Tips for Shooting Autumn Foliage

There’s certainly no shortage of beautiful things to photograph during the peak of fall. Once the trees begin to go from a predictable green to vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows, there are plenty of fall photography opportunities. But with plenty of fall photography opportunities come plenty of photos, and the threat of taking a photo that just blends in with all the other images out there. So how do you take fall photography photos that really pop? We’ve rounded up tips to help you perfect shooting autumn photography this season. Try for sidelight Light coming in from the side often creates an excellent effect for autumn photography, as well as making techniques like backlighting possible. To get the sunshine coming in from the side, shoot early in the morning or a few hours before sunset. Shoot on an overcast day, or bring a polarizing filter If you can’t go out at the start or the end of the day for your fall photoshoot, wait for an overcast sky if you can. A high noon sun with no clouds will leave you with harsh shadows and make capturing a great shot difficult. If you want to shoot when the sun is shining, at least bring a polarizing filter with you. Then you can adjust the intensity of the blue in the sky during your fall photoshoot. Bring a tripod To keep the scene sharp in your autumn photography, a narrow aperture is necessary. But when you use a narrow aperture, you also need a slower shutter speed. To keep blur out of the fall photoshoot, keep the Canon PowerShot G7 Mark III from Beachcamera.com steady with a tripod. Tripods are also necessary to take a long exposure shot and smooth out moving water in an autumn photography scene. Climb high High perspectives are often breathtaking in the autumn. If you can, search for a lookout point, like a hill or tall building. Get in close Autumn offers a lot of beautiful scenes. But don’t get so caught up in the big picture that you miss the little details. Close-ups often work well for autumn photography. If you have a macro lens, be sure to bring it along. Snap close-ups of the texture on a leaf, look for a leaf that is halfway through its color change, or look at lesser-used subjects like mushrooms and acorns during your fall photoshoot. Look for reflections Reflections mean twice the color in your fall photography. Lakes make an excellent natural mirror. Just wait for a day when there’s very little wind. Even moving water can reflect colors though. Try shooting a long exposure. Just don’t forget a neutral density filter and a tripod. The blurred water won’t mirror the trees exactly, but it will capture their color, so that rush of water isn’t white, but yellow, orange or red. Try wide angle Wide angle lenses capture more of the fall photoshoot scene, which makes them great for photographing autumn days. They also tend to exaggerate the perspective. Try telephoto Telephoto lenses can offer a lot of power. If you’re able to climb to a higher vantage point, using both a wide angle and a telephoto will help you capture the details of the entire view. Use backlighting When the sun is behind the leaves, they glow. Just like backlighting works well for flower photography, the light passing through the leaves gives them a surreal quality. Shoot with the sun behind the leaves by incorporating the flare of the sun into the fall photoshoot scene. You can also adjust your position so the sun is behind a tree trunk. Look up and down There’s so much beauty right in front of you, but you’ll miss out if you don’t also glance at the ground and up at the sky. Sometimes, the way the leaves scatter on the ground can be just as photogenic as the trees. Shooting up from the base of the tree can also offer a different perspective. Keep an eye out for details, no matter where they may fall. Use the vibrant color setting Switch to a vibrant color setting on your Canon Rebel T7 DSLR Camera from Beachcamera.com. This simple adjustment will enhance those colors of your autumn photography even more. Hike a little farther It’s hard to take pictures that look different from everyone else’s when you’re standing where everyone else is. Take the extra effort to hike a bit farther and explore a bit further. It will show in your images. Watch for a look-out point, keep an eye out for streams and waterways, and look for trees that turn into leading lines in your autumn photography. Brave the weather The days that are the most comfortable to be outside often aren’t the best days for autumn photography. An impending storm can make for a dramatic sky. A single shaft of light floating in through the clouds is a huge photographic opportunity you might miss if you stay inside. It takes a bit of forethought and strategic shooting to really capture autumn photography images that shine. Get ready to brave the weather, hike with a few different lenses and a tripod, and get up early for the sunrise or stick around late for sunset.