Autumn Pictures
In Brilliant Living Color!

Fall's my favorite season! The weather's perfect for autumn pictures. The searing summer heat's gone and days are getting shorter!

For a few months, Nature throws a party of color and light. The warm side of the spectrum - the reds, golds and oranges - creep over the landscape.

Every day isn't perfect, but over all, fall is as perfect as perfect gets. There's the odd cold, rainy day, but don't let it dissuade you from getting outside. Either way, get those autumn pictures before winter takes over.

You notice the days getting shorter now... the light changes quickly, too. I'll point out the light in some pictures on this “autumn pictures” page. Study how it changes in your photographs. The more you know about light, the better your photos will be.

Autumn's Natural Light

	Decaying leaves on cold wet stone. It's a rainy late November day - my teeth are chattering and my fingers are freezing on my camera! The air looks blue in all my pictures today. A good example of why we call blue a “cool” color.
	Four Seasons Restaurant is on a cliff above this pathway. The food is amazing. I just love to shed my photography gear, sit and relax with lunch, a latte, and views of the gardens and downtown Vancouver! And fall's warm colors are so gorgeous here.
	Spring is crowded here with beautiful brides and their entourages. But in the fall, photographers flock to the Queen Elizabeth Park's quarry garden for the fiery autumn colors. Autumn pictures just don't get any better than this.
	Same quarry garden but just a little to the right. The waterfall is nestled in the rocks and it drops into a sheltered pool. A wooden bridge over the falls has a view of the garden. Bloedel conservatory is behind and to the top of the photo.
	Precious little plants beside the bonsai greenhouse. Get right down on your knees... use a macro lens! These belong to the buttercup family. Such delicate silver threads shining in bright sun. On a sunny afternoon, why is the background so dark?
	Warm autumn colors in shades of gold and red . Photograph the same scene from different angles... and in both horizontal and vertical views. We forget to rotate the camera for a different perspective. You might like a vertical view better.

Shoot Some Vertical Views

Same scene as above! But it looks very different. Its my favorite photo of the quarry garden. It shows the height of the rock walls, the lush green lawn and stone fence. In this case, its a more interesting composition in vertical view. Which photo do you like better?	Also in the quarry garden - deep red leaves with gold and purple flowers say “fall”. Photo ops everywhere you look here - all seasons. But fall is especially spectacular! Get out with your camera - look for possibilities of fiery autumn pictures in a garden near you.

Now how about a look at backgrounds. A slight variation on Shakespeare's words....

“To blur, or not to blur. That is the question!”

Depth of Field

	One new life - a bright pink cosmos - is blooming in the middle of decaying leaves. The leaves and the flower are in focus because I didn't want to put emphasis on the new flower. This photo is a story about the circle of life, both old and new together.
	Big change - I used a narrower depth of field to emphasize the flower. This f-stop blurred the background so your eye goes to the flower. Of the two autumn pictures, I like the other better... with the background and flower in focus.

Fabulous Fog

Stanley Park attracts many fall photographers. Autumn fog here is plentiful, thick and often! Don't sit at home the next time the fog rolls in! The milky veil blots out ugly backgrounds and softens color and details. Nothing difficult about photographing in fog either.	Try shooting the same scene again on a sunny day. Put the two photos on your computer, compare them side by side. See how fog produces a gentle light? Sun produces harsh shadows. I prefer a foggy picture with even light and muted golds and reds.

Pictures of Pink Flowers in Autumn

If you grow cosmos, your garden may have some unusual fall color - shades of pink. Since they grow in full sun, take your photos when there's light cloud cover to avoid unpleasant shadows. These petals look almost translucent because of planned “backlighting”.	Cosmos belong to the Asteraceae Family - from the Greek “aster” meaning “star”. They've got several photogenic cousins like sunflowers, daisies, marigolds, and “mums”. But their fine needle-shaped leaves tell you that this flower is a cosmos.

More Ideas for Autumn Pictures

Decorative grasses are fun to photograph, especially if you play with sidelight or backlight. Bring out the fine detail by using sidelight. That's what I did here. Or use backlight to give your subject a halo. Either way, wait till late afternoon so the sun is lower in the sky.	Try photographing still life. Use an autumn bouquet or flowering plant - set up in a sunny room or porch. This room had bright, even, natural light from a window. I crumpled white tissue paper and put a large tauple matte behind for a neutral fall background.

Autumn Portraits in the Garden

My last suggestion for autumn pictures is to photograph your friends or pets in the garden.

I like environmental portraits in natural light much better than studio portraits.

And the fall days are cooling off so its a lot more comfortable outdoors.

The warm autumn reds, golds and browns are excellent background colors. Wear clothes that don't clash with your background... not too dark and not black.

Like the frame? Then let's talk about photo editing.

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