Autumn offers many photographic opportunities for the beauty of his colours and moody shots and is therefore one of the favorite seasons of landscape photographers. Capturing the colours and the atmosphere of autumn is not so obvious, so in this guide we will see how to photography the beauty of the autumn colours following this 8 tips:
1. Prefer the Golden Hour
This applies as a general rule not only in autumn photography, golden hour helps to get much more vibrant and pop colors that best suit to get that perfect glow effect for fall colours
Since many autumn photos are taken in wooded environments, photographing during the golden hour in an area with very dense and closed trees can be counterproductive so in this case prefer times with the highest sun position
2. Use the Right White Balance
Usually automatic white balance is one of the most used one, automatic mode is comfortable and often reliable but this tends to flatten and neutralize the colours of the photos. To emphatize the autumn colours it would be preferable to choose a white balance using Shade mode. The light in shade is normally a little cooler than in the daylight, so this mode will add some warmth to your image
A pro tip is to use the Kelvin mode in your autumn shot, so you can adjust the temperature as your taste using live view in order to obtain more customizable results
3. Take Advantage of Fog and Clouds
Fog is that high-impact element that will incredibly help you create more atmosphere in your autumn landscapes, this because fog softens the contrasts of the scene and gives a nice depth of field. Fog is that high-impact element that will incredibly help you create more atmosphere in your autumn landscapes
Cloudy sky likewise comes to our aid, rain and overcast skies are all conditions that help to focus on the colours of the autumn composition
4. Use Polarizer Filters
In autumn photography the polarizing filters are of great help to enhance the colours and contrast, this will give you a base image more easy to start editing. Other benefits of using polarizer filters are: reduce the glare, make sky more clear, allows to using lower shutter speed in case you shot for water
5. Use the Right Lens
In landscape photography the wide angle lens is often used, but knowing how to vary the lenses according to the condition allows you to capture the best image in the right moment
In autumn photography the attention to detail is the key, that’s why I take many photos with my 70-200 telephoto. Using a telephoto will help you to focus on a single spot and better enhance the scene details
6. Natural Frame your Shots
Framing is a very effective photography composition rules, taking advantages of the colours of the foliages, the trees, rivers and rocks can be a great help to better composite your shot and emphatize the viewer’s eye on the main subject.
Playing with colours while taking advantage of natural framing completes this tip even more
7. Look for Water
Adding water in your autumn shots will add a strong element to enhance your image, imagine a lake that reflects all the beautiful autumn colors in your scene, or a waterfall that with its flow guides the viewer’s eye towards other elements of the photo
Water is in general a very strong element in landscape photography and especially in autumn photography. To get the most out of the water combine it with the golden hour for a very powerful impact effect
8. Bonus Tip
If the colors of your autumn photographs do not seem so impactfull, I suggest you download my TTS Fast Panel or my TTS Pro Panel, in both of these adobe extensions panels there is an effect to enhance the autumn colours and bring out the best of your shots
Conclusions
Autumn photography offers many photographic ideas but mostly made up of opportunities, a planning phase is fundamental as is knowing how to exploit all the changes in the light conditions. To win this challenge, take the right time to go out, experiment and you will get to photograph the best autumn photos
