Elevate your forest photos this fall with these five tips

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, now’s the best possible time to take photos in the forest. Heck, even the local park looks absolutely magical with those yellow, orange, and red leaves. If you’re planning to go out with your camera, Alister Benn gives you five excellent tips to make those forest photos truly stand out.

1. Simplify it

Forests are complex environments filled with countless visual elements. I know it all looks amazing when you look at it and soak it all up, but it won’t look so great in the photo. You just don’t want too many elements. To create impactful images, focus on a specific subject or composition. Remove distractions to draw the viewer’s attention to the key elements of your scene. For instance, Alister often crops his images to eliminate unnecessary foreground or background elements, emphasizing an area of interest.

2. Slow down

The complexity of a forest can make you rush because you feel like there’s so much to shoot! It can also make you rush because you went there too late and it’s getting dark, but that’s a story for another time.

Whatever the reason may be, rushing leads to missed opportunities. So, take your time to explore the surroundings and discover hidden gems. Pause, observe, be mindful, and patiently wait for the right moment. By slowing down, you’ll be more likely to find unique compositions and capture the subtle nuances of the forest. And I promise you, you’ll also enjoy the whole experience way more.

3. Embrace the details

Forests are full of intricate details that we often overlook because we observe the bigger picture. Nothing wrong with the bigger picture, of course, but take some time to focus on the small things hiding in the trees, grass and leaves. This can include interesting textures and patterns, and small subjects like mushrooms, moss, or insects. The forest is truly full of wonders!

4. Use shallow depth of field

I’d say this leans onto the first tip – simplifying the composition. Other than choosing a specific subject, using a shallow depth of field also helps to emphasize it and add depth to your images. Use a wide aperture to isolate your subject and blur the background and foreground, drawing the viewer’s eye to the focal point.

5. Don’t forget to have fun!

I love how Alister put this:

“It can be so easy on days like this, when it’s gray and overcast and cold and windy, to think that there aren’t good photographs to be made out here. But that is entirely wrong. The only bad weather is the bad weather you bring with you with your attitude.”

When you’re in the forest, don’t let the weather or other obstacles discourage you. Instead, embrace the fact that you’re there and have the opportunity to connect with nature. When it’s foggy or overcast, you can still capture unique and evocative images. And even if the conditions turn out to be impossible for shooting, you can still have a fun experience to remember.

[5 TIPS for better FOREST photography | Alister Benn]

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