Six Tips for Capturing Great Autumn Images
Fall is a beautiful time for creating amazing imagery; the trees are awash in an array of vibrant colors. It’s also the time of year for soft shadows and beautiful golden sunsets. Our Chief Creative Officer, @CurtisNewborn has these helpful tips for capturing this beauty through a lens:
One unique way to capture this Autumn splendor is by looking to incorporate “bokeh" into some of your images. Bokeh is a Japanese word that translates into “blur,” and among both professional and amateur enthusiast shooters, it’s the way the lens renders out-of-focus areas in the background or foreground as "orb-shaped" areas of light. Using bokeh in your image compositions can produce unique images, especially this time of year, when many areas of North America are awash in seasonal color.
So as we continue the transition into the cooler Autumn weather, here are six tips to help you capture amazing images to share with friends and family.
CAREFULLY THINK ABOUT YOUR LIGHTING...
You don’t need a strong source of light to achieve great bokeh, in fact, even a simple strand of lights or a streetlamp can make for some amazing bokeh. However, you do need some light, and it does need to be backlighting, or, located behind your subject. For amazing bokeh, the spectacular light found in golden hour can make for some beautiful autumn bokeh. Since the light will be at an angle during this time of day, it’ll be easier for you to position it behind your subject... Beautiful!
EMBRACING SEASONAL COLOR...
If you’re hoping to capture the vibrant colors of autumn, consider heading out to a place where the changing foliage is in full swing. The sunlight filtering through the leaves makes a great opportunity for capturing bokeh, allowing you to create some classic autumn bokeh images. Heading out just after the rain can make for some striking images. Since the leaves will be damp they’ll be more vibrant and the colors more saturated than they would otherwise be.
THE SUBJECT OF YOUR IMAGE...
Bokeh can enhance almost any type of imagery. While the most common shots of autumn bokeh feature leaves or foliage, you can capture bokeh in a range of different situations. Consider photographing city lights after dark, or heading to a farmers’ market to capture the good that are on display. Aim to capture bokeh in the background of your autumn portraits, or get up close to an insect, an acorn, or seeds for some beautiful macro shots. There’s no shortage of opportunities for bokeh in the fall, so keep your eyes open! Any time you see some beautiful light reflecting off of something in the background or foreground, you know you have a great chance to capture bokeh.
PICKING THE RIGHT LENS...
While you can capture bokeh with a number of different lenses, some lenses are especially suited for rendering out-of-focus points of light as bokeh. Ideally, you’ll want to use a very fast lens, and one that has a wide aperture (say f1.8 or f1.4, or even f1.2 if you can). Prime lenses are especially popular lenses for bokeh; since they’re extremely fast, and have a wide aperture, they tend to produce great results.
THINK ABOUT FOCAL LENGTH...
If you have a fast lens, by all means use it, but if you don’t have one – don’t worry. You can still capture some great bokeh. Just increase the distance between your subject and the background, or zoom in closer to your subject to separate them from the background, resulting in more blur – and better bokeh. Keep in mind that the farther your subject is from the background, the more creamy and blurred the background will be.
YOUR APERTURE IS CRITICAL...
In order to capture great bokeh, you’ll want to set your camera to manual or aperture priority mode. Using a wide aperture of at least f/2.8 will help to draw your subject into focus, while throwing the background out of focus, creating the perfect opportunity for bokeh.
IN CLOSING...
The next time you’re out capturing some of those amazing fall colors, look for opportunities to incorporate some bokeh into your shots. Capturing bokeh isn’t too difficult, and with a bit of practice, you’ll be able to quickly and easily spot opportunities to include it in your shots, adding something extra to your images this season.
