I know about resistors...
D'oh! Sorry. I figured that might be the case, and almost commented ahead of time about it. 
You want to bleed off the gate charge when the pin goes low (similar to a pull-down resistor).
But I'm realizing that I'm operating on not enough information. I got the impression from your pictures that you were regulating the current through the LEDs by running the MOSFETs in linear mode. But after reading that you switched from transistors to FETs, it makes more sense why you have it the way you do. I also never asked whether you are using N-channel or P-channel FETs, which makes a major difference in how you drive them.
Groan. Too much coffee for me today. If you're willing to risk any more advice from me, reply with the type of FETs and I'll think through things a little better in my next reply.