The leaves are falling and the colours are bright, a perfect time to capture the glory of our beautiful countryside.

Many of these photos were taken  on a mobile phone. It’s great to have a camera to hand but the real magic is in the subject and in the photographers mind.

Here are my tips:

1. Pick the weather and the right time of day for best results. The golden hour (just after the sun rises or before it sets) with the light from the low sun working it’s magic.
2. Choose the location beforehand, know what you want to shoot and be ready to visit when the weather and time is right.
3. Composition is king. Make the most of your chosen location with careful composition that makes the most of the sunlight and the long shadows.
4. Lighting – it’s all about the power of the sunlight, the shadow and the sunlight combine to create wonderful patterns which emphasise the shapes, the textures, the colours. The lighting is the brush we use to create the images from our imagination.
5. Backlighting, backlighting, backlighting. I love to work directly into the sun or with strong side-lighting. Through the leaves and branches, across the grasslands, the hills, animals or people. They all  take on a new form with the power of the rising or setting sun.

If, like me, you want to shoot directly into the sun do be careful with your camera – never look directly through a camera viewfinder. Use the screen on your mobile or on the rear of your camera to avoid the risk of eye damage.

A camera is not essential for capturing enchanting autumn photographs but it certainly helps. If you are using a digital camera, shoot in raw format, if you can. This records the maximum information from the subject for post processing.