P#19 Q4A: Which Lenses Are Best When Shooting Fall Landscapes?

The More the Merrier

Jim Zuckerman: When I'm leading a photography tour and people ask me what lenses they should bring, my standard answer is, "Bring all of them." The reason is because you're going to be faced with many, many different kinds of situations.

Sometimes you want a tight composition where telephoto will select a small area that you see before you. Other times, you're going to want to get the whole thing in or you're going to want some kind of dominant foreground with a nice background that a wide angle is so good at. Still, there are other times when you're going to want a normal lens.

The truth is that I use all of them. Is there one lens that I use the most? For fall colors, it's probably a telephoto.

I carry three primary lenses with me when I shoot fall landscapes. One is a 16-35mm wide angle. Another is I've got a 50mm macro, because not only can I get me a 50mm composition, but I can get very close and do details of mushrooms, fungus, leaves, and stuff like that.

The lens that I probably use most, tied with the wide angle, is the 70-200mm f2.8. It's image stabilized. If there's wind that wouldn't matter, but in terms of composition, the 70-200mm is a great lens.

Accommodating Slow Shutter Speeds

Audri Lanford: How about a tripod? Is it necessary for fall landscapes?

Jim Zuckerman: Yes, absolutely. All landscape photography requires a tripod. The reason is because there will be many situations where you need depth of field. This is especially true if you have something very close to the camera, like a rock with fallen leaves on it, and you want the forest in the background as part of the composition.

You want both of them in focus and sharp. The only way to do that is with a small lens aperture. If you use a small lens aperture, you cut your light down. That means that your shutter speed is going to be slow, which means you need a tripod.

Eliminating Glare

Audri Lanford: How about a polarizer?

Jim Zuckerman: A polarizer is a good thing to have. In terms of shooting fall colors, it does two things for you. It can eliminate the glare on water so you can see below the surface of the water. A polarizing filter can also eliminate the glare off of leaves if they are reflecting a very bright or white sky.

I use very few filters because Photoshop can do so much, but Photoshop cannot do what a polarizer does. Photoshop cannot eliminate that kind of glare.

I would say a polarizer is the only filter to use. In the past, people would use enhancing filters to enrich the color of the fall leaves, but with Photoshop's ability to saturate color you don't really need that anymore.

In Closing

While many photographers carry one or two lenses around and call it a day, photographers interested in fall landscapes are better off bringing the whole arsenal. And, according to Jim Zuckerman, lenses aren't the only thing you need to bring with you. A tripod and a polarizer are just as important.

You never know what photograph opportunities your fall landscapes will present you with, and being prepared with the right equipment is key to getting the perfect shots.