What a great time of the year to get outside and take some pictures! The air is crisp and full of the excitement of the changing seasons. The skies are deep blue with puffy white clouds. The trees are turning into beautiful works of art in shades of red, orange, yellow and gold. Here are some tips to help you to get great images during this time of the year.

The first step in taking great fall foliage pictures is to locate and decide on a location where the fall trees are at their peak colors. The following websites will help you to locate an area within your state for taking fall photographs.

If you live in Ohio, then you can go to the website for The Ohio Department of Natural Resources. There you will find daily updates on the fall colors within Ohio.
www.ohiodnr.com/fallcolor

In Indiana you can go to the following websites for fall color information:
http://www.in.gov/dnr/fall/

For all of the best fall color locations in the United States you can call the national fall color hotline at 1-800-354-4595.

Once you know where you are going, make sure that you bring all of the photographic equipment that you will need to get those great photos:

Tripod - Using a tripod will make your images sharper. Professional photographers are always aware of ways to assure that their images are a sharp as possible and their first tool for image sharpness is the tripod.

Camera bag - A camera bag helps to organize and safely transport your camera and accessories. It can also act as protection against the elements such as a sudden rainstorm.

Filters - If your camera can accept a filter, you will benefit from having one attached. Here are some filters that are useful for digital and film photography. Filters cannot be used on a lot of the point & shoot cameras but most of the new digital cameras have settings that can emulate the filter effects such as a “vivid” color setting to enhance the colors (check your manual to see if you have these settings).

UV filter - Will take some of the haze out of your
image but is used mostly to protect your lens from
scratches and foreign objects such as sand, dirt and water.

Polarizer - Great for producing more saturated colors, boosting contrast, enhancing blue skies and taking glare off of foliage.

Red Enhancer Filter - Enhance red, orange and brown colors and produces more saturation and contrast.

Batteries - If your camera uses alkaline or rechargeable batters, it is always good to have an extra set. You don’t want to cut your fall photo shoot short because the batteries ran out.

Film or digital media cards - If you are using a film camera, take plenty of film. If you are using a digital camera, make sure you have enough media cards. There are also portable storage devices that allow you to download your images in the field to free up the space on your media cards.

Lens selection - Point & shoot cameras have built in wide angle and telephoto zooms. If you are using a single Lens Reflex Camera or a Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera make sure you bring an assortment of lenses. Wide-angle lenses are great for photographing the colorful countryside in the fall.

Here are some more tips to help make your images sharp, colorful and interesting:

Use a tripod - Put the camera on a tripod and if you don’t have a remote shutter release use the timer on your camera so that you are not touching the camera and possibly causing camera movement when the shutter snaps.

Choose the time of day - Early and late in the day are the best times to photograph outside. At these times of day, the light is diffused and gives a rich golden colorcast to the scene. If it is an overcast day, anytime is good for taking colorful fall photos because the clouds diffuse or soften the light which enhances the colors of the trees.

Include foreground objects - Objects in the foreground of a landscape give the image more depth. Include a tree branch, tree, person or large rock in the foreground to give the image a feeling of actually “being there.”

Shoot at different angles - Study the light and decide at what direction you want to photograph the scene. The image can have different effects depending on the angle of the light. Try avoiding direct frontal lighting.

Shoot from different positions - Get on the ground and shoot the subject from a low position. Try lying on your back and shooting up through the trees with the blue sky as the background.

Shoot at different zoom levels - Shoot the same subject at wide angle, medium telephoto and extreme telephoto if possible. Don’t forget about trying some close-ups as well. If you are using a digital point and shoot, put it in macro mode and get close for some dramatic, eye-popping effects.

Look for reflections in water - Reflections of colorful fall trees in the water can have a very dramatic effect. In the early morning or early evening there is usually less chance of wind. The still water from the lack of wind causes sharper, more colorful reflections.

Enjoy the time – Getting out in the country on a beautiful morning or evening is a great feeling. Enjoy the time, have fun and take a lot of photos.