Tips and Tricks To Add Impact To Your Autumn Images – Kevin McNeal

 

In this article, I’m sharing 20 of my favorite tips to enhance your autumn photography. I hope you can put some of these ideas to use as you explore with your camera in the fall.

1) Create a surreal mood by trying to include a sunstar that showcases your subject. The sun sets as an anchor point that guides your viewer to the subject.

Images from Yosemite National Park in the Lower Yosemite Valley

2) Create a warm overall balance with your images when including the colors red, yellow, and orange.

3) Early mornings in autumn are fantastic for finding mist and atmospheric conditions.

4) Look to include the color red when photographing autumn colors and blue skies.

5) Try to add variety to your autumn collection of images by including wide-angle images, telephoto images, abstracts, and macros.

6) Don’t forget to look on the ground and include fallen autumn foliage. Using a very wide angle approach and getting as close to the ground can offer a very different perspective.

7) Look to photograph solo trees of one color, set against the background of a complementary color.

8) Use a mix of different shutter speeds to get varying moods of autumn images. For example, I like to use fast shutter speeds to capture the leaves as they fall. I use long exposures to create a softer mood with the movement of water, clouds and foliage.

9) Include many element layers when photographing wide-angle scenes. I look for a foreground that will immediately capture the viewer’s attention. Use composition techniques to connect the foreground and background through the use of leading lines and depth. The more layers the more three-dimensional the image.

Image from the Dempster Highway in the Yukon

10) Reflections double the color and add that wow factor to autumn images. Look for ponds or small lakes that are more likely to be calm and still.

11) Don’t be afraid to include people in the image to give a perspective of scale and mood. To really add another dimension to the image look for people doing activities in the autumn surroundings.

12) Look for themes or commonalities when photographing autumn colors. One of my favorite themes is photographing barns and churches surrounded by color.

 

13) Photograph in forests in the early morning when the sun is just coming up. The early warm light sets against the dark setting of the forest create an ethereal feeling to the image.

14) Try to find higher vantage points that offer a unique perspective of the autumn colors that most people don’t see. Many hiking trails in parks have this option. It’s always a special treat when you reach the top and you look down into a valley of color, or endless mountain ranges, or the stillness of a lake below.

15) Take it a step farther and look into adding aerial photography or drone photography into the mix. This can lead to fantastic images of winding roads through fall colors.

Images from the Dempster Highway in the Yukon

16) Autumn season is a great time to look for weather changes and unique weather systems. These types of conditions adds a special element of drama to the images.

17) Get out into the backcountry and away from other people for to photograph lesser known landscapes. I love to get deep into the mountains and find idyllic mountain settings combined with fall color.

18) Shooting a variety of subjects and elements when it comes to autumn can enhance your fall color portfolio. I like to include lakes, rivers, creeks, waterfalls, forests, and ponds just to name a few.

19) Get out in the rain. One of the best conditions for shooting fall colors is overcast weather. I especially like it when it’s slightly rainy which gives the fall colors an extra boost of vibrancy.

20) Have fun and try to be creative whenever possible. Get out of your comfort zone.