8 Tips for Capturing Spectacular Fall Photos This Season

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It’s the most colorful time of the year in the northern hemisphere so it’s time to capture some stunning fall photos. In this article, I’ll give you some tips and ideas to get creative and add some color to your images.

NOTE: If you live south of the equator, save these tips and try them out when it’s your turn for fall!

Here is a quick summary of the tips I’m going to cover. I’ll provide lots of example images to get you motivated and inspired as well!

Use backlighting to your advantage
Remember other foliage changes colors too
Capture harvest time
Spectacular sunsets
Do some fall portraits
Get closer
Try a new technique
Process your photos to enhance the colors

Let’s dig in and take a look at each one separately now.

#1 – Use backlighting

Leaves, and semi-translucent subjects in general, look amazing when you use backlighting to your advantage. That means the light source is behind the leaf, shining through it.

It brings out the colors and detail in the leaves and makes them pop. Here are some examples.

The light here is almost non-directional the very soft. See how the leaves lack punch and texture?

Compare the image above to the one below. This is virtually the same leaf, on the same vine. The difference is that I moved around so that the sun was behind the leaf in the one below. Can you see the HUGE difference between the two images?

I also added one of my new, soon-to-be-released Bokeh Texture overlays to the image below for some added pop. I’ll tell you more about that later!

Notice how backlighting brings out all the color and detail in the leaves here.

Here are four more examples, two with backlighting and two without. See if you can spot the differences.

Front lighting. The color pops here because the background is darker than the leaves. That works too!

Front lighting with a dark background again and light leaves. Seeing a trend yet?

Backlighting – look at the wonderful colors here!

#2 – Photograph other kinds of foliage too

Brightly colored leaves are great, but keep in mind that they aren’t the only foliage that changes colors. Think about different kinds of grasses, crops in the fields, etc.

So go out looking for all kinds of different things in nature that change color or alter their appearance in the fall.

Farmer’s fields at harvest time are golden and just waiting for you to capture their colors.

Remember to take some wide-angle images as well.

Get down low and crawl around in the grass!

Look for contrast and light that highlights the subject like this. This plant really stands out because of the lighting and the dark rocks.

#3 – Capture the harvest

If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where there is any kind of farming, get out and photograph the harvest. Whether that be apples, squash, or crops like wheat, keep your eyes open for it. Take a drive out in the country and see what you can find.

IMPORTANT: Whatever you do, do NOT trespass on private property! Only enter a field or farm when you are invited or given permission by the owner.

Notice that two of the images above just have one lone pumpkin or squash, so if you can’t find a farm or harvest display – make your own!

Go buy a pumpkin or photograph the harvest from your own garden. Then find some appropriate props and make a little arrangement and photograph it. Then eat it!

#4 – Photograph the sunset

Where I live in Alberta we always have spectacular fall sunsets. Because the farmers are all harvesting the fields, it creates a lot of dust in the atmosphere and creates a magical wash of color across the sky at dusk.

Look around your area, get out of the city if you’re in an urban area, and go and photograph some sunsets.

NOTE: Keep in mind the term “harvest moon” exists for a reason. Go find out why!

I found two combines (farm machines) and some small storage bins to frame the sunset and really portray this is a harvest sunset.

For some tips on photographing sunsets read 3 Tips for Creating Spectacular Sunset Photos.

#5 – Do some fall portraits

Fall is a great time to do some family photos or just take some photos at the dog park. Visit your local parks and national park if you live near one – and find the color!

Here are a few fall portraits I’ve done over the years. For portrait photographers, this is the busiest time of year doing family photos because everyone wants the colorful leaves as the background.

If you need help with portraits, sign up for my FREE portrait photography email series CLICK HERE.

#6 – Get closer

Another tip for taking more interesting fall photos is to get closer. It doesn’t have to necessarily be macro photography, but close enough to eliminate all other distractions.

Along the same lines is pay attention to small things too. Looks for little bugs and small leaves and details and photograph them too.

TIP: Use a tripod whenever possible to help you get sharper images.

Getting close can also help you make the background blurrier which will make the subject stand out more.

The image above is an example of how to do that. You can see how the trio of small leaves is sharp and everything else falls out of focus but adds to the image with color and framing.

#7 – Try a new technique

Fall is also a great time to try something new. Pick a technique you haven’t tried before and give it a go – with a fall twist!

Long exposures

How about doing some long exposures? Get out your tripod for this one, you’ll need it! Look for a small stream in the woods or a local natural park. See if you can find some nice yellow or red leaves on the rocks.

In the image above I actually looked for a leaf to put on that rock because there wasn’t one there and I wanted a little pop of the orange color. So don’t be afraid to move things around. Position that perfect leaf that you found in the best spot to feature it.

For more tips on long exposures read:

Light painting

Another technique you can try is light painting. It’s super fun and we always have a blast doing it at my photography workshops. All you need is a tripod and a flashlight – a helper is handy too!

Both of the following images were done using simple light painting techniques.

#8 – Process your fall photos

Okay now that you have some great fall photos, you need to enhance them, so don’t miss this last step!

Whether you are new to photo editing or have been doing it a while, make sure you process your best photos to bring out the colors and boost their impact.

Basic photo editing

Start with the basics. Make sure the subject stands out, and remove any distracting highlights in the background. Use the tools in your editing software to bring out the texture and detail in the subject.

Before – the leaf looks dull and lifeless.

A little editing in Lightroom brought the leaf to life and makes it pop!

Advanced photo editing

Mastered the basics already? Then you’re ready to try something more advanced.

How about a sky replacement, or adding a texture overlay? Here are a couple of examples of how those techniques enhanced some of my fall photos.

The original sky in this image is too washed out and boring.

I cropped the image, warmed it up a lot, replaced the sky, added some directional sun rays, and darkened it to be moodier. This is the SAME image as above!

This image is just okay in my mind and I wanted to try something different.

So I added two texture overlays, one of which is part of my new Bokeh Texture Overlay package.

As I mentioned above, my brand new Bokeh Texture Pack will be available soon. So I just wanted to give you a little teaser to show you what you can do with them and how much fun it is to add some bokeh to your images.

I am also making a bokeh template collection for Luminar as well! When they are all available you’ll see a link here, so stay tuned!

Conclusion and challenge

Now it’s your turn to try it. Get out there and get some fall photos bursting with color! Please share your fall photos in the comments below. I’d love to see them!

Cheers,