Up here in the Northern hemisphere autumn is most definitely on its way. In my town we went from 90F+ last week to 60F this week and some rain came along too. It’s not bad news though because autumn can be the best time of year for photography. The light is great and there’s all those pretty colored leaves to document. Here are a few quick tips to help you make the most of the season:

1.Take advantage of the shorter days. You don’t need to get up at the crack of dawn to photograph a sunset and that pretty warm evening glow occurs early in the evening. So even if you’re too lazy to photograph in the beautiful first-light/last-light in summer now you can get out there and capture it.

2. Get the details. Leaves are, of course, a big part of autumn photography. Put your camera on a low f-stop and get in close, capture the color and the detail of the leaves. Don’t leave out the big picture but these closer shots can really capture the color of the season.

3. Make the colours go further, try shooting reflections.

4. Use autumn as a backdrop. The colours and the crisp blue skies make great backgrounds for photographing people, if you like a non-themed photo to send out as your holiday card now is a good time of year to get the family together and shoot it.

5. Don’t forget the non-leaf parts of autumn! Photograph other things that make you think of autumn, whether that’s jumping in puddles or sipping apple cider there are great photos to be had there too.