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5 tips for capturing amazing autumn photos

5 quick tips that you can try today to capture amazing autumn photos.

The leaves are falling, and the weather is turning crisp as winter looms large. Yet there's no better time to find inspiration for taking amazing autumn photos – this time of year offers a lot.

And with a bit of careful planning, you can get the most out of it. Here are 5 simple tips to showcase the warm glows and nostalgic feeling of Autumn in your photos.

5 tips to capture amazing autumn photos:

1. Embrace the changing Autumn weather
2. Vary your landscapes
3. Look for the details
4. Add human interest 
5. Know when the sun will set
6. Watch the video at the end of the blog!

1) Embrace the changing Autumn weather

From mid-September onwards the British weather does what it does best – becomes unpredictable!
As the sun gets lower in the sky, it may mean that the evenings start to draw in early, but it also means you get some glorious bright, crisp days. Sunset (and therefore golden hour) starts moving from about 8pm to 5pm by late October. So prepare to adapt your shooting times to get the most of the natural light.

Cold mornings also mean more chance of fog and mist - as captured below by Gareth on his way into work one morning! It's also a great time of year for capturing sunbursts through cloudy sky, making landscapes more dynamic.

2) Vary your landscapes

When you think of Autumn you, of course, think of the lush hues that nature has to offer – golden / red leaves contrast beautifully with green colour palettes. So get your wide angle lens, and a tripod if you are feeling adventurous, and get snapping.

With the low autumn sun in full effect, you may want to take a polariser or graduated ND filter with you to help avoid over-exposing your skies, while using your lens hood can also be handy to avoid unwanted flare. But you can also use lens flare to your advantage – shooting low and pointing up can have a dramatic impact, particularly if you are in the woods.

3) Look for the details

With all of this colour available, it can get lost in wider landscape scenes if your subject is not prominent or you can’t juxtapose colours. Try going in close and isolating the subject – berries and mushrooms instantly tell the viewer that it is an autumn shot, and can lead to some stunning pics.

The good news is that you don’t need a particularly fancy lens to do this – if you can work on an aperture of f/5.6 or below you can isolate subjects from the background. Push your lens as much as you can to test it’s minimum focusing distance if you want to get close up. If you have a lens with Macro capacity, even better - the shot below was using the 0.7x magnification offered on the Canon EF 24-70mm f/4.

4) Add human interest

Your shots don’t have to just focus on the environment – Autumn colours can offer a pretty back-drop to your usual style of shooting. It’s a particularly effective time to be taking family portraits – walks through the countryside and children playing in fallen leaves can conjure instant nostalgia into your photos.

5) Know when the sun will set

As mentioned earlier, the power of golden hour goes into overdrive at this time of year. So get on the weather app and check when sunset is due before you head out.

And remember, it’s the hour before sunset that is magical. We’ve been guilty of getting to a location as the sun is setting, and being really excited because the light is lovely. Only to be disappointed to realise that by the time you’ve found the angles and frame you want, the sun is already too low!

And let’s not forget, the sun actually rises at a far more reasonable time – 7-7:30 during October – why not take your camera with you on your way in to work for some bonus mid-week photos?

Watch Video: 5 Tips to improve your Autumn Photography

All photos by our video man Gareth, taken on a variety of kit:

Shot with:

• Canon EOS R & EF-EOS R Mount Adaptor
• Canon EOS 1DX MK II
• 'Nifty fifty' Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 
• Canon EF 24-70mm f/4
• Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5

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By Park Cameras on 22/10/2018