Autumn brings a palette of colors that transforms the landscape, making it an ideal time for capturing stunning, warm-toned photos. However, unpredictable weather and fleeting light can complicate your plans, so it’s essential to understand how to make the most of these conditions.
Coming to you from Gareth Evans with Park Cameras, this insightful video focuses on strategies for photographing the rich, autumnal colors. One of the main challenges is timing—weather patterns can shift unexpectedly, which means planning your shoot around forecasts may not always pan out. Evans suggests scouting locations in advance and taking note of how the light interacts with the landscape during different times of the day. This preparation allows you to act quickly when conditions are ideal, such as when sunlight breaks through the clouds, accentuating the reds, oranges, and yellows.
Evans emphasizes the importance of composition, especially when capturing the diverse autumn scenery. He recommends using leading lines, like paths through woodlands, to guide the viewer's eye and create depth. Framing shots around natural patterns, such as a cluster of leaves or a lone tree, can also enhance the impact of the photo. Evans encourages experimenting with different techniques, including symmetry and the rule of thirds, to see which best captures the scene’s essence. His personal tip: don’t shy away from spontaneous shots, as some of the best photos come from seizing unexpected moments when the light plays just right.
The video also covers how to capture autumn's essence without always relying on outdoor shoots. While the classic approach might involve forests and parks, Evans suggests looking for creative ways to bring those seasonal vibes indoors. Objects like pumpkins, warm-colored fabrics, or even hearty autumn dishes can convey the feeling of the season. This can be particularly useful when the weather doesn’t cooperate, or if you’re looking to add some variety to your portfolio. Evans’ suggestion to use still life or food photography to capture the warm, earthy tones of autumn opens up a range of creative possibilities.
For those interested in exploring new ideas, this time of year can also inspire other types of photography. The muted light on overcast days, which Evans compares to a natural softbox, offers flattering lighting conditions for portraits. You might also find opportunities to capture close-up details, like the textures of leaves or the interplay of shadows and colors. Evans points out that these subtler shots can be just as impactful, helping to tell a fuller story of autumn. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Evans.
And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out our latest tutorial, "Photographing the World: Japan II - Discovering Hidden Gems with Elia Locardi!”
A cloudy day the colors are best and no bright reflection off the leaves and using negative exposure to rid Zebras or reduce to also get detail in clouds and also get rid of bright shine off leaves. Details and separation of colors when many are in view. By either a hike or on bicycle by car you just stop too often. But the best is night captures on moon lit night, reason is the orange sunlight bounced off the Grey moon makes perfect white light like a White LED light or the light in a studio but covering a whole landscape with colors not seen in the day. It is totally lit so low ISO's. If on a trail at night wear a hat with big eyes sewn to it facing backwards so the big cats will not attack from in back and for the bears Bear Spray but add do not eat or carry treats in pockets the smells will bring them toward you fast and look up in the trees some sleep up there. The most important is to wear not only a orange vest but the whole orange hunting suit as well as one with florescent green and blue strips due to the many color blind HUNTERS Yes it is also deer hunting season. On that subject in even PA and NY there are many rattlesnakes so snake boots/chaps/front leg shields and watch where you sit on a log, keep ears and eyes open for been there and seen all these. If at the PA Grand Canyon keep your phone charged to use and follow the roads not all have signs and crisscross both high up and low down near the water trials and for walking to and from, make sure you have a full tank of fuel the roads are long and winding you end up in other than you started.
But a night shot with stars and moon and maybe the snow that comes in October combined with the leaf colors will be like gold!!!
No not a night capture just had to stop after crossing a bridge.