How to make sure you get fall photos that show autumn in all its colorful glory
In the Northern Hemisphere, we’re in autumn, which means most trees are bursting with color before dropping their leaves for the season.
It’s a great time for photography with the full range of colors on display. The United States’ East Coast is almost legendary for the fall display, particularly because of the diversity of trees that add to the color pallete.
But some people may experience disappointment with how their photos come out, not appearing as vivid as they saw, or what they imagined.
Joe Edelman, a photographer on YouTube, has offered some advice on how to get some of the best fall shots.
https://www.youtube.com/live/PA0gJbgmV9w?si=hMqFHQEdOBj2gbRk&t=1085
Among Edelman’s tips are:
- Shoot on cloudy days. This might sound counterintuitive, as many people may think that more light means better color. First, clouds naturally diffuse the light. In the Pacific Northwest, we jokingly call cloud cover a “Seattle softbox.” It also gives the sky a bluish tinge, which better contrasts with the color of the foliage, making it stand out.
- Use a polarizing filter. If you have to shoot when the sun is out, this will darken the sky, as well as remove any reflections from water on the leaves, letting their color show.
- Set your white balance manually. Joe says that automatic settings tend to flatten out the colors in the leaves, as the automatic setting goes mainly for an average.
- Use the vibrance slider to boost colors. Vibrance targets muted colors, leaving the more robust ones alone. Saturation, on the other hand, boosts all colors, which can look garish, especially if it’s overdone.
- Close-ups are not bad. Many photographers may think you need broad vistas of colorful trees, but sometimes close-ups of a branch or leaves on the ground can work just as well.
If you want to know when to expect the most color in your area, go to Explorefall.com, which provides a map showing where the best fall colors are. Typically, the color changes start at higher altitudes and work their way down to the valleys as temperatures drop.
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