Capture the Essence of fall!

I found this great article off Canon's website.  I just pasted it here for easy reference.  Click on the links for even more info.  Enjoy!

Quick Tip: Fall Foliage Photography

Autumn begins around late September, bringing with it a seasonal change that inspires photographers across the nation: Fall foliage. There’s no question that autumn’s dramatic landscapes are stunning to behold; the real challenge is how to preserve the impact in a still photograph that captures the unique quality of this season. Here are a few tips that may help (for further insights on capturing fall colors from California-based photographer David Henry, click here):

Get Closer

Macro lenses help you capture interesting details that are easily overlooked in wider shots (photo by Rebecca Gurian)

The temptation of wide shots, of entire forests or mountainsides may be hard to resist. However, variety is important. Shoot the panoramic landscapes, but also remember that beauty can be found in the details.

Canon has five different macro lenses that offer between .05x – 5x life-size maximum magnification. Macro photography is a great way to explore the colors and textures of autumn, while also using unique points-of-view. Not only can you get closer to your subjects -- macro lenses also help isolate your subject against a blurred background.

Another way to get closer is simply zooming to a longer telephoto setting, or switching to a tele zoom lens. Telephotos are great for isolating parts of subjects, and they usually will throw your backgrounds beautifully out of focus. Don’t forget to try focusing close with that telephoto lens – with many of today’s zoom lenses, you can focus close enough to fill the frame with a single large leaf.

Out-of-focus backgrounds are a photographic effect you can heighten, or reduce, by controlling your aperture: Wider apertures (that is, lower f-numbers, such as f/4, f/2.8, etc.) will result in a shallower range of focus, and soft backgrounds. Smaller apertures, such as f/11, f/16, or f/22 will increase the range of focus, resulting in sharper backgrounds. Either effect may work; you just need to make the creative choice depending on what, and how much of the background you want to see in the image.

Wider apertures will create shallow Depth of Field, allowing you to include background elements that won't compete with your main subject (photo by Steve Inglima)

Think Before You Point and Shoot

Instead of pointing and shooting, think about ways to artfully compose your shots for greater impact. Many novice photographers only pay attention to their main subject in the frame, and capture it in obvious ways (such as centered in the frame, or right in the foreground). Instead, take the time to consider the background, and experiment with more dynamic ways to make your main subject stand out:

• Try not to shoot everything from eye-level. Live View shooting, available in all of our newer EOS digital SLRs, makes it easier to frame from high- or low-angles.
• Look for patterns or repetition in the frame, such as reflections or groups of similar objects, which creates a pleasing effect in the composition.

Look for contrast through colors!  (photo by Scott Alexander)
• Remember that contrast can help colors to ‘pop’ – for example, the warm tones of autumn leaves will be enhanced with the subtle inclusion of something cool (blue, or blue-green) in the frame. For example, a vivid sliver of sky, or a blue-painted automobile or house strategically placed in the foreground.
• Don’t forget the power of wide-angle lenses. A standard zoom lens, such as an 18-55mm lens (or 28-90mm lens on a film camera) can produce some spectacular results – especially if you move in close at its widest setting and focus upon one object in the foreground. A low-hanging branch with leaves can suddenly become a broad burst of color and detail, if you move in and focus upon the nearest leaf.
• Shoot some back-lit pictures, with the sun coming toward the camera and shining through leaves. Back-lighting can really increase the rich color of fall foliage. Watch for glare or lens flare, however. Sometimes, moving the camera just a bit can cause other leaves to block the sun, shading the lens and reducing or eliminating lens flare.

Backlighting fall leaves creates increased depth and saturation (photo by Scott Alexander)

Take Advantage of Natural Light

If possible, make a point of shooting during the ‘magic’, or golden, hour. This occurs generally during the first half-hour right after the sun rises in the morning, and the last half hour just before the sun sets at the end of the day. During these fleeting periods, the quality of light is ideal for autumn landscape photography:

• The sunlight is naturally warm, rich, and golden-hued - further enhancing the colorful leaves.
• The angle of the sunlight is lower and more directional. You can create enhanced textures and shapes if you shoot with it as side-light, or increased depth if used as a backlight.
• The quality of magic-hour sunlight is more diffuse, with a pleasing contrast that is less likely to overexpose in the highlights, or underexpose in the shadows.

However, if the weather is not cooperating (magic hour light is most pronounced on days with clear, sunny forecasts) – don’t get discouraged. Fall showers can inspire beautiful photo opportunities, as well: Fall colors can look even more saturated during or right after a rainstorm, and moody skies can offer that perfect contrast to a fiery-hued tree. Or, get out your macro lens and look for details such as raindrops clinging to the leaves.

Magic hour light has a warm, soft, flattering contrast ideal for landscape photography (photo by Amy Kawadler)

Magic hour after an autumn storm results in stunning contrast -- look out for these unusual conditions! (photo by Damian Donach)

 Picture Style, and Other Enhancements

If Mother Nature doesn’t provide, Canon’s Picture Style can help create just the look and feel you want in your fall foliage shots. You can select one of the preset styles, such as Portrait (designed to enhance skin tones with softer detail, and slightly warmer tones), or Landscape (designed for increased details and more vivid blues/greens) – or you can create your own Picture Style, using Canon’s Picture Style Editor software and store it in the camera’s memory for future use. You can also add, or change the Picture Style of RAW images with Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software.

Finally, you can download and install into your camera additional, special-purpose Picture Style Files from Canon. One you may want to consider is Canon’s Autumn Hues Picture Style, which is available for free download at Canon’s Picture Style web site.

Canon's Picture Style is one way to tweak and enhance the look and feel of your images (photo by Steve Inglima)

You might also try different combinations of camera settings and accessories that will enhance the look of an autumn landscape:

• Consider shooting RAW images. They give you lots of freedom to experiment with many of the following settings when you’re back at the computer, if you use Canon’s Digital Photo Professional or RAW Image Task software to process your RAW files.

Try adjusting the in-camera White Balance to help autumn colors pop
• Shift your camera’s white balance towards amber or amber/magenta to add warmth to the image. (You can easily do this with the White Balance Shift/Bracket feature, a menu option on most recent EOS digital SLRs).
• Take a custom white balance (such as with an ExpoDisk Portrait, or blue WarmCard White Balance Reference) to create a golden cast to your photos.
• If you’ve shot RAW images, and there’s something white or neutral gray one of the images, try using the “click” white balance feature when you view the images in the computer.
• Use the Detail Settings within Canon’s Picture Style to increase the contrast and color saturation of your images, for brighter colors and more definition.
• Use a polarizing filter to help reduce reflection on wet or waxy leaves -- just rotate the filter until everything looks more vibrant.
• Use low ISO settings for crisp, clean images that will hold their detail even enlarged and framed.
  

Summary:
There are few subjects as universally inspiring as fall foliage. Take advantage of this fleeting period: Go out with your camera (and these tips in mind) and shoot! Remember to look for different ways to shoot familiar subjects, whether it's up-close, down low, with filters, after dawn, or during a storm -- and you will find it pay off in many wonderful, dynamic shots that capture the spirit of the season.
For more photography insights, click here to read our 2009 tip on fall foliage photography written by guest contributor David Henry.

The leaves don't need to be in the foreground to stand out (photo by Eric Stoner)

Use a polarizer when shooting wet leaves for improved contrast and color (photo by Jennifer Wu)

Sometimes it helps to fill the entire frame with your subject (photo by Rick Berk)

Patterns, repetitions, and reflections create pleasing compositional balance (photo by Rebecca Gurian)