Autumn is the time to capture colorful leaves and shooting into the sun can help create some stunning photographs.  The Fall leaves have just started to change color here, and it is GORGEOUS!!  When you take your own Fall photos this month, take a moment to pause before you click away.  In your pause ask yourself, how can I take this same photo while shooting into the sun?  We want the bright sun to play a role in the story of your photo.

As we talked about before, shooting into the sun makes all the difference.  That striking light adds drama to your photo.  And when you use something like a flag (see this example), autumn leaves or flowers (see this summer post) as objects to BLOCK the bright light–the dramatic feel of your photo increases!

You can do this exercise with a smartphone!  Here is what my iphone captured during my morning walks.  See how I positioned the direct sunlight to be where the tree branches are?  That little pop of super bright light ups the drama.

This is the same tree–same leaves, but on a cloudy day without any bright morning sun. Notice how the photo feels more flat?  The colors feel washed out.  It is the difference of shooting into bright sun or not.

You don’t need a fancy, expensive camera to experiment with this exercise.

Tip to Make this happen with your SmartPhone!

If you hold your smartphone up to the sun and see your subject (leaves, kids, etc) instantly become a silhouette, tap your subject on the screen and they will go from being a silhouette to becoming brighter.

Play this weekend on your morning or sunset walks.  And if you capture something you have just got to share, I would LOVE to have you post them on my facebook page!

Happy Fall!

xo,

m