Shooting Fall Color

Here in Georgia, it’s still Summer; HOT AND STEAMY….YUK! However, shooting fall color is on my mind for a couple of reasons:

I’m so over Summer AND our Trappers Lake Lodge Adventure with Cowgirls with Cameras in beautiful Colorado is coming up soon and I love sweater weather!

Now is the time to start thinking about shooting fall color for your next trip! Here are a few things to keep in mind to get the best out of your Autumn images and that stellar color.

This one goes without saying but first you need to find peak color! There are many online resources that help monitor fall color and determine where and when to go. The color will peak earlier at higher elevations, different altitudes will peak at different times. A great website for a nationwide fall foliage map and predictor:  https://smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map.

Shooting Fall color is best when the sky is heavy with clouds. With the soft, low contrast lighting on overcast days colors will look more saturated.  You’ll have less glare to contend with without direct light on the leaves. Be sure to avoid compositions that include the white, colorless sky to maximize the impact of your images. Another plus with overcast weather is you’ll be able to shoot all day!

Foggy days are another personal favorite. Shooting in foggy conditions is ideal for fall colors, it reduces contrast and gives your photos a dreamy effect. Morning is usually best to capture fog, as it will burn off the later in the day. Since fog is white, check your exposure to make sure you’re not underexposing your images. I love it when you can have a mix of seasons too, early snow or frost in autumn would be another favorite.

Shoot on days with little or no wind, with fall foliage our main focus, wind is the enemy. Be sure to adjust your shutter speed if needed to stop the motion in the leaves created by the wind.

We all love reflections, so be on the lookout for autumn color reflected in water. Still water, like a pond or lake on a windless day, can create a mirror reflection of fall color. With moving water, you can create impressionistic blurs. On a tripod experiment with exposures of a half-second or longer to capture a pleasing amount of motion blur.

You can use a polarizer filter to reduce reflections and glare, this will enhance color. Most effective for wet foliage, streams and waterfalls. Polarizers can also darken blue skies and increase contrast between any clouds and the sky. Polarization is maximized when shooting at a 90-degree angle from the sun. I rarely use a polarizing filter anymore; I just use the Polarization Filter in NIK by DxO Color Efex!

Just changing your white balance can bring out those beautiful fall colors. When shooting on a cloudy day or in the shade, setting the white balance to Cloudy can increase the overall color in the image. Don’t forget, (and I know you won’t) always shoot RAW so that you can make further adjustments in post-processing and bring your images to their full potential.

If you’re shooting in RAW, your images may look a little flat straight out of the camera, so some adjustments in Lightroom or Photoshop are likely to be needed.

To enhance your fall color images in Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw if using Photoshop, focus on adjusting the color balance by increasing saturation and vibrance specifically for red, orange, and yellow hues within the HSL panel, while also manipulating contrast, highlights, shadows, and whites/blacks to make the colors pop.  Use isolated adjustments to target specific areas of the image if needed; also, consider adding a slight warmth to your image through the white balance settings as well. Just be careful not to overdue the saturation to keep it realistic!

We still have a couple of spots left for our Trappers Lake Lodge Photography Adventure in the beautiful Flat Top Wilderness of Colorado.

Would love to have you join us,  a great time will be had by all!

Client Testimonial:

Kim, Phyllis and Cara put on such a great retreat based out of Trapper’s Lake Lodge. Kasyn organized amazing photoshoots at gorgeous ranches in the area, with really authentic models and beautiful horses. The timing of the retreat was perfectly aligned with the stunning yellow aspen trees. I’m really happy with the photographs I made with Cowgirls with Cameras. Highly recommend!! ~ K. Binder

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