Kids love exploring the orchard, which means they stay engaged throughout the session instead of asking when they can leave. Instead of posing for every photo, families naturally interact while picking apples, walking between the rows, and sharing treats.
The result is a gallery full of genuine moments rather than stiff smiles.
If you are planning an orchard session, weekday evenings are often less crowded and offer beautiful golden light. My favorite orchard is the Country Apple Orchard in Harrisburg, but remember you will have to ask for permission to shoot your session there.
5. A Local Pumpkin Patch
Pumpkin patches are often overlooked because people think they are only for children, but they make fantastic locations for families, couples, and even maternity sessions.
The vibrant orange pumpkins instantly add warmth to your images without relying entirely on changing leaves. Hay bales, wooden fences, corn mazes, tractors, and wagons all add visual interest while giving everyone something to interact with.
Children especially love exploring, climbing, and choosing their favorite pumpkins, which leads to authentic smiles throughout the session. Instead of asking kids to stand perfectly still, you simply let them be kids.
6. Your Family’s Favorite Tradition
The best location may not be a location at all.
Think about the traditions your family looks forward to every fall.
Maybe you visit the same ice cream shop every October before it closes for the season. Maybe you decorate your porch together every year. Maybe you attend Friday night football games, visit a farmers market, bake cinnamon rolls on Sunday mornings, or spend every weekend at Grandpa’s farm.
Those traditions become part of your family’s story.
Photographs are about preserving memories, not simply documenting what everyone looked like in matching sweaters.
When your session reflects something your family genuinely enjoys, your images become timeless because they represent who you are.
Choosing a Location That Fits Your Family
The perfect fall photo location is not always the one with the brightest leaves.
It is the place where your family feels comfortable, laughs naturally, and creates real memories together. Whether that is exploring Downtown Sioux Falls, spending an evening at the Sioux Empire Fair, picking apples at a local orchard, enjoying coffee together, decorating your own front porch, or visiting your favorite pumpkin patch, your photos will feel much more personal than another session in a crowded park.
Fall only lasts a few weeks each year, and those weeks fill up quickly. Choosing a location that reflects your family’s personality helps create photographs that you will love long after the leaves have fallen.
I only take 20 family sessions per year and my calendar just opened! Let’s find the best spot for your family photos this year!
