By Kerry Drager
Autumn is such an exciting time of year for color photographers. But I live in the countryside of Northern California - far from spectacular autumn foliage displays. So, for me, "fall colors" mean other subjects too!
Pumpkins, scarecrows, etc., often catch my eye during the Halloween season. Two recent images appear below, and give an idea of my shooting "workflow" for photographing close-up subjects: filling the frame for a tight composition, working with Depth of Field, and trying different angles and viewpoints. For both pictures, I chose the warm light of late day for added "pop"!
Pumpkins and gourds are very reflective, by the way, so I gave my polarizing filter a good workout too - for minimizing glare and maximizing colors. Note the word "minimizing", because the subjects' curves and depth made it impossible for the polarizer to eliminate all glare - for example, a tweak for one area added more reflection in another, and so on. Rotating the filter - while looking through the viewfinder - let me fine-tune the effect by seeing precisely where the reflections fall (and don't fall).
Note: Check out my BetterPhoto online courses:
- Creative Light and Composition
- Creative Close-ups.
Fall Color 1 by Kerry Drager
Natural light near sunset. f13 chosen to keep main ornamental gourd in front sharp, while still maintaining soft focus in distance on other gourds and pumpkins; 105mm; tripod
Fall Color 2 by Kerry Drager
Natural light near sunset. ornamental gourd and pumpkins; f22 for as much Depth of Field (sharpness) as possible; 105mm; ISO 100; tripod
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