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You don’t have to be a professional to immortalize Colorful Colorado’s fleeting displays of gold, copper, and crimson. All you need is a smartphone—and these tips from Jeanette Burkle, who teaches photography classes at the University of Denver and Denver Botanic Gardens.
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1. Smartphone lenses have grown exponentially in recent years—the iPhone 15, for example, boasts 48 megapixels, compared with the 14’s 12. So if you want details that rival the quality captured by a digital camera, you’re going to have to upgrade your vintage BlackBerry.
2. One way to make golden aspen leaves really pop? Photograph them during golden hour, which occurs shortly before sunset, when the natural light’s warm glow saturates the scene. Don’t worry if you’re free for a photo session only during your lunch break: Harsh midday beams can add clarity to close-ups.
3. Most of today’s smartphones are equipped with multiple lenses. Test out the different options to play with perspective: On an iPhone, get close to your subject to activate the auto macro (great for detailed leaf shots) and turn the zoom dial to 2x or more to use the telephoto (perfect for catching wildlife in the distance).
4. Before tapping the shutter, “compose your pictures with care,” Burkle says. Turn on your camera’s grid lines to help you follow the rule of thirds, which maintains that placing the subject (say, a bright orange aspen in a sea of evergreens) in the left or right third of the frame makes for a more compelling image.
5. Using your phone’s built-in editing tools to tweak the contrast and brightness of your leaf-peeping pic can result in a more vibrant landscape, but don’t overpower the scenery’s natural beauty. “A tiny bit of saturation goes a long way,” Burkle says. “In general, when it comes to editing, less is more.”
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