Dramatic Autumn Leaves Forest Floor Texture Photography

How did I get to this point? See how I shot it below!

More photos showing the progression are below

This photograph is a close, ground-level study of fallen autumn leaves layered across the forest floor. The frame is densely composed, filled edge-to-edge with overlapping leaves in various stages of seasonal decay. The composition intentionally removes context so the viewer experiences the subject purely as texture, color, and light.

Technically, the image is mostly sharp across the entire field, maintaining some depth of field in such a close subject. In post production, the RAW file underwent careful tonal shaping rather than heavy-handed global manipulation. Contrast was selectively increased to emphasize the texture of the leaf surfaces. Localized dodging and burning (Making an area brighter or darker) were applied to guide attention toward the brightest golden leaves near the center of the composition.

FYI: The leaves are mostly Oak and Hickory. Also, I did not move nor place anything in the frame, I saw the scene and after moving the strobe into position, took the image.

No "Artificial Intelligence" was used creating this imagery. I haven't run out of the original AI: Actual Intelligence.

Feel free to share: stpvd.com/26/6

About the Images

This image shows what the camera recorded. In other words, this is the camera original image, nothing has been touched. It is the original RAW file out of the camera.

This shows what I chose to adjust to the image in Adobe's Camera RAW Converter. I dropped the contrast and brought a bit more color into the image. These are global adjustments.

This shows what I did by using layers, brushes, masks, and adjustment curve layers. These are both global and, mostly, local.
This is one of 2 "Finished" images of this shot.

This is the other finished image with a totally different tonal range and color palette.

This may give you a different reference to see the 4 examples of the same image.

For Photographers

The Gear:
Canon camera, 1/200 shutter speed, using 50 ISO with a
Sigma 85mm f1.4 lens set to f2.5 (f2 and two thirds) hand held.
Pocket wizard for strobe sync.
Manfrotto short light stand.

The light:
Profoto Pro B2 1200 R battery powered strobe pack using a Profoto Pro B head inside an Extra Small Chimera softbox. See photo below to see the lighting gear. Additionally there is a fair amount of ambient light from the blue sky overhead.

The photo below shows the light I used. This image is from a different shoot, but it is representative of the light and setup I used on the images above.

NOTE: The shutter speed for this image is 1/20 of a second, I wanted the ambinent light to fill the BG (Background) so I used a long shutter speed. Also note how much blue there is on top of the pack.

We are based in Atlanta, Georgia, Los Angeles, USA & Milan, Italy, and serve the nation and travel worldwide for projects, both video and stills. On average we travel 175 days a year from all over the USA, 48 out of 50 states, to Singapore to Japan, Europe and the Middle East. We are normally in Europe 2 or 3 times a year, mostly Italy and Germany, shooting for clients there.

If you would like to use this image, or any of my images for mock or comp use, please just ask. There is never a charge for this service. Educational use is permitted without charge, unless published, but please ask first. All commercial use is available only with a limited copyright release prior to use from the copyright holder, Steve Thornton. Thanks for looking!