5 Top Autumn Bad Weather Landscape Photography Tips

When it’s cloudy, dull and looking like rain, the last thing most of you will want to do is head outside with your camera. But when you add Autumn into the mix, things do start to get a little better.  Dark skies full of rain clouds can work as a brilliant backdrop for trees covered in the warm shades of the season, colours contrast extremely well and a sky filled with rain clouds, plus the reds and yellows of Autumn, give you the chance to capture some great moody shots.

1. Find Some Colour

When shooting on dull days, colour will ‘pop’ from the grey, stormy sky and add much-needed interest to your shot. It could be a block of colour such as a wide shot of a forest decorated with Autumnal shades or a smaller colourful focus point such as a single tree or even a leaf snapped in your own back garden. If you want to enhance the sky, try fitting an ND Grad Filter to the front of your lens.
 

2. Be In The Right Place At The Right Time

If you’re heading out, it’s worth noting down a few locations you know will look great in this sort of weather so when the low winter sun does breakthrough and adds a stream of light to your scene, you’re there and ready to take the shot. This could mean you end up setting up when the rain’s still falling which means you need to protect yourself and more importantly your gear from the elements. Pack a waterproof cover, keep your gear in your camera bag for as long as possible and have a lens cloth to hand to wipe any drops that fall on your lens. If your camera is waterproof or splashproof the wet weather shouldn’t bother it too much but once you’re home, remember to unpack your gear and leave it out to dry fully. Another bonus of working just after it’s rained is everything looks naturally more saturated because it’s wet.

3. Get Rid Of The Sky

If the sky is really too boring, you can always remove it from the shot by either cropping it out during post-production (if you can without spoiling the shot) or by using a telephoto to pull your subject to you, excluding the sky as you do.

4. White Balance

Instead of shooting with auto white balance, which can remove some of the punch the autumn shades have, try setting it manually so the colours are as vibrant as you can make them. Then, if you want to give the shot more punch, you can always adjust the image during post-production.

5. Work Under The Forest Canopy

A good covering of cloud will make the light under the forest’s canopy more even so it’s a good time to shoot some close-up shots of mushrooms, bark and autumn leaves that have fallen to the floor.