7 Powerful Mountain Photography Tips to maximize your time in nature

Hello guys how's it going I hope everyone's doing well I'm here today with seven powerful tips you can use when photographing in the mountains I'm super excited for this video because Mountain scenes are my absolute favorite type of landscape to photograph there's just something so sublime about hiking and being in the mountains it's really beyond words.

The power - forces greater than we can possibly invoke. the beauty - they can stop us dead in our tracks at first sight. the constant change - from morning to night from one week to the next there's new things to explore every time we visit. they fill us with peace and solace, with fear and exuberance and anyone who climbs them can't help but be humbled in their presence. it's no wonder they pull in the heartstrings of many hikers and landscape photographers. 

Mountains present a number of challenges and things we need to plan for. more specific to hiking photographers, we have to juggle with the regular requirements and gear such as the 10 essentials + whatever camera gear we decided to bring balancing weight and mobility all the while. all the normal rules of landscape photography and composition apply, but there are some unique challenges we are presented with when in the mountains. 

I'm continually finding ways to improve my own process and have compiled 7 tips you may find useful for your next trip, whether you're an absolute beginner or a seasoned photographer, I hope you can take something away from it, so let's get started. 

Tips number 1 - do the research ahead of time. in the military we had a saying, "failing to plan is planning the fail" and while the consequences typically aren't as severe with photography the same sentiment can be said for photo trips. exploration on location is an important part of the landscape photography process, but planning ahead can help you be in the right general area at the right time. 

So before you even step out that door make sure to research your destination and its current conditions. research can be divided into several categories: 

1- finding a location. we covered how to find a location using the social networking site meetup in the last video which you can find in the description below. 

2 - hike research. things like GPS tracks and topo maps what type of pass we're going to need, trail conditions, any hazards that we're going to come across, all these things are important normal consideration anytime we're hiking in the backcountry. 

3 - photo research you'll want to check out sites like 500px.com, Google Earth and one of my personal favorites is to search the hashtag of the locations name on Twitter and Instagram because that usually brings up more recent photos. by doing this it will help us pre-visualize and pick the right gear. you know we want to look for composition ideas, but at the end of day we want to make our own photo. finding unique original landscape perspectives to photograph is much more enjoyable and much easier to get the creative juices flowing, so don't spend too much time trying to track down the exact tripod holes of someone else's shot. 

4 - weather; of course there's several sites and apps to get average forecast at expected conditions. Mountain-Forecast.com is one of my favorites because you can set the elevation according to where you plan to go. 

5 - light conditions: this is speaking directly to us as photographers. of course we want to know things like the sunrise and the sunset times the moonrise the moon set times and the moon phase. by knowing when both Sun the moon rises set and knowing their position and angle in the sky we'll be able to set up our composition in a way that captures that dramatic light. we can use apps like the photographer's ephemeris as well as Google Earth. 

Tips number 2, and for good reason: it's the two hour rule. you've most certainly already heard about the golden hour and experienced it - that magical time with dynamic light around sunrise and sunset. the problem is they call it the golden power not the golden two hours or golden we don't know yet until we get there and find out but what I find happens quite often is that photographers either show up too late or leave too early and much of the magic that actually happens doesn't occur right around the time of sunrise and sunset especially in the mountains. the most difficult thing is being there, getting up for sunrise or sunset, managing the elements, waking up in the dark driving in the dark, hiking in the dark, putting on a headlamp, getting out in the cold, managing all the different things that are occurring, and even though Mother Nature doesn't always cooperate...all these biting flies, a perfect example of that I can't think of a single time that I've regretted getting up. I follow the logic of the saying I'll sleep when I'm dead. 

So just do it - you can make great, even amazing photos at any time but being there during that changing light gives you a greater chance to create a more dynamic scene. unless you are at the summit where you can see out to the horizon when you're in the mountain the Sun can set a couple hours earlier or rise a couple of hours later than the actual time that it breaks the true horizon. and if you are in a valley somewhere where the Sun doesn't come into view a couple hours after actual sunrise then most of the magic will actually be gone by the time you see it. depending on your location, the peaks could block the Sun and shorten or even eliminate the golden hour. a tip to maximize your time in nature is with a simple overnight trip that way you can hike in at a relaxing pace midday location scout with plenty of time to find interesting composition ideas before sunset and then after sunset decide to get a good night's rest or plan for astrophotography and then get up for sunrise in the morning and hike out by 10 a.m. so in less than a day you've gotten two to three different photo shoots and really explored the location under different lighting conditions. 

Tips number 3 - keep your camera accessible. I see so many photographers with their gear tucked away in a bag on their chest or worse yet and the bottom of their backpack and the reality is that some things in nature just don't happen twice, so that moment, that picture-perfect moment will come and go before you have the chance to react, whether that's the red alpenglow on some distant mountain peak or the still reflection in an alpine lake or the wildlife that just comes into view by the time your futzing with your camera and getting it all ready to go it'll be over so it's very important to keep your camera accessible. 

I prefer to keep my camera right here on my chest I also keep my tripod to the side of me instead of on the back of my backpack. the lens cap it's got to be off, you don't want to walk around with the lens cap on, you can use the lens hood as protection or UV filter if you really feel like you need to and in terms of settings for your camera you want that to reflect the fact that you're walking and you are probably not going to have the time to set up a tripod because if you do that at that time you can change the settings of the camera so auto ISO is your best friend so think about how you want to carry your gear how you want to walk with it. there's still ways that you can protect it and keep it safe I have it here in my chest but I also have it backed up on a leash here so just in case it was to ever fall out it's protected. 

Tips number 4 - find your foreground. when everyone is shooting at the same location it can be discouraging if you are wanting to create something unique but a great way to do that is to find your own perspective using foreground. a good foreground draws the viewer in and creates a sense of depth, so ask yourself "how can I lead my viewer through the image?" and then get close, get low, change your perspective, change the height of the tripod if you're using one. reflections, shapes, lines can all be used to draw the viewers eye through the scene and if there aren't many interesting elements one option can be the human form which brings us to the tip. 

Tips number 5 - use a sense of scale. with natural elements like trees mountains and lakes it's often hard to tell how large or small everything really is. of course this can be further exaggerated as an effective way to make an abstract image but for more traditional landscape scenes it usually helps to add a sense of scale and a great way to do that is with the human form not only that but a person in the scene often acts as a focal point and can help the viewer connect more deeply with the experience of being there subjects might include a person such as yourself or your adventure buddy or your own legs, a physical object such as a tent, kayak or a hammock or any other number of things. 

Tips number 6 - Watch your contrast. you may see a beautiful lake but since the lake isn't being directly lit the camera might see all the distracting leaves on the edges of the frame catching light. the viewers eye will naturally be drawn to the brightest parts of the scene or the parts of the scene with the most contrast. a quick and easy way to determine the strongest point of contrast if it's not obvious is to squint and blur the scene in front of you. now ask yourself "what is the brightest object?" and then open up your eyes. if that's not your subject or something leading to your subject then you might want to reconsider how you capture that frame.

Tips number 7 - bring a telephoto, and I'm referring here to lenses with a focal length 200 millimeters or longer, preferably more than 300. most people already know about the importance of having a wide-angle lens the capture the expansiveness in one frame. you've seen those shots with flowers in the foreground sweeping middle-ground with the mountains in the back, but one of the best things about those expansive views is the telephoto's ability to reach out grab a snippet from the landscape to focus on. this can be especially useful in inclement weather or if you're not at the scene during prime lighting conditions where using a wide-angle would result in too much contrast in the scene. almost all of the wildlife shots in my portfolio are a result of having a telephoto lens on me and being able to act in the moment and respond to the animals presence. 

To recount, 

1. do the research ahead of time 

2. show up before and stay after sunrise and sunset, 

3. keep your gear ready and accessible, 

4.find your foreground, find your perspective, 

5.add a sense of scale, 

6. watch for contrast and 

7. bring a telephoto lens.