Autumn portraits in the landscape

Early morning and late afternoon light compliments the warm tones of Autumn perfectly and if you throw people who are wrapped up in coats and hats into the mix, you have yourself the makings of a great image.


Gear:

Lenses - Focal lengths of 85mm-135mm are popular choices but try something such as a 24-105mm to get more of the background in.

Technique:

Relax
This photography is about getting outdoors, enjoying the space and each others company so don't make it too formal with too many posed shots. Don't dress them in their Sunday best either as this will just look a little odd when they're throwing leaves and generally having a good time. Although a little co-ordination with the colours can help the shot.

Not all your shots have to be of kids throwing leaves in the air either as people walking alone along a path decorated with Autumn leaves can work just as well.

Location choices
To keep the informal feel going, pick a location you already know well. Your local park or woods where you know there's a group of trees or a wall covered in over-grown veins that will work will always be better than carting them off to a grand arboretum you know nothing about.

Focus on your family
If you don't want the colours of the foliage take over the shot, longer focal lengths, particularly with a wide to moderate aperture, can help, blurring and giving your background a nice bokeh effect as well as flattering the features of who you're photographing.

Try using the foliage as a frame too just make sure you focus on your subject so the leaves blur just enough so you can still see what they are but don't distract from your family member.

Watch your shutter speeds
Just remember if you want to work hand-held with longer lenses make sure your shutter speed doesn't drop lower than your focal length. Some say it should be double your focal length but as a general rule of thumb, if you're using a focal length of 150mm don't let your shutter speed drop below 1/50sec.

For all your outdoor photography needs visit Stealth Gear – the wildlife and outdoor photography specialists.