In Fall you can take great photos with all types of weather with your iPhone. So not only go out on sunny days, but also take pictures when it is cloudy or raining. The forest is perhaps the location you first think of, but you can also photograph in the city for beautiful color contrasts, for example. Go outside for beautiful light and long shadows when the sun is low, but also for those beautiful foggy moments. And look for water for beautiful reflections.
1. Turn on HDR on your iPhone
HDR ensures that the details in the light and dark parts of your photos are preserved. The Fall colors stand out better and you get beautiful cloudy skies.
2. Shoot at close range
I photographed these leaves up close, so that the details became nicely visible and the background faded. I focused on the leaves by tapping the screen. The photo was taken just before sunset, so that the color of the sky contrasts nicely with that of the leaves. The winding path provides depth.
3. Reflections in the water
Look for trees and shrubs in autumn colors that stand by the water. You can make the water smooth and extra reflective with a long shutter speed. You can do that without a tripod with the Live Photos effect Long exposure.
4. Photograph spider webs with your iPhone in Fall
Spider webs are clearly visible if it is or has been foggy. The droplets make the threads heavy and shine beautifully in the sunlight. Photograph a spider’s web from up close, so that the background becomes blurred. You can focus on the spider web by tapping it on your screen. Optionally, you can correct the exposure by swiping your finger up (lighter) or down.
5. In Fall there is often fog and dew
In the morning, when the sun is still low, it is often foggy in Fall. The sun is not strong enough to melt the fog. Mist creates extra atmosphere. Find an interesting subject and provide a foreground so that you get depth in your photo. I photographed the mill against the sun, so that I got silhouettes and the cobwebs in the foreground lit up nicely.
6. Light falling through the leaves in autumn
In Fall, the sun is low at the end of the afternoon, but then the sunlight is still bright. That gives a nice yellow light, so that the colors of the leaves light up beautifully. By using the shadows in your composition, you can emphasize the light. Walk or cycle in your area and look for it. Photograph against the light.
7. Photograph with your iPhone from a low point of view
With a low point of view you can, for example, put leaves or mushrooms in the foreground, so that you get depth in your photo. A low position also makes the photo more interesting than a photo taken at eye level. If you photograph against the sun, the leaves will light up beautifully due to the low sun.
8. Color contrasts
Look for beautifully colored leaves that stand out against a color in the background. For the photo below I have taken the dark blue building as a background and waited a while until walkers came by.
9. Shoot against the sun with your iPhone in Fall
By photographing against the sun, you get beautiful silhouettes and long shadows that provide depth. Sometimes you see some lens flare with a green dot. You can prevent this by pointing your iPhone up or down a bit more or holding your hand above the lens. You can easily remove the green dot afterwards with a photo editing program.
10. Also take iPhone photos in Fall in rainy weather
Because of the cloudy sky you get nice soft light. The light is scattered evenly and the shadows are almost invisible. The colors of the wet leaves stand out better and contrast nicely with the dark sky.
11. Take photos of the Fall colors in the city
In the city buildings and trees alternate and there are many interesting objects to create beautiful compositions with. I took the photo below with a low angle, so that the leaves stand out nicely against the blue sky. The canal and rows of trees provide the guiding lines that draw your attention into the photo and create depth.
12. Photograph fruits
Some trees are full of fruit in Fall and often they have beautiful colors. Photograph them up close, so that they form a foreground. Try to get the environment in your picture through the branches, so that you get depth and context.
13. Shoot fall in RAW
The RAW file format contains the raw data directly from the image sensor. An important advantage of RAW is that this file format is better suited to editing than JPG or HEIC; operations that are normally performed in the camera can be applied afterwards with a photo editing app.
14. Set the white balance to daylight or cloudy
If you photograph in RAW, you can set the white balance yourself. Autumn photos taken with the automatic white balance are usually too cool. You can select daylight or cloudy during or after shooting for warmer colors that better reflect reality.
How to edit the fall photos
I edit my fall photos in Snapseed. I usually start by trying out a number of Looks and I often use Pop. Then I crop the photo with the Crop tool. With vignetting I make the corners and edges darker, so that the focus is on the center.
Conclusion
You can take beautiful autumn photos with your iPhone. Try out in advance the HDR mode and the Live Photos effect Long exposure. You can add or remove lens flare and remove the green dot with photo editing apps.
Download
Snapseed App Store
Also read my blog about black and white photography or go to the overview with all iPhone photography blogs.