Copyright Scott Bourne 2003 - All Rights Reserved

I know that the leaves are changing around parts of the USA. Because many of you have contacted me with questions about how to shoot the colorful leaves. Here are some quick tips.

1. Fall color looks better when it’s wet. Wait for a rain or bring some spray bottles full of water (and gelatin) and you can make the leaves look great.

2. Shoot with a circular polarizer on your lens. The polarizer helps cut through the glare that reduces the contrast and color in the leaves.

3. Use slow shutter speeds to blur leaves moving through streams.

4. Shoot backlit trees and tree branches using HDR techniques.

5. Shoot wide open to throw the background out of focus – bringing the viewer’s attention to the leaves.

6. Pan with blowing leaves to introduce a different kind of motion in your images.

7. Make your photos early in the morning or late in the afternoon around sunrise and sunset. This “golden” light will enhance your images.

Whatever you do get off the couch and go shoot. This is a great time of the year to get your camera out of the bag and record some new memories.

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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store

Photo by Scott Bourne

We’re in the peak of fall colors in many areas of the Unites States. For some of you this will come late. You can file this away for next year. Here are five quick tips for improving your fall color shots.

1. Use a polarizing filter. The glare that reflects off the leaves makes it harder to capture the real, deep, beautiful fall colors. The polarizing filter can help you cut out that glare.
2. Underexpose by a half stop. If you underexpose, the colors in your image will be more saturated.’
3. Keep the sun behind you and make your photos within 90 minutes of sunrise or sunset. This tip will keep you in the best light.
4. On windy days, move in for close ups. If there’s too much wind to get a wide shot, move in and shoot details.
5. Use themes. On one day just shoot red. On another, concentrate on close-ups. Day three try including interesting foreground or background objects. Day four try mixing water into the equation.

These are just some starting points. Feel free to share your tips below.