Fall into a lot of photos

 When the leaves are piled up high and the kids are ready to take that first dive, set your camera to sports mode, or manually set your shutter speed to a 250th of a second or faster to be sure you capture the moment.

© Tracy Mack

On sports mode the camera will also let you shoot more than one photo with the press of your shutter button. Take advantage of that to capture just the right moment. 

© Tracy Mack

In the photos below you will see the first two just miss the moment, while the third photo captures it right on. Shoot a lot and edit later when your subjects are moving quickly.

© Tracy Mack

© Tracy Mack

© Tracy Mack

Paint your photos with color

The leaves are usually the star of fall photos, but putting other colorful items in your fall pictures can bring out the color of the leaves while making a beautiful and colorful picture.

© Tracy Mack

The softer, or more subdued the light, the more vivid the colors will appear in the photo. If you head out during the peak fall colors and want to capture the richest hues, shoot early morning, late afternoon, or even on a cloudy overcast day.

Kids plus leaves make memorable pictures

There is no doubt about it, when you take kids, add fall leaves and a few red jackets, anyone would have a hard time making a bad picture. Once the excitement is done and they just can't throw another leaf, consider a few portraits. Take advantage of the soft light, and kids that are too tired to run from the camera. Change to a longer lens, or use the zoom on your camera and switch to portrait mode.

© Tracy Mack

With a few leaves still stuck in their hats, and rosy cheeks from the crisp fall air, you might just make some of the season's best portraits. Remember to simplify the background by moving yourself around and using your zoom lens. Strike up a conversation about their afternoon in the piles of leaves and start shooting!