10 Top Tips For Taking Better Autumn Photos With A Compact Camera

With 'Conker Season' upon us, photographers start salivating at the prospect of magnificent Autumn colours and beautiful light.

It's the time to capture stunning landscape photographs. If you use a compact camera and shoot Jpegs you can still get impressive results. Here are ten quick tips to help you take better autumn photos using your digital compact camera.
 

1. Take photos during the ‘Golden Hours’ of sunrise and sunset, when the light has a golden colour cast.

2. Change your camera's white balance (WB) setting to 'Cloudy' or 'Shade'. These settings make your images look warmer.

3. If you are able, change your Jpeg settings to 'Landscape' or 'Vivid' for more vibrant colours. (Using 'Vivid' Jpeg setting together with 'Cloudy'/'Shade' white balance might create oversaturated colours, if so, use one or the other).

4. Photograph scenes and subjects, which are bathed in attractive light.

5. Photograph contrasting colours, such as yellow leaves against a blue sky, red leaves against a mossy, green background.

6. Compose landscape photos to create a 'visual journey' for the viewer. Include an interesting foreground, middle ground and background.

7. Get down low. Try shooting from a 'worm's eye view' for more compelling photos. Close-up shots of mushrooms are always a winner

8. Look for intriguing textures, such as bark, thorns and fruit.

9. Photograph reflections. The surface of lakes and ponds are at their most calm early in the morning. Use their mirror-like surfaces to create stunning autumn images.

10. For close-ups of leaves - take home dried leaves and using their stalks and adhesive tape, stick them flat against a window. Photograph these to create beautiful, backlit images, without worrying about them being blown by the wind.