Cliche though they may be, autumn landscapes are beautiful and there are a great many photographers who enjoy capturing them (frankly, any photographer who claims that he’s never taken such a shot is probably a liar).  I myself will be heading out over the weekend to shoot the foliage in southern NY and northeast PA.  Since I’m already thinking about it, here are 10 tips for getting better fall foliage shots:

10. Circular Polarizer: every outdoor photographer should have one of these in his bag.  It’s the single tool that lets you get deep blue skies with stand-out white puffy clouds, cut through

 reflections on water (or emphasize them), and most importantly for foliage shooters, it cuts down

 on glare off the leaves and accents their colors.  Keep in mind, however, that circular polarizers are most effective when used at approx. 90 degree angles to the sun.

9. Magic Light:  those few hours just at dawn and sunset are known for their quality of light; 

diffused, soft, warm, and often with a glowing, colored sky.  Yet most foliage shooters wait until mid-day or late afternoon.  Yes, you can get shots then, even good shots.  But try shooting just after sunrise or just before sunset and you’ll find a whole other dimension of images to make.  This image was taken just before the sun crested the hill to camera right.  The warm tones in both the foliage and the sky compliment each other and result in a photo that looks almost

 fanciful.  And only minutes before, the sky had been purple, which those of you who remember grade school art class know is the complimentary color to yellow and contrasts beautifully.

8. Get Close: there’s a time and place for sweeping vistas full of hills filled with flaming color.  But for those of us who don’t live in the mountains, or are looking to shoot closer to home, there is an alternative.  Instead of wide angle views, switch to your telephoto lens and get close!  (Better yet, use a macro lens – or for you point & shoot users, turn on your camera’s macro

 mode.)  Sometimes a single leaf says more about autumn than a whole hillside of scarlet maples.  Experiment with backgrounds, locations, lighting.  Look for leaves in water, in puddles, on your sidewalk.  Don’t be afraid of using a closed f-stop (f/2.8, for instance) for a very narrow depth of field.

 

7. Go Long: conventional photography wisdom tells us to use shutter speeds that freeze action. 

 Most people discard blurry shots and would never think to create that effect on purpose.  But why not?  Long exposures create unusual effects (think soft, flowing water) that we aren’t able to see ourselves.  Disregard convention and pick a breezy day to shoot leaves on a single tree, or trees along a hillside – use small apertures (think f/22) and/or neutral density filters, combined with low ISO settings, to get several seconds of exposure.  Experiment with the length of exposure to see what words best: 3 sec., 5 sec., 10 sec.?  Remember, unlike film, digital photos

 are free, so take a lot.  Another classic scene is the woodland stream with leaves falling into it and flowing by.  Instead of freezing that motion, let it draw out; the water will soften and the leaves will make colored trails in it as they float by.

6.  Portraiture: sure, autumn is the season for landscape photography – but it’s also the perfect

 season for portrait photography.  Find a stand of trees with foliage for a backdrop; place your model at the edge of a stream or pond with leaves on the ground around her (if she can sit particularly still for a few seconds, try incorporating tip #7).  Go all out and stick your model in a tree!  This is especially useful for models that enjoy the outdoors – if you were a hiker, would you rather have a portrait done in a studio, or out on your favorite trail amid the woods?

5. Find a New Angle: everybody shoots foliage from the same angles.  Granted, those angles work, which is why they’re so popular.  But they’re not the only angles.  Standing on the shore of a pond, instead of shooting straight across, show the foliage without showing the trees.  How?  Reflections in the water!  Choose a floating leaf, stump, or other object on the pond to anchor the scene, and then let the reflected colors do the talking.

4. Backlighting: if you’re going to shoot in the afternoon, use the sun to your advantage!  Place it behind trees and foliage for a backlit effect.  Hide it entirely behind a thick maple and see how the leaves glow.  Or place the sun behind a grove of birch and get not only the glowing leaves, but rays of the sun itself shining through.  Use a closed aperture (f/16-ish) to get a “star effect” with the sun.

3. Frost: autumn is known for cold, crisp

 mornings.  Get out of bed for sunrise and shoot in the shadows of hills, trees, and even your house before the sun is able to touch the ground and melt away the delicate frost patterns.  Since we’re talking about foliage, use the tip #8 (Get Close) from above to shoot a single leaf lined with frost.  Or some tall grasses, or a dying flower, or even a puddle or a window pane.

2. Shoot in Black & White: sure autumn is all about the colors, but consider going with black

 & white instead.  For starters, it’s less common, which immediately makes your shots stand out from the crowd.  Then there’s the extended range of tones; the reds and oranges mixed in wit

h the usual yellow/greens, all of which add depth to the shot.  Photoshop gives you the ability to adjust the color channels individually, accenting those tones even more.

1. Get Off the Beaten Path: this doesn’t mean you have to drive into the middle of the

 Adirondack wilderness, although it would be fun to do so.  What this really means is, don’t keep

 looking in all the same places.  It can be good to return to spots again and again, but it’s important to keep fresh.  Visit your local state park, but hike a different trail, check out the other side of the lake.  There are plenty of shots in your own backyard – vary your patterns and check out a different tree or part of the yard you don’t

 usually shoot from.  Most importantly, get outside and get thinking.