4 Simple Tips for Fall Photography

The aspens, flaunting their new yellow coats, begged to be photographed come fall. In Crested Butte there’s no lack of subject matter with dramatic mountains, entertaining people, high alpine lakes, and even a bit of snow to change the scenery. Everyone can whip out their phone for a photo, but these 4 tips will set photographers apart from your everyday photo with a filter slapped on it.

Direct your viewer’s attention to the center of your frame. When placed together, colors with opposite characteristics form a strong photo. Each color will compliment the other, helping the subject matter stand out more dramatically. For fall colors, think about yellow and greens with the calm black and beige of aspen bark as shown above.

Referring to the range of distance that appears in a photo. Find your focal point and draw more attention to it by gradually losing focus behind or in front of that. In the photo above, the bicyclist is the focal point and the foreground and background are not quite as sharp.

The “magic hour” or “golden hour” is when sunlight is traveling through a greater depth of atmosphere, reducing the intensity of direct light. This can also create interesting shadows and add a warm color to your photos. Here, we have an early morning shot with a cloudy haze.

Find something different. As the leaf lays on the rocks, not only is it contrasting with the background, it also holds a few water droplets daring the viewer to take a deeper look. Think of new and interesting ways to capture your scenes.