秋の写真撮影のヒント トップ 30:重要な撮影アドバイス

秋の色の予測から ICM の実験、骸骨の露出、金の探し方まで、Tracy Calder が優れた秋の写真を撮るための 30 のヒントを紹介します

秋の写真撮影のヒント トップ 30

1.混乱の中で秩序を見つける

森林地帯を撮影しているとき、周囲の混沌から視覚的な意味を理解するのは難しい場合があります。シーンを単純化するために、フレーム全体と前後の両方で適切に分離された木のグループを探します。可能であれば、幹が重なる角度からの撮影は避け、構成の残りの部分がヒンジで固定される「ヒーロー」ツリーを 1 つ選択します。繰り返される形、線、パターンを探すことも役に立ちます。

画像:ロス・ホディノット

2.恥ずかしがらずに

一部の樹種は、樹冠の上部が完全に接触せず、キャノピーにフォトジェニックなギャップを作成する「クラウン シャイネス」として知られる行動を示します。ユーカリ。幸運にもこの現象を目撃できた場合は、仰向けになってカメラを空に向けて作業を開始してください!そうでない場合でも、横になり、見上げて、構図が適切になるまでシーンを操作することで、印象的なキャノピー ショットを実現できます。

画像:トレーシー・カルダー

3.オリエンテーションを試す

時間が経つにつれて、私たちの多くは写真を撮る習慣を身につけます。これらの習慣の中には、役に立ち、個人のスタイルの一部になるものもあれば、実験や進歩の妨げになるものもあります. 1 つの習慣として、特定の被写体と特定のカメラの向きを組み合わせることがあります。菌類を縦に、風景を横に、などです。これはうまくいくことがよくありますが、ときどき習慣をやめて、すべてのオプションを検討することが重要です。

画像:トレーシー・カルダー

画像:トレーシー・カルダー

4.収穫を祝う

りんご、ブラックベリー、かぼちゃ、ナシ、観賞用のひょうたんはすべて秋が旬です。食べ物や静物の写真を撮って、この豊かな収穫を最大限に活用してください。地元のファーマーズ マーケットに行って、気になったものを購入し、静物画として撮影したり、準備と食事のプロセスを記録したりできます。または、りんご搾りの日、収穫祭などの収穫イベントを撮影します。

画像:トレーシー・カルダー

5. ICM を試す

秋は、ICM (意図的なカメラの動き) を試すのに最適な時期です。シャッターが開いている間にカメラを動かすと、その場所の素敵な感覚を伝える、美しく印象的な画像が得られます。始める前に、芸術的な意図について考えてみてください。カメラはさまざまな方法で移動できます。垂直、水平、または斜めにパンしたり、カメラを回転させたり、不規則な方法で移動したりできます。明らかに、シャッターが開いている時間の長さは結果に直接的な影響を与えるので、1/2 秒から始めてそこから構築してください。 (明るい日光の下で撮影している場合は、ND フィルターを使用してシャッター速度を遅くする必要がある場合があります。)

画像:ロス・ホディノット

6.ストーリーを語る

私たちのほとんどは、物語を伝える野生生物の画像に精通しています。木の実を集めて地下に戦利品を埋めているリスや、遺棄された建物の上に目を見張るようなディスプレイを作成しているムクドリなどです。言う。たとえば、小さな植物に向かって傾いている大きな植物は、親が子供を守っているように見えるかもしれません。これらのストーリーを探し、確かなテクニックを使ってそれらを引き出してください。

7.骸骨を探す

天気が悪くなると、骨格の葉は屋内での写真撮影の素晴らしい被写体になります。あなたはそれらを軽いパッドで撃つことに決めるかもしれません（小さなクラフトバージョンが仕事をします）.野生で完全に保存された葉の骨格を見つけるのは難しい場合があるため、自宅で「作る」ことを検討してください。YouTube にプロセスを説明するビデオがあります。フォトジェニックな構造で他の植物を照らすこともできます。

画像:トレーシー・カルダー

8.偏光板

秋の紅葉を撮影するときに偏光板を使用すると、葉のギラツキを減らし、自然な色を強調し、もやをカットできます。必要な量の偏光が得られるまで、このフィルターを回転させるだけです。

9.ニュートラル密度フィルター

ND フィルターは、カメラのセンサーに到達する光の量を減らし、シャッター スピードを遅くします。これは、ICM 写真や、水をぼかして柔らかいぼかしにしたい場合に最適です。

10.ライトパッド

天気が悪くて外に出られないときは、ライトパッドで半透明の被写体を撮影してみてください。私は CutterPillar Glow と呼ばれる 3 つの異なる LED ライト レベルを持つクラフター ボードを使用しています。

11.傷のチェック

紅葉のクローズアップを撮影する場合は、選択した標本が完璧であることを確認してください。涙や傷がないかどうかを調べます。肉眼では小さな跡のように見えるものは、最終的な写真では拡大され、非常に気を散らすように見えます.同様に、フレームの端に被写体の邪魔になる要素がないか確認してください。メインの被写体に集中しているときに、草の葉、小枝、気を散らす色が気付かれないことがあります。

画像:トレーシー・カルダー

12.自然なフレームを探す

樹木を単純な骨格の形に縮小すると、幹、手足、枝が優れた自然なフレーミング デバイスになります。滝、風景、または彫刻などの人工建造物のいずれを撮影する場合でも、フレーミング デバイスを使用すると、視聴者の目を写真に導き、より深い奥行き感を生み出すことができます。 When you’re using this compositional tool, it’s important to make sure that the framing device has a natural connection to the main subject and does not distract from it.

Image:Ben Hall

13. Ease the burden

Obtaining a worm’s-eye view of plants and detritus can be uncomfortable, but you can ease this by using a foldable sitting mat and/or waterproof trousers. Just as wildlife shots gain greater impact when you get down to an animal’s eye level, it’s a good idea to imagine plants and fungi have eyes and do the same! For shots like this I like to use a beanbag, although I’ve also taken a child’s swimming armband to seriously boggy places.

Image:Tracy Calder

14. Try a portrait

We’ve all seen pictures of children throwing autumn leaves into the air and watching them fall to the ground like confetti. We’ve also seen pictures of couples walking down wide, tree-lined paths huddled together against the chilly air. These might be photographic cliches, but with some pre-planning there are plenty of opportunities to create unique portraits that make the most of this season’s attributes.

You could try shooting contre-jour (into the light), for example, or maybe take advantage of directional shafts of light as they fire between gaps in the trees. In addition, use colour theory to plan outfits and props – orange and green are considered complementary colours, for example, so maybe pair a green jumper with orange leaves.

15. Watch the weather

Overcast days are great for autumn photography because cloud cover reduces contrast and makes leaf colours appear rich and saturated. The absence of direct light on foliage also reduces glare. (Remember to exclude the sky where possible as this tends to be white and featureless on overcast days.)

When the wind speed rises above 10mph, leaves and flowers leap about, which makes macro photography quite a challenge, so unless you want to intentionally include blur in your photographs, check the forecast first. (You’ll also want to pay close attention to the weather if you’re hoping for fog or mist on a morning shoot.)

Whether you’re hoping to shoot in mist, overcast light, low wind or raking light, a good weather app is invaluable. Try AccuWeather, which features up-to-the-minute reports.

Image:Tracy Calder

16. Do your research

Being able to identify what you’re photographing has several advantages:firstly, it helps you to find similar subjects and species in the future – fly agaric toadstools often thrive under birch trees, for example, which narrows things down – secondly, it helps you to label and caption your images, and thirdly the more you know about a subject the more it will inform the way that you photograph it. There are plenty of printed guides out there, but online apps can be particularly helpful for identifying subjects in the field.

Image:Tracy Calder

17. Emphasise texture

Peeling bark, weathered wood and the spiky cases of horse chestnut seeds make for wonderful autumnal subjects, but to emphasise their texture and form you need the right kind of lighting. Strong, directional light is preferable, so plan your shoot for early or late in the day when the position of the sun will result in strong side lighting.

Image:Tracy Calder

18. Beanbag

When you’re shooting subjects close to the ground, a beanbag can provide great support. Bags can be purchased filled or unfilled, with lining or without – try Wildlife Watching Supplies.

19. Artist’s colour wheel

An artist’s colour wheel can help you to plan outfits and props for an autumn portrait shoot. Orange and green work well together, as do blue and yellow.

20. Revisit old venues

You may have shot a certain landscape hundreds of times, but the chances are that if you haven’t photographed it in autumn then you’ve probably been missing out.

21. Search for wildlife

While many birds fly south during autumn, whooper swans and many varieties of duck, geese and wading birds spend the autumn/winter in the UK. It’s relatively easy to get frame-filling shots of swans at wetland centres such as Slimbridge where birds are given food at set times. When it comes to mammals, red deer are a firm favourite. You might decide to capture a deer silhouette in the evening when the sun is low in the sky, or perhaps a cloud of breath leaving a stag’s mouth on a chilly morning. (The British Deer Society has published an excellent Code of Conduct on its website with advice including using a lens with a focal length of 300mm or more – www.bds.org.uk.)

Image:Ben Hall

22. Think in multiples

Many DSLRs now have an in-camera multiple exposure function. As a result, combining two or more exposures in one image has never been easier. You can usually combine a ‘live’ image with one already stored on your memory card, which results in plenty of opportunities for getting creative. Autumn is a great time to experiment with this technique because you can combine colourful abstracts with shots of more structural subjects such as skeletal trees.

23. Introduce movement

Reducing running water to a silvery blur, while surrounding foliage remains sharp and full of colour, is a nice way to introduce contrast and order to otherwise chaotic autumn scenes. In order to do this, you might need an ND filter to force a slow shutter speed. (If you are shooting on a dull day or at dawn or dusk you might not need the filter). Mount your camera on a tripod and start with one second or longer. You could also try a similar thing with leaves moving in the breeze and a static element such as a tree trunk or rock to create contrast.

Image:Tracy Calder

24. Mist opportunities

At this time of the year, warm water in the air cools rapidly, causing it to change from gas to tiny visible droplets, in other words, mist. These conditions don’t last long, so you will need to check the weather forecast the night before and head out before the sun rises and it burns off. Scenes dominated by mist often contain a lot of highlights, so consider adding a stop or two of exposure compensation to stop the camera from being fooled into under-exposing the scene. Look out for layers, bold shapes and objects which reveal clear outlines.

Image:Ross Hoddinott

25. Get reflective

With leaf colour ranging from fiery reds to golden yellows and intense oranges, autumn is the perfect time to shoot painterly reflections in rivers, lakes, ponds and puddles. Autumn colour is triggered by changes in day length and night temperature, so the beginning of this spectacle can vary from year to year. There are groups on Facebook that share up-to-date information on leaf colour and conditions in specific areas so check before you travel.

26. Search for gold

Natural light just after sunrise and before sunset is ideal for autumn shots. During this ‘golden hour’ the light is warmer (as measured on the Kelvin colour temperature spectrum) with plenty of yellows, oranges and reds. It’s a great time for shooting landscapes and bringing out the rich spectrum of colours that we often encounter at this time of the year. To ascertain exactly when the golden hour will occur you can use an app such as The Photographer’s Ephemeris or Helios Magic Hour Calculator.

Image:Ross Hoddinott

27. Arrange a flat lay

Shooting objects directly from above can lead to refreshing images that tell the story of a location or season. Chefs say, ‘What grows together, goes together’ and it’s something that can be applied to this type of photography too. If you find some attractive berries, for example, look around to see what else is growing nearby. Are there leaves or brambles that might look good in the composition? When it comes to arranging your treasures, imagine that you are completing a jigsaw – choose a ‘hero’ object and place it in the middle then work on the corners and edges before filling in the gaps with pieces of secondary importance.

Image:Tracy Calder

28. Telephoto lens

The British Deer Society recommends using a lens with a focal length of 300mm or more for photographing deer. The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM lens would be ideal.

29. Multiple exposure mode

The Canon EOS R5 has an impressive in-camera multiple exposure function. With this setting you can automatically combine between two and nine different exposures in one image.

30. Get shooting early

Once the autumn colours set in, be sure to capture them quickly. All it takes is one big storm for them to blow off the trees and the opportunity to pass.

Autumn Photography – Essential Gear

Warm clothes

Standing around in the wilderness while the sun is low in the sky can be chilly work, so make sure you wrap up warm. Particularly as you are likely to be standing still for a long period of time to get that perfect autumn photography snap.
Build up the layers and include waterproofs for when the skies invariably open.

Wellies

Getting the right angle for your composition can often require standing on ground that is less firm, such as a boggy field – or even in the middle of a stream.

By donning a pair of wellies you can ensure your feet stay warm and dry, no matter where you venture on your autumn photography adventures.

Gloves

If you’re taking pictures your hands are constantly exposed to the elements – instead of nicely tucked away in your pockets – so can very quickly get cold. You need a pair that will still allow you to operate your camera while keeping you warm.

Consider fingerless pairs or thinner thermal types – some manufacturers, such as Lowepro, even produce specialist photo gloves for this purpose.

Torch

As the light fades it can become difficult to find buttons on your camera or even spare cards inside your camera bag, so have a small pocket torch on you. It can also be handy to light the way on your walk back to the car.

Tripod / monopod

Long shutter speeds are needed to create a large depth of field, and at dusk or dawn especially you’ll need a steady tripod to avoid camera shake. Chances are that the light is going to drop faster than you’d expect, so ensure that you have some camera support for low-light photography. If you’re serious about your autumn shots, make sure you bring the sturdiest tripod you can carry.

Macro lens

Some of the best images taken in autumn feature the tiny details of nature, so don’t be afraid to pack the macro lens. A macro lens will allow you to focus right in on the detail and capture some stunning colour and texture, making it perfect for plant life and the autumn colours. So make sure you keep one in your kit bag.

Wideangle lens

This is the most useful lens for your autumn shots because it gives you a nice wide view with the option of a vast depth of field. For APS-C cameras a 10-20mm is ideal, while full-frame users might want a 24mm prime.

Filters

Filters allow you to control the tonal range and bring it within a more even range. By using graduated ND filters you can darken a bright sky, or with solid ND, slow a stream of water into a blur.

Waterproof cover

When the rain does come down you usually have two choices:put your camera away or get it wet, but with an all-weather cover like the Kata E-690, you can keep shooting whatever the weather.

Tracy Calder

Ex AP-staffer Tracy Calder is a photographer and writer who co-founded Close-up Photographer of the Year (CUPOTY) in 2018. Earlier this year she was awarded a Gold medal from the RHS for her Plant Scars series. Her work has been exhibited at The Photographers’ Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and the Saatchi Gallery. To see more, visit Instagram @tracy_calder_photo and www.cupoty.com

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