Capturing Colourful Fall Foliage With Your Digital Photography
Fall is a beautiful time to be outside, but as the leaves change, it can be hard to get the perfect shot. Foliage is often green and brown in nature, which can make it difficult for your camera to pick up the vibrant colours that are so beautifully on display in the fall. This article discusses some tips and tricks that will hopefully help you capture more colourful images of fall foliage this year.
#1. Foliage is often green, so you need to look for other colours. The best way to do this is by finding an object or subject that contrasts with the surrounding foliage, such as a colourful tree or bush. Once you have your subject, take a picture of it using the same settings that you would use for your fall foliage shots. After taking your original shot, crop out all of the green leaves and try again with your settings until you achieve the perfect shot.
#2. You can also add colour to your photo by shooting close-ups of individual leaves and berries. To do this, find a berry or leaf that is very different and vibrant in colour from both the leaves around it as well as the rest of the foliage, and get close-up shots of it.
#3. When editing your photos at home, add some colour to your shots by going through them one by one and using an editing program like Photoshop or Gimp to adjust the colours in each photo. For example, you can increase the saturation of each photo until you see a much more vibrant shot than what you originally captured. If you want to add some warm tones to your photo, try increasing the reds and oranges in your photos while decreasing green hues slightly.
#4. When editing your photos on the computer, go through each of them and use a tone curve adjustment to adjust the colour balance of your shots. If you want to increase the saturation of your photo, try adjusting the red channel first to make it more vibrant. As you get closer to all colours becoming saturated, adjust the blue channel as well so that when you get into orange and red colours, they will be just as saturated. This is a great way to increase the saturation of your photos without worrying about over-saturation ruining them in post-production.
#5. For those looking to take more than one photo, try getting low angle shots of your subject. For example, if you want to capture some leaves and berries close-up in a forest, you may want to aim for the lowest point that you can get into or where there are multiple trees growing together. This will help to get more in-depth colour shots of your subject because the perspective will move around very slightly as you take the photos instead of always staying still.
#6. Try taking photos in different weather and at different times of day when foliage is changing colour to capture every possible shade that it can look like before it falls off the trees. Fall is a wonderful time to capture fall colours, but it can also be very difficult. If you have the time and the inclination, take a few photos at different times of day when foliage is changing to give yourself more options to choose from.
#7. When photographing your subject, try and frame your shot so that you capture as much of the colour as possible without getting too close or too far from your subject. Sometimes nature can make it look like your subject is much bigger or much smaller than it actually is without you realizing that until you take a picture of it.
#8. When framing your shot, try and get in close enough to your subject that you reduce the amount of dead leaves or other green plants that are in the way. This will help you capture more vibrant colours and a cleaner looking photo than if there is any green foliage in the foreground.
#9. Once you have taken your photos, upload them to Flickr or Facebook and share them with your friends for feedback and to see if anyone has any suggestions for how you can improve them! One person's idea may be another person's niche, so never be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
#10. Taking photos of foliage is a great skill to have, but capturing the colours can be very difficult at times. Keep in mind that you are never going to get every single shot that you try and take, so take your time and experiment with different settings and angles until you find one that gives you the perfect shot. Keep practicing and experimenting until you get everything right!
#11. Before relying on your camera's automatic settings for all of your shots, always make sure to test them out first before allowing them to be used as guidelines for the rest of your shots. Many people are unaware that their camera's presets make their photos look bland and washed out. For best results, always take a few test shots before you start shooting for real, just to make sure that your shots will be vibrant and stand out from the crowd!
#12. If you are looking to take outdoor landscape photos, make sure that there is a line of colour in the shot. This can be trees, grass or even a river-whatever natural feature you want to capture and have as part of your photo! Also try and include a person in the shot for scale if possible.
#13. If you are looking to get more in-depth with your foliage shots, try focusing on a tree. A focal point is especially good when it is an important part of the composition of the shot. For example, if you have a tree in the background that's a lot smaller than your main subject, make that the focal point and then take shots from different angles around the tree to capture as much of its colour as possible without including it in the photo.
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Conclusion
There are many fun techniques that you can try when photographing foliage, and there's no reason to be frustrated or disappointed if you aren't able to capture perfect photos every single time. Use different techniques until you find one that works for you, and then keep working on it until it gets even better! Nature photography is a really great hobby for those who want to take their pictures to the next level. For more tips and tricks on how to capture the perfect fall photos, visit the Microsoft Digital Photography website here: http://www.digitalphotographyschool.