With long and dreamy days, summer is a fantastic season for photography – follow our 10-step plan for your best captures ever!
1 THE RIGHT KIT
For the best chance of success you need to look, feel and dress the part
DONNING the trendiest outdoor clothing won’t elevate your photography, however it does pay to invest in some practical outdoor garments. The right clothing will protect you against the elements and enable you to shoot for longer in comfort. Summer isn’t always sunny, so think about dressing for wet and stormy weather, as well as heat and humidity. Whatever your budget, opt for versatile, water-resistant and lightweight clothes. Look at how well ventilated they are and whether they can be packed away in a camera bag. Pockets are a great asset too,providing easy access to filters, cards and smaller lenses.
CAMERA KIT
The equipment you’ll need to get started
• Canon DSLR
• Wide-angle lens
• Comfortable bag
• Waterproof bag cover
• Sturdy tripod
Handy extras
• UV filter
• Polarizing filter
• Lens cloth
Some companies, such as Páramo (www.paramoclothing.com), design outdoor garments specifically with photographers in mind. They’re often worth paying a bit more for, as they’ll last you for years and make shoots more comfortable.
2 SEEK INSPIRATION
Where can you look for new shooting locations? Be inspired, but try to be original too
THE world is a big place, so it’s best to have a rough shooting area in mind when you start your research (whether this is a holiday destination, or somewhere closer to home). Your local area might seem dull and familiar, so try looking at it from another point of view. What spots would you recommend to a fellow photographer if they were visiting? If you’re able and willing to head somewhere more exotic, you can glean location ideas from travel brochures and guides. Make use of online photo communities for inspiration too. The Flickr World Map (www.flickr.com/map) allows you to scroll around and find photos that have been uploaded and geotagged, and you can enter your own location to narrow the results down. 500px (www.500px.com) is a stunning inspiration source, but don’t feel like you have to travel to far-flung places for great results!
3 DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Make use of popular apps as well as traditional maps to make your pre-shoot preparation count
FORWARD planning is key for landscape photography, as you’re reliant on the weather and light direction being just right. By researching locations thoroughly at home, you’re more likely to be rewarded with favourable conditions when you arrive with your camera. The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) and The Photographer’s Transit (TPT) are two apps that are ideal planning companions. TPE displays how the light will fall on the land at any time of day in any location, so why not use it to work out the time and direction of sunrise and sunset in your chosen spot? TPT also provides a great way to check if your planned focal length will capture your scene effectively. Don’t neglect paper maps – as well as Google maps – in your logistical quest. Although they’re not as pocketable as a phone, they can be spread out on a table to really help you visualize a landscape in more detail.
4 USE THE WHOLE DAY
There’s more to shooting in the summer than getting up early and staying out late
THE great thing about shooting in the summer months is the long days and amount of daylight available for you to take advantage of. During the day, however, metering can become tricky. Have you ever looked onto a glimmering ocean view, gone to capture it with your camera, and been disappointed by the result? This is because the human eye can see the equivalent of about 14 f-stops of dynamic range, while Canon DSLRs are limited to around eight. Don’t be disheartened though. As long as you choose the right subject to photograph (under the right conditions), the season can be just as rewarding as any other. Here, we’ll encourage you to use the whole of the day – including in the harsh, high and bright midday light. You could try to shake up your composition to avoid contrast completely, or use shade to your advantage. It’s time to make friends with midday.
TOP TIP
How to shoot a sunrise
The reward of capturing the sun rising over the horizon almost always makes up for the lack of sleep. Research carefully to check the direction of sunrise, and scout your location beforehand so you can set up a good composition without faff. Arrive in plenty of time, and mount your camera onto a tripod. Opt for a low ISO, an aperture of around f/8-f/11 and a longer shutter speed to compensate.
AT MIDDAY
ON a lovely sunny day, shooting at noon can be a photographer’s worst nightmare. It’s the time when the sun is highest in the sky, and this generates high contrast between the foreground and the sky. If you meter for the land, you’ll usually find the sky is completely blown out, whereas exposing for the sky leaves the land too dark. If you have to shoot at midday, try ditching the wideangle lens and zoom in on the scene with a telephoto lens. This way, you’ll eliminate the large amount of contrast that’s evident in broader shots, meter more effectively, and give the viewer’s eye something to focus on.
USE SHADE
IF the midday sun is too high for your DSLR to handle, move to a spot of shade. This could be under a palm tree (if you’re lucky!) or building. Try not to worry about how ridiculous you might look crouching down in bushes. Shaded light is softer, shadows are weaker and the contrast is lower. If you’re completely in the open and can’t get around it, make use of your lens hood to avoid flare and glare.
TOP TIP
The Sunny 16 rule
THE Sunny 16 rule is a way to meter for a correct exposure during the middle of the day without using your Canon’s light meter. The basic idea is that, in daylight at an aperture of f/16, the correct exposure can be achieved with a reciprocal shutter speed to the ISO speed you’re using. For example, ISO200 would require 1/200 sec. As the conditions change, you simply alter the aperture. Use this table as a guide and try it out on your next shoot. Even the most sophisticated camera meters can be fooled in certain conditions, so this is a handy concept to keep at the back of your mind.
5 EMBRACE BAD WEATHER
Too inclement to go out shooting? Change your outlook for moody results
THERE’S no such thing as bad weather (for landscape photography, at least). Even in the rain, it’s possible to capture stunning images that still have a hint of summer about them. Try to include seasonal clues in the foreground of your images, such as floral details or vegetation. Poppies and sunflowers are quintessential summer blooms, which will add a bold splash of colour. Despite its sunny disposition, the summer season also has a darker side – thunderstorms. Lightning presents dynamic photo opportunities, but only if you can capture it quickly enough. The specific camera settings needed depend on the time of day and your location, but as a general rule, set your lens to manual focus and focus it at infinity. In Bulb mode, start with an aperture of around f/8 and ISO of 100. Then, keep the shutter open long enough to capture the strike!
TOP TIP
I’m shootin’ in the rain
WHEN you get caught up in a rainstorm, start shooting immediately after the rain stops. As the sun emerges and peeks through darker storm clouds, you’ll be presented with stunning photo opportunities. Clouds after rain are very dramatic, and the still air will give way to pristine reflections in puddles. In torrential weather, though, don’t get carried away and damage your kit in the process. Many camera bags come with a waterproof cover, so use them if it really starts to pour down. You can protect your lenses to a certain degree with a lens hood, but it’s worth investing in a basic rain cover so that you can carry on shooting, even in storms.
6 HIT THE COAST
Go beyond traditional beach images next time you’re beside the seaside
SUMMER days can seem endless and dreamy, reminiscent of childhoods spent roaming the beach under a hot sky. A wide-angle lens is the go-to choice for photographing coastal scenes, and even a kit lens can be put to good use here. Don’t feel limited to these expansive views of sand and sea, though. Why not use a telephoto lens to hone in on footprints in the sand, or boats bobbing about on a sparkling ocean? The light quality can indicate to a viewer where and when an image was shot, so you don’t always have to include obvious visual clues.
SUMMER SCENES TO PHOTOGRAPH
WE couldn’t tackle the season without exploring the coast, but we will try to take you beyond stereotypical seaside scenes of hot beaches.
7 NAIL YOUR EXPOSURE
Heed these hints and tips to really get the most from tricky lighting situations
IT would seem as if everything is on your side in summer: fair weather, clear skies and long days. However, as soon as the sun does rise, it rises high and fast in the sky. The morning shadows quickly retreat, and this diminishes any sense of depth in the landscape. At the same time, contrast can be a big challenge for accurate exposure. There’s nothing inherently wrong with photographing in high-contrast conditions, but they can be very hard to meter for. In an Evaluative metering mode your Canon’s meter will measure the light intensity across the whole frame, then come up with an average value. In bright, contrasty conditions, this often renders your actual subject too bright or dark. If you switch to Spot or Partial metering mode, bear in mind that you’ll need to be able to judge tones accurately to get the most from them. Follow the three step tutorial, below, to take back control of the way you expose such scenes.
HIGH-CONTRAST SCENES
Try taking several readings then shoot with the average
01 CAMERA SETTINGS
Switch to Manual mode for full control of your exposure and Spot metering. Dial in your desired ISO and aperture. These values will depend on the scene, but start at around f/10 and ISO200.
02 TAKE THE READINGS
Use a manual AF point selection, and start by positioning the focus point over an area of shadow. Note the given shutter speed. Repeat this step to meter the brightest point of the scene.
03 FIND THE AVERAGE
Find the middle shutter speed between the two readings. For example, between 1/160 sec and 1/640 sec would be 1/320 sec. Shoot at this exposure and then review the image histogram.
TOP TIP
Avoid dust spots
Dust spots become very obvious when you’ve stopped down to narrow apertures (higher f-numbers) and are shooting a bright sky. Make sure that your lens, filters and sensor are clean. This way you won’t spend hours removing dust spots in post-processing.
8 FILTERS
Know your ND from your UV? Here’s our quick guide to using filters
HIGH-QUALITY filters are a must-have accessory for improving your landscapes in-camera. When used properly, a filter not only enhances scenes, but saves you time editing your shots later, and is also useful for protecting your expensive lens’s front element from accidental damage. We’ve listed the most important filters for photographing summer landscapes below, explaining the conditions where you’ll want to use each one. Companies like Lee Filters (www.leefilters.com) offer premium options – at premium prices – but choose a filter system that matches your budget.
ULTRAVIOLET FILTER
A UV filter is often overlooked, but as ultraviolet radiation can create haziness in photographic images it’s a handy accessory to keep on your lens in summer. UV radiation increases with altitude, so use a filter if you’re going to be climbing. A UV filter also protects the front of a lens – it’s a lot cheaper to replace a filter than a scratched front lens element.
NEUTRAL-DENSITY FILTER
Neutral-density filters, such as the Lee Big Stopper, reduce the amount of light entering the lens across the whole frame. This means you can use much slower shutter speeds than normal. Attach a 10-stop ND filter if you want to use a wide aperture, or really long exposure for creative effect on a bright summer’s day, such as blurring moving water.
GRADUATED NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTER
Graduated neutral density filters have a dark or grey coating at the top, and blend to clear at the bottom. By placing the dark part over the sky, you can bring its exposure value closer to that of the landscape below. This filter therefore becomes very useful when you’re shooting very bright skies against a darker foreground, and you need to balance the two.
CIRCULAR POLARIZER
A polarizer is highly effective on sunny days, adding a rich and velvety quality to blue skies. Once attached to your lens, simply rotate the front section to increase or decrease the effect. A polarizer will also boost contrast on damp, overcast days. On a shoot, you can judge the strength of the effect by rotating the filter slowly as you look through the viewfinder.
9 BE DIFFERENT
Take an alternative approach to your seasonal image-making
WHILE a warming summer landscape is pleasing to the eye, there’s always scope to try something more dynamic. We’ve already touched upon using a telephoto lens to compress the perspective of the landscape, but bear in mind how your shooting angle also effects the result. Crouching down low in foliage or flowers gives a much more intimate feel. So, too, does widening the aperture and throwing the background out of focus. For a really drastic feel, give infrared a go. Blue skies and fluffy white clouds look great with this effect, as the harsh and contrasting sunlight creates a surreal, bleached look.
GET ABSTRACT
Don’t be scared to fill the frame with land and ignore the sky completely. With a longer lens, use repetitive lines to lead the eye into the composition.
TOP TIP
Try infrared
The easiest and cheapest way to get started is to attach an infrared filter to the front of your lens. You won’t be able to see anything through the viewfinder once it’s screwed on, so it’s best to compose the scene first. Where possible, look to include plenty of greenery in the frame.
INCLUDE PEOPLE
Photographing figures in the landscape works to add depth and interest. In vast expansive scenes, it also adds a muchneeded sense of scale to the view.
10 EDIT TO PERFECTION
Follow these quick tweaks to really polish off your shots
WHEN you find yourself shooting in bright sunlight, a good technique is to underexpose slightly so that you retain highlight detail in the skies. As you can see from our starting shot, however, this approach often renders the overall shot very dark, drab and dull. The good news is that it’s easy to liven up the final photo when editing, even just with a few quick tweaks to the highlight and shadow levels, to recreate the gorgeous summery scene that your eye saw in a jiffy!
TOP TIP
Camera Raw methods
SHOOTING your landscapes in Raw mode gives you a fully uncompressed file or ‘digital negative’ to work with when it comes to the editing stage, and any changes you make can be tweaked again later. Photoshop’s Adobe Camera Raw plug-in is a good place to start.
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