Ooooh it’s that time of year where the fall nature photography bug sneaks in with that first, cool burst of air. Every season offers beautiful moments. Yet, there’s something magical, even mystical, about the glowing colors of fall. Wearing cozy sweatshirts and sweaters as we cuddle in our favorite chair. Breathing in crisp fresh air on our hike through the park.
For inspiration, all you need to do is take a quick walk. The hint of coolness in the breeze says, “I’m here for a bit.” We also know what’s on the other side of fall. Particularly in Michigan, but I digress.
Pale greens, yellows, rich oranges and reds share pops of brilliance all around us. For portrait photographers, painterly, rich backdrops exist in backyards, parks and unexpected places. High school seniors pose and smile for their big photo moments.
For landscape and nature photographers and outdoor enthusiasts, we’re also falling in love (pardon the pun) with our fresh new season. (See recent blog: Women’s Hiking and Photography Attire that’s Easy and Looks Good)
We’ll share tips on photographing and processing our new autumn moments.
Fall Nature Photography: Our Seasons’ Beauty
Fall’s light shifts with the moving sun. A month ago, the sunset beamed directly through our window. Today, it’s shifted south that I now see sunlight through the trees from a more southern direction. Here’s a few tips on bringing the light and color from the outdoors to your screens and portfolios.
Colors and Shapes
I absolutely love abstract photography in nature. Why? Warm, rich colors dance and flow in abstracts.
Vertical tree lines captured with slow shutter speeds and a gentle camera lift hold light and color.
Isolating reflections of colors in water offers art wall pieces of interest. If Monet had a camera, I’m thinking he would have relished in moving, colorful reflections.
A Game of Tones
As photographers build personal portfolios, autumn’s tones bring warmth and fire. A look. A feel.
With fall tones and shades, go for the golds, reds and oranges. Build a story of your favorite moments and spots immersed in autumn’s palette.
You don’t have to travel far to build your portfolio. Some of our best photo opportunities are our paths revisited. We know the lighting, the lines, the crowds and optimal times of day.
Color, Color Everywhere with Fall Nature Photography
Look down. Gaze forward. Lean back and stare skyward. Fall’s kaleidoscope of colors touch treetops, late blooming gardens and reach across fields and forests.
No Hallucinations, Just Tiny Worlds
There’s a small world in the woods, particularly in the fall. Mushrooms! Depending on the type of mushroom, they thrive and support their hosts symbiotically.
Look for mushrooms on the forest floor as they interact with their hosts. For more scientific info on mushrooms check out: The Green Pages.
From a photography standpoint, mushrooms make for really interesting and cool subjects. As some are quite beautiful and even look tasty, don’t give in to temptation. Many mushrooms are quite poisonous.
Unless you really know what you’re doing, stick to eating those from the super market. And shooting them holds no risk except that you need to get low on the ground. Since those areas are quite damp, I carry a lightweight waterproof picnic blanket.
In the woods, our dappled lighting works for and against us too. I also keep a small set of reflectors and light barriers in my bag (see above).
Take in the Green
Don’t forget about the greens of fall! Sure, we love the rich warm tones. The remaining, late splashes of green compliment reds and oranges. Using analogous colors, such as yellows and greens, frame the transition time (see the face below).
Let’s Get a Little Quirky with our Fall Nature Photography
Let’s not take ourselves too seriously. Sometimes we take an image, we like it, but are not quite sure why. When in Norway, we photographed a beautiful water reflection pond. After printing it for my wall, it just didn’t grab me. So, I rotated it and found a face! He says “good morning” every day I go to the kitchen.
Fall Nature Photography: Post Processing
Fall tones are warm, rich and vibrant. Build and enhance your images to fall’s glory with post processing techniques using global and local adjustments. The following are my initial go-to areas and sliders in Lightroom.
Global Adjustments:
In the Basic panel of Lightroom, I leverage:
- Tint and Temperature – By using small or dramatic shifts to yellows and greens, these sliders adjust the overall warmth and color of your image.
- Saturation – In the Basic panel, the saturation slider applies a uniform, equal adjustment to all of the colors. If the overall image appears flat, I may make a slight push. Typically, I use the HSL (Hue, Saturation and Luminance) panels to adjust specific colors.
- Vibrance – Applies elevated saturation to the midtones of an image. The weaker colors get a boost. The more intense colors are essentially ignored by the Vibrance slider. With the Vibrance slider I push and pull back from the extremes until I find the feel that I prefer.
Local Color Adjustments: Hue, Saturation and Luminance (HSL)
After I work with the sliders in Lightroom’s Basic panel, I move down to the HSL panels to work with specific colors.
Another option when working in the HSL and other panels. Click on the small compass in the upper left hand corner of each panel. Then as you move your cursor to a specific color tone, Lightroom will interpret which color you’ve selected. When you move your mouse right and left, you’ll see the selected color move in the panel as you make your adjustments.
Hue
In Lightroom, each color has a scale where we shift the color. For example, I can shift my red to a rosier red or to an orangey red. With fall nature photography, I tend to move my sliders to the warmer side. Some images need a delicate shift, where others look better with an intense adjustment.
Saturation
Saturation adds or reduces the intensity of defined colors in your image. Add emphasis and artistry by increasing or decreasing saturation of a given color(s).
When working with a heavier hand in saturation I tend to look at my processed image across desktop and mobile devices. If I’m concerned that it’s too heavy or light, I’ll come back the next day or so to revisit the image.
Luminance
Brighten or darken a color using the Luminance sliders. With fall photography, I’ll spend time pushing the reds, yellows, oranges and greens to determine which brings the desired brightness of my fall foliage.
Get Your Glow On in Fall Nature Photography: Split Toning
The split toning sliders are probably my most favorite sliders in Lightroom. Adjust the tones and saturation of highlights and shadows with the respective sliders. With split toning, I subtly add that warm glow by pushing the saturation of a warm tone on the slider. To elevate saturation, click on the gray box and move all through the scale to find your desired glow.
For more on split toning: Fast Tip: Split Toning in Post Processing – Add Jazz and Pizazz.
There’s a freedom factor with fall photography. It’s one of the few times where I’m carrying only my camera and a single lens. The exception is when I’m shooting mushrooms. As it’s closeup work and in darker areas, a tripod helps ensure clear images.
For related reading:
- Women’s Hiking and Photography Attires that’s Easy and Looks Good
- Nikon Nifty Fifty: A Fast Friend
- Fast Tip: Color Editing in Lightroom
