Landscape photography can be a lot like fishing. You can prepare your gear, check weather conditions and basically do everything right and still not catch anything worth writing home about. Likewise, with landscape photography you can have the perfect image in your mind. You can try to align the stars in your favor to get said image and then it can all fall apart right before your moment of glory. This happens quite often like in the image of Moraine Lake on my front page. However, we as photographers have to adapt and create our own opportunities.
Mads Peter Iversen shows us how to always get amazing landscape images despite the time of the year and, by proxy, random weather getting in the way of our vision. His 5 steps for a great shot are as follows:
- Work with available weather and light.
- Select a subject that is interesting enough to not depend on perfect conditions.
- Own your composition. Use different focal lengths to enhance your subject.
- Know your settings. Be ready to take the photo in the split moment it is given to you.
- Editing. Know how to edit your images to bring out the most in them.
Ansel Adams himself said, “bad weather makes for good photography.” Clouds are some of the biggest mood modifiers. Having big brooding storm clouds in your images can often enhance the emotion you are trying to convey. Similarly, rain can add incredible contrast and a natural glow to your images. Snow can add texture and sharpness. Fog, has always had that ethereal quality to it. We all know and love images of fog rolling through a forest with just enough light coming through the clouds to make your highlights pop.
Make sure to check out the video for all the details and stop by Mads’ Instagram to see some breathtaking images!