Autumnal Photography
As the days get shorter and your trusty winter coat gets its first airing of the year, it is hard to believe that autumn is already fast approaching. But don’t be down. Though the days are shorter, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your photographic opportunities have been axed. If anything, you need to get out there more in order to capture the fleeting but beautiful moments of this transitional season.
Stock Image from Canva
The landscape will quickly become a more challenging and subdued place for our wildlife. So now is the time to grab the opportunity to capture those brief moments of the activity as they prepare for the colder months. Foraging deer and hibernating hedgehogs make for beautiful and intimate subjects against the ever-changing backdrop of the season.
A patchwork of autumnal hues from oranges and reds through to dramatic purples can give such depth and warmth to your images that you may struggle to capture at any other time of year. So embrace the change in atmosphere and experiment with the dramatic developments in the landscape. Play with the concept of time as it unfolds in front of you through the process of changing colour and light.
A definite plus to photographing autumnal light is that you don’t have to get out of bed as early and you can go home before teatime. Capturing a dramatic scarlet sunset by 6pm is a somewhat satisfying addition to your evening schedule without neglecting the children’s bedtime routine.
Difficult weather conditions can be a tricky hurdle to overcome. Although you may be fighting with heavy rain or cloud cover doesn’t mean you have to cancel your shoot. Capturing dramatic weather or utilizing natural occurring lighting can give you an atmospheric image that you may not have even realized you wanted.
Now it may not be as cozy as your studio or home office, but embracing the difficulties of the sparser seasons will get you to look at your subject in a new way. Whether you’re chasing a storm or simply interested in the way soft autumnal light falls on the first frost, your patience and determination will pay off and your images will be all the more special because of it.
