Winter Landscapes

By Geoff Harris

4 Photography Tips for Stunning Winter Landscapes


Photo by Evgeni Dinev


Winter is well and truly here, which may seem a bit depressing, but it actually yields some great landscape photography opportunities.


Some lateral thinking may be required, though, which is actually a good thing – it's very easy for your landscape images to end up looking like everyone else's, and thinking different can really pay off.


So what are the particular considerations to think about when you are out shooting landscape’s at this time of year?



1) It's still all about light


winter, landscapes, snow, frost, tips, better, photography
Photo by: Dmitry Dubikovskiy


Shorter days mean good light is at even more of a premium, so you need to make the most of this precious resource. Early morning light is still very attractive, and even better, you don't have to get up quite so early in the western hemisphere.


Try to avoid harsh mid-day sunlight as it's very hard and unflattering, and if you can't avoid it, try using fill-in flash to ease some of the shadows, or a reflector. You can use your pop-up flash in Aperture Priority mode, winding the power down using flash compensation if necessary.


Late afternoon light can be very nice too, but check the sunset times – it gets dark quickly at this time of year.



2) Think about graphic shapes in the landscapes


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Photo by: Kent Shiraishi


The absence of leaves on trees is an obvious sign of winter, and while it's sad to lose the autumn hues, you can turn this to your advantage. Lone, skeletal-looking trees against a brooding sky can look great.


Because you are not including quite so many elements in your frame, though, the elements that are there do need to work extra hard – so the sky needs to be quite dramatic and some foreground interest (or something to lead-in the eye) is important too. Minimalist should never mean boring.


To keep the drama in the sky, you may need used a Neutral Density filter or replicate the effect in software. Bare fields devoid of crops can look atmospheric too, particularly if you capture their undulating, sensuous shapes.



3) Be prepared to go slow


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Photo by: Edwin van Nuil


This is a great time of year to dust off the tripod and try some long exposure effects. Try combining these with an extreme Neutral Density filter, such Lee Big Stopper, which you can get online for about £100.


Clouds skidding across a sky can look amazing, and you can slow the sea right down so it looks like glass, but it takes a bit of practice to use such a radical device. You may also need to correct the colour temperate in software post-shoot (very easy if you shoot raw).



4) Try black and white


winter, landscapes, snow, frost, tips, better, photography
Photo by Don McCullin


Winter is obviously perfect for black and white – check out Don McCullin's incredibly moody monochrome landscapes if you need a bit of inspiration.


Split-toning effects can look great too, and these are very easy to add in software. Lightroom, for example, has a black and white 'selenium' preset which is a great starting point, and it takes about two seconds to access this in the Develop module.


Chilly blue tones are obviously ideal for the colder temperatures, but other hue combinations can work well too. Great landscape photography is more than just technique however, so think about how you are feeling about a landscape, and how you can capture this emotional response with your camera



Further Study
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Photo by: deep21


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Photo by: Norbert Maier


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Photo by: Jan Machata


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Photo by: Margaret Netherwood


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Photo by: Janez Tolar


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Photo by: Pawel Krupinski


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Photo by: Lars van de Goor



Further Study


Fine Art Landscape Photography A 4 week online photography course with weekly assignments and 1-2-1 feedback from international photographer Sue Bishop

Geoff Harris

I am a journalist and photographer and currently work as the Deputy Editor of Amateur Photographer (AP) - http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk the oldest weekly photographic magazine in the world. Before that I served as the editor of Digital Camera, Britain's best-selling photography magazine, for five years. During my time as editor it became the UK's top selling photo monthly and won Print Publication of the Year at the 2013 British Media Awards. As well as being lucky enough to get paid to write about photography, I've been fortunate to interview some of the greatest photographers in the world, including Elliott Erwitt, Don McCullin, Martin Parr, Terry O'Neill and Steve McCurry. This has been a wonderful learning experience and very influential on my photography. Beyond writing, I am a professional portrait, travel and documentary photographer, and reached the finals of the 2016 Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year competition. I am a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society and hope to take my Associateship whenever I can find the time. In addition I write about well being/personal development and antiques collecting for a range of other titles, including BlueWings, the in-flight magazine of Finn Air.

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