Photographing autumnal landscapes – a beginner’s guide

24-120mm focal length is all you need

“The NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S is my go-to lens for autumnal woodland photography, as most of my landscape photos have a focal length between 24mm and 120mm,” Nigel says. “The NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR, however, is an excellent beginner lens.” He favours his “workhorse” Nikon Z8, but also loves the 24MP Zf and Z6III. “The Z6III has very low noise which is excellent for woodland photography,” he adds.  

Invest in a tripod

“With darkening skies, you’ll need a longer shutter speed, which is easier and more effective on a tripod,” says Nigel. “As photographing down low completely changes the whole look of a woodland, grab an eye-level tripod (I prefer Benro), take your time and capture with purpose.”

Use base ISO of your camera 

“Find out your camera’s base ISO and photograph at base,” adds Nigel. “You’ll have better dynamic range (how many bright to dark tones you get in one shot) and you’ll also have less noise in your photograph. Greater noise means the photograph can start to look grainy.”

Be in the know: The Nikon Zfc, Z30, Z50, Z5 and Z6III have a base ISO of 100. The Nikon Z7II, Z8 and Z9 have a base ISO of 64.

Wide depth of field calls for f/10 aperture

Depending on your focal length, it’s better to begin at f/10 aperture for woodland photography. “Start off by finding a dominant tree, compose your image, set your aperture to f/10, and ISO to base (100 or 64), then focus on the shutter speed,” Nigel advises. “You can manually adjust while looking at the histogram or set the mode to Aperture Priority, and the camera will work out the shutter speed.”

Select AF-S 

For still shots, single point autofocus (AF-S) is better than continuous (AF-C) and burst mode. “I tap my screen, the camera focuses and then it takes the shot. It’s super easy,” Nigel says.  

Set your White Balance to ‘Cloudy’

“I set my White Balance to ‘Cloudy’ for all photos,” adds Nigel. “That way they are all one setting that is changeable afterwards, as long as you’re photographing in RAW not JPEG.”

Read more: Why photograph in RAW?

Avoid sky in your composition

“Beginners tend to make the most of everything: sky, grass and trees,” explains Nigel. “Often, it’s best to reduce the composition down and be more purposeful. Don’t forget the smaller things: lilies in a pond, leaves changing colours, close-ups of water drops, foliage on the ground. Not every photo will require the sky.”

Next steps: 

Refine your editing style

“Don’t go overboard with saturation as it won’t look realistic,” Nigel advises. “If you’re photographing in fog or mist, don’t have ‘true black’ in your image. A lot of beginners increase contrast in post-production, but I don’t recommend this. Instead, in Adobe Lightroom, under ‘Histogram’ and ‘Blacks’, push the slider to the right to completely remove the black from the image. This makes the image have a ‘painterly’ effect.” Nigel explains this further in his YouTube video.

Pick up a polarising filter

“A polarising filter adds saturation to colours,” says Nigel. “It only works when the foliage is wet because it reduces the reflection of the leaves. Don’t rely on it but see how it affects the look and feel of the shot.”

Experiment with long exposure

If you are visiting waterfalls, have a go at long exposure (when you have a shutter speed longer than ten seconds). “Find a composition and experiment with different shutter speeds,” Nigel says. “For best results, use a tripod and select a two-second time shutter delay so that any vibration is accounted for.”