Underwood Farms in Moorpark is the perfect backdrop for Fall photos

Every year, my family and I visit Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark.  It is a 45-60 minute drive north west of Los Angeles. My first visit was five years ago, when my husband (then-boyfriend) and his friends invited me to join them at the Underwood Family Farm’s annual Harvest Festival. It was the first time I’d been to something like that, and I’m happy it’s become a tradition. My favorite activities include: watching pig races, checking out farm animals, the tractor ride, and the corn maze. Now that I have a little one in tow, it’s fun to see her progressively enjoy the farm and take a nice family photo that proves it’s actually Fall in Los Angeles.

This year, we visited on Halloween. We were supposed to visit the Saturday before, but my husband didn’t read the fine print when he bought tickets, which indicated the tickets were valid any weekend EXCEPT the date we wanted. I was sad we missed hanging out with our friends, but it worked out for us photo-wise. Because it was Halloween, there weren’t a lot of visitors that day. We arrived a little after it opened, so the pumpkin patch was my photo playground.

This is where I try to take our photo every year. There is just enough shadow in front of the tractor so we don’t have harsh shadows on our faces. I didn’t bring a tripod, so the camera is balanced on a pumpkin and I used the 10 second timer on my camera and ran back and forth. I took about ten photos that way. Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone I had to shoo away to get this shot, so I could to take my time.

I love the brightness of this coach. It looks great in front of the gorgeous blue sky that is very L.A. Everything at Underwood Farms is placed well, so it’s like having a professional set decorator!

This is a fun way to measure your kid’s growth every year! There are plenty of cutouts for fun photo ops such as this one, placed around the pumpkin patch.

This picture is from the little Labyrinth, made especially for kids who are too young for the big corn maze. It has one way in and one way out. Aria loved this and went through it several times until I bribed her out by offering another ride on the tractor. I’d seriously consider creating one of these if I had a house with a big backyard.

Tips for your visit

• Buy your tickets online at at discount
• Arrive early to avoid crowds and take your family photo first – you’ll look fresh and avoid the bright afternoon sunlight
• Bring a tripod or set your camera on a big, flat pumpkin
• Borrow (for free) one of their wagons to haul your child and stuff – strollers don’t roll well in the pumpkin patch area
• After our visit, we ate at the Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill in Moorpark. It’s a six-minute drive north of the farm and the prices are reasonable and the beef ribs were delicious!

For more information

For more information on Underwood Family Farms, go to their website at: underwoodfamilyfarms.com

To check out my photography page, go to: facebook.com/rubyhuntphotography