Warm Photos in Autumn 

Take your camera for a trip into the autumn season and go hunting for different subjects for your photos. In late autumn, light is perfect for capturing beautiful landscapes, and if you do not get the exposure right, it is something you can easily correct at home in front of your computer. 

Warm Colours

Autumn is the season of change. It is a season that indicates that another year has passed and that before long winter will hold the land in its cold grip. Everywhere you look in nature there is activity. Animals collect supplies for winter, and just before the leaves start to fall the forests explode in a veritable inferno of warm colours. This is one reason why autumn draws photographers out into nature like no other season.
 

The days grow shorter, the leaves fall, and mushroom shoot from the forest floor. The autumn is the high season for nature photography and a multitude of subjects are waiting out there.

 
You do not need a large and expensive camera in order to shoot good photos of autumn. A mediocre camera and a good eye for photography will always beat a professional camera and a bad eye for photography. Most compact cameras have a close-up mode which is very good for shooting withered leaves on the forest floor or hoarfrost on a branch. If the colours do not turn out quite as you had expected, you will always be able to post-edit your photos using software such as Photoshop Elements.
       
Reflect on Your Photos
One of the challenges of shooting in autumn is doing it in a meaningful way.The popularity of the warm colours means that there are almost as many photographers in the forest in autumn as there are withered leaves. For this reason autumnal photos can easily appear clichéd.
            Fortunately just a little deliberation will let you bring home from the forest photos that are surprising as well as personal. You should really pay attention to creating variety in your choice of subjects. During your walk through the forest you can alternate between shooting close-ups of withered leaves in the new snow, shooting trees full of yellow leaves or shooting the activities of animals. Your aim could be to fill an album with photos that tell the entire story of what takes place in the forest in autumn. 

Shooting autumn subjects is always pleasant, but give some thought to what you are doing.

In autumn, another challenge is working in the limited light available late in the year. The days have grown shorter and the strong light of the summer sun is a thing of the past. In the depth of the forest it can be so dark that taking photos with a hand held camera is impossibly even in the middle of the day. In this case, looking for back lighted subjects such as withered leaves in the crown of a tree in back light can be a really good idea.

        Remember: more than anything photography should be fun. Do not let yourself be caught up in a never ending quest for the perfect frame. Taking a photo just because the subject catches your eye is perfectly alright.

Timing

Exactly when in autumn you go shooting outdoors is not without significance. Try keeping an eye on the changing colours of trees. You need to take your photos before the leaves fall, yet, if you act too soon your photos will not have right colour characteristic of autumn. The exact moment nature is at its most impressive can vary a lot both locally and from year to year. However, you will also need to have time enough to be able to wait for the light and the colours to be just right. Often, waiting for just an hour makes the difference between a prize shot and a photo fit only for the dustbin.

Autumn is coming. Nikon D200, 70-200mm VR, F4, 1/320 second, ISO 200.
 
Complementary Colours

Autumn is a season of beautiful complementary colours. The literal meaning of “complementary” is “making complete”. If you mix two complementary colours the resultant colour will be white. Because yellow is the complementary colour of blue, yellowish leaves appear even more beautiful when set against a deep blue sky. Understanding how to use complementary colours, you will be able to shoot photos with colours that create a sense of drama, this is a good eye catcher.
 
Find Funny Details
Looking for details is always a good idea. We often tend to look only straight ahead or to the side. Remember to look up or to get down on your knees in order to study details. The forest floor might hide an interesting subject that you will only find if you look very closely. Or perhaps you will get the perfect shot of the forest if you lie down on your back and shoot it from that angle. Photographers with a skill for spotting details in nature are able to communicate quite unexpected incidents to their audience.
 
Use a Tripod
Even though dragging along a tripod can be quite a nuisance, it is indispensable for shooting great autumn photos. As there is little available light camera shake will often be a problem if you do not use a tripod. Using a tripod will also allow you to shoot photos of moving subjects. For instance, you could do long exposure shots of leaves falling from the trees. In this way you make movement an important part of your pictorial story of autumn.
 
Hoarfrost
Going shooting when the night frost sets in is often not a bad idea. It is an even better idea if you can do it after a night with high humidity. When the morning sun rises, every leaf, branch, twig, and perhaps even spider webs will be covered in a thin layer of ice. If temperatures are really low you might however want to store your camera close to your body, perhaps in an inner pocket of your jacket. This will increase the life span of your batteries considerably.

Hoarfrost is often a very photogenic subject. This photo was shot in back light.

Migratory Birds and Squirrels

In early autumn, you will often encounter large flocks of migratory birds. They are heading south for the winter, and they make a great subject. Getting close to wild animals usually takes a lot of patience, however, if the birds are busy grazing, you might, with just a little luck, be able to get close to them. In the forest you may also encounter another time-honoured subject: a squirrel carrying a nut. Charming animal photos are always received well by other photo buffs and they look great on your living room wall.

Now that you have finished reading about autumn photography you might be interested in learning about how we protect our camera equipment when we are shooting outdoors.

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