In an attempt to help you escape from the typical fall photo that everyone takes, last week I showed you 7 creative ways to photograph a different fall. Today I would like to explain to you some very important aspects to keep in mind when going out to take autumn photos. In today’s article we abstract a bit from the photo itself, and analyze other factors, external to the photo but that will greatly influence whether you get a normal and bland photo or a big and spectacular one 🙂
Let’s go to the mess.
When to photograph fall
The best time to enjoy fall photography is in the early morning or late afternoon. These are times when the light is at its peak, and it will help us capture unique images.
For afternoon photos, if you are not sure what time of the afternoon is the most optimal, look at your own shadow. If it’s longer than your height, that’s a perfect time. There the sunlight is softer and golden, and allows you to capture some tremendously spectacular photos. Believe me, the same photo that at another time of the day (like at noon) would have seemed dull and boring, taken early in the morning or late in the afternoon will leave you speechless. Test it.
Leaving early or late also allows us to find the places a little more “clear” of the crowd. A very autumnal photograph tends to show a very small number of people, perhaps just one (perhaps to convey loneliness?), at most two (two people walking together, perhaps conveying intimacy and closeness). We may even want the scene to be completely clear if at any given moment we want to portray a landscape devoid of people.
Another “nice” time to take autumn photos is when we come across a fog bank. This has to coincide with a photographable place or landscape, a place that makes for an interesting photo. It is not about photographing the fog for no reason. The fog is normally a companion, an “air freshener” element, while the protagonist is that landscape, tree, church or path.
If you want to chase foggy times and places, pay attention to the weather forecast the day before you go out.
Where to photograph autumn
Improvising is fine, but if you want to get a great autumn photo you have to prepare a few things beforehand. One of them is a list with things, places and elements that you want to photograph. It does not have to be a very exhaustive list, nor will you have to follow that list to the letter, but it is an orientation that will help you go in the right direction when you go on a photographic excursion, instead of improvising aimlessly.
Think of places you know where you can find fall motifs. Surely there is a place or two near where you live where you can find photographable visual content: a park, a bridge, a tree, a stream, some fallen leaves or chestnuts, baskets of seasonal fruit, in short, any element that connects the viewer with autumn.
Oh important: autumn is not what you want to convey per se. You want to tell a story, make the viewer feel an emotion inside. beyond saying “Oh, what a beautiful autumn photo”, the viewer has to look at something within the photo. He thinks of autumn and the stories that can characterize it, and tries to portray one: loneliness, silence, old age, tenderness, warmth… You are the author of the story, you decide.
who to go out with
Single. Unless you need logistical help setting up or holding equipment, or unless you’re bringing a companion along as a model for a fall portrait, the best fall photos will be taken when you’re alone. Going on a photo excursion with more people involves a commitment. As much as your friends like your photos, support you and tell you to take them calmly, that they will wait for you, in the end you end up taking the photos in a hurry, you concentrate less, if in one or two shots the photo comes out It’s hard for you to continue playing with the settings to your liking until you get that photo you’re looking for, whatever shot you take.
If you want to practice a serious autumn photography, the best thing is that you go out alone, or that you agree with your companion or group of friends a small break during which they will do something different while you dedicate yourself calmly (and your ball) to do what you want. you like the most, to photograph 🙂
The exception to this is if you go out with other photographers equipped with cameras and you all go out for the same purpose, to photograph autumn. Not only would it not be a bad idea, on the contrary, by sharing your experiences with other fellow photographers you can learn new perspectives, listen to constructive criticism and see different ways of photographing the same thing with different results.
what to take with you
As it is an excursion (even if it is only an hour to the park near where you live) you will need:
How to set up the camera
I can’t give you the exact settings because they will vary depending on the scene, the time of day, the amount of light, whether it’s sunny or cloudy. You have to try (and learn). Yes, I can propose the settings that I would use as a starting point to shoot the first or second test photo, from which I would modify these settings in one direction or another.
Autumn is a season of low light, or at least, it is less intense than summer for example. If we add to this the ideal moment in which we take an autumn photo, which would be early in the morning or late in the afternoon, we are presented with a situation that requires very particular adjustments.
Next week I will reveal to you the settings that I use on a personal level to take autumn photographs. I’ll walk you through what combination of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to use based on the type of autumn photo you want to use.
If you don’t want to miss it, stay tuned next week 😉