Alpine Loop Scenic Roadyway - Utah

[graphite]

I went looking for fall leaves yesterday and finally found them almost an hour from home. Any advice for making landscape photos not look so much like a snapshot?


fall_final by graphite_subaru, on Flickr

 

[D-B-J]

Better sky and better lighting? Try and shoot in the golden hours? It's a beautiful location for sure.

 

[Eclectix]

Lighting is absolutely key.

Also, dramatic perspective and composition can help a lot. I've heard lots of "rules" for getting better photos. One that I have heard is, "Get higher." Another rule I often hear is, "Get closer." Both of those may be good suggestions, depending on what you are after, but sometimes doing the opposite may actually work better. My advice is that if the scene is beautiful to your eyes but mundane through the lens, you might want to think about whether you need to try getting higher, or lower, or getting wider, or narrower, or closer, or further, or moving to the right or the left, or try getting it at a different time of day, or in different weather conditions, or in a different season.

You certainly have the elements for a great photograph here. The colors are lovely, the mountains are majestic. The overcast sky, however, though it could work for certain effects, is not the best for this capture. It makes the image look a bit flat. In general fall colors look best when set aglow by the sun and contrasted against a blue sky. Also, the perspective here is just sort of mundane.

Under these conditions you might try getting closer to the trees, trying to find some arrangement of colors, shapes, and lines that felt more dynamic. Or you might have tried moving further away to try to find a higher vantage point, one which allowed the mountains on top to be clear of the dead branches. Perhaps including an element in the foreground would give greater perspective. Aside from all of this, though, the sky conditions are just not ideal for this sort of dramatic autumn scene. It probably would have been a better day to photograph waterfalls and leaves.

 

[timor]

The biggest problem of all photographers is to be in the right place at the right time. There are some specific for every place light conditions which gonna change most places in a dreamland. I like your color palette. Keep trying to catch the magic.

 

[joyserran]

perfect light. there are a lot of great places to take pictures but it might be beautiful while you are looking at it but as soon as you take photo of it, it will not capture the beauty that you want to show due to lack of lightning unfortunate event for all photographers

 

[VABuckeye]

One that I have heard is, "Get higher."

That seems like good advice to me in this image. I'd rather have the mountains peaks over the top of the trees rather than competing with the top of the trees. JMHO.

 

[Eclectix]

One that I have heard is, "Get higher."

That seems like good advice to me in this image. I'd rather have the mountains peaks over the top of the trees rather than competing with the top of the trees. JMHO.

Some people go so far as to use this advice for all of life's problems. Life stressing you out? Get higher. Job too depressing? Get higher. Photo not quite what you'd like? Get higher. Then look at it again.

 

[KmH]

The image is under exposed at least 1/2 a stop. I recommend increasing the exposure.

All the dead wood in the scene is distracting.

I suggest cropping away 2/3 of the sky above the highest mountain top.

 

[Light Guru]

All the dead wood in the scene is distracting.

Bingo.