Nature and landscape photography is a real passion for many of us, globetrotters or hikers who generally love nature. Capturing a breathtaking landscape, immortalising a unique moment or retranscribing the emotion of a natural scene requires a bit of work, more than luck or a good camera. As any professional photographer will tell you, thehe key to getting memorable shots is often planning.
Anticipating your shots will maximise your chances of getting breathtaking photos, while saving you frustration on the ground. In this article, I'd like to explore how to plan your photography effectively when you're out and about, covering every stage from preparing beforehand to organising your shots when you get home. Whether you're an amateur or an experienced photographer, I hope you find these photography tips useful.
1. Understanding the importance of planning your photos
Planning your photos during a trip or nature outing is essential to capture the best moments and avoid disappointment. I don't think I'm wrong in saying that all the landscape photographers have already gone home empty-handed. 🤓. You need to think in advance about what you want to photograph, and be able to answer the questions, where? when? how? with what? Because obviously, a photo taken in broad daylight won't look the same as one taken at dawn or dusk 😅 !
What's more, you need to make sure you have the right equipment so you don't miss any opportunities, such as a particular light or a specific viewpoint. We've all forgotten a memory card, or a lens that wasn't wide enough, for example 😡.
2. Find the locations to be photographed
It's one of my faults! Before you leave, take the time to research the places you're going to visit. Use maps, applications such as Apple Map or even Google Earth travel guides, and social networks such as Instagram and Pinterest, 500px , Flickr to identify the must-see photographic spots.
This step allows you to make the most of your time on site and avoid missing the moment or the image. A tip to complement this is to look at postcards on location to see and find other spots, and get your own versions of these photos. Sometimes this tip helps!
3. Choosing the right moment to capture the image
You've probably already read or heard about it: Light is a key element and is everything in photography.
As mentioned above, depending on the time of day, the mood and colour of your photos can vary enormously. Sunrise and sunset, known as the 'golden hours', are particularly popular with photographers because of the softness and warmth of the light.
Just before or just after we also have the blue hourif you want to capture some cool shots. Plan your shots around these moments to get striking shots, there's a great application called Photopills I invite you to read the dedicated article on my blog.
4. Provide the right equipment
In the same vein, ugood planning means preparing your equipment properly. Depending on the type of photos you want to take, you might need different lenses, a tripod, or even filters. Make sure you have all the equipment you need to capture the images you want, not forgetting memory cards and spare batteries 😜 ! I've also written another article on the essential accessories for landscape photography .
5. Anticipating weather conditions
Time can have a significant and decisive impact on the quality and final look of your photos.. You'll never get a beautiful golden sunset on a very overcast day! On the other hand, if you like photos with dramatic skies and contrasting black and whites, this is the ideal weather for you. For short periods just after a thunderstorm, as the clouds disperse, you'll have another atmosphere, and another contrast of colours... reflections... rays.
Check the weather forecast to see if you'll get the weather you're looking for, and adjust your planning accordingly.
6. Scripting your shots
Depending on your style of photography or simply your preferences, to get photos that tell a story, it can be useful to script your shots. This paragraph is similar to the previous one, but think about the mood you want to create, the emotions you want to convey and how you want to showcase them.t. This preparation will help you to create images that are richer and more impactful, but that also reflect who you are.
7. Adapting to the unexpected
Planning is all very well 😆 but it's important to remain flexible. Sometimes (or often) conditions can change quickly when travelling or out in the wild, the best photos are those taken on the spot, without any prior preparation. Be prepared to improvise and seize opportunities as they arise.. You might say it's luck here, but in fact it is, it's through preparation and training that you create this chance and generate opportunities. (Based on your experience, share your thoughts in the comments below).
8. Editing and organising your photos after you've taken them
We'll finish with this 8th point, which isn't really planning in itself, but it doesn't end with the shot. Once you've captured your photos, take the time to sort, organise and edit them.
Good post-processing, and I'm talking about development here (and not particularly "photoshop"), can sublimate your images and bring out that sense of "breathtaking splendour that you felt on the spot! and give visual coherence.
What's more, rigorous organisation of your files will make them easier to use at a later date, whether for a blog, an album or an exhibition.
So much for these few points which (I hope) will help you to prepare better,
See you soon and thank you for reading my blog,
Well photographed,
David
