Want to capture nature in all its wild and wonderful glory? Professional lifestyle and adventure photographer Luke Stackpoole is here to share his top tips for exceptional landscape photography. Luke travels the world finding the most breath-taking natural locations and telling emotive stories through his images. His aim, he tells us, is to make people feel like they could be there themselves – seeing the same view and experiencing the mood of the place through his lens.
His favourite destinations? “Anywhere with ever-changing weather,” he says, “I love places like Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands because there’s often a sense of drama and atmosphere, as well as crazy mountain environments.”
Whether you’re travelling far and wide or discovering landscapes closer to home, up your game with Luke’s 7 tips for beautiful landscape photography.
Luke's 8 Tips for Exceptional Landscape Photography
Tip #1
Do the prep
There’s plenty of work to do before actually photographing a landscape. From scouting the location, to checking out the weather and the time of sunrise (even the angle of the milky way for night shots!). And don’t forget to charge your batteries the night before!
Tip #2
Take inspiration from others
I first picked up a camera in 2016 because I was inspired by some of the amazing travel content I saw on Instagram, and predominantly Mikko Lagerstedt’s astrophoto work.
I still look on Instagram for inspiration today. The save function on Instagram is actually one of my favourite tools. I think you may as well use a location if someone has already done the dirty work of discovering and researching it!
Tip #3
Master the landscape photography basics
Focus on a solid composition. Try to be original with your framing. And shoot at the right time of day; for example, in golden hour, overcast light or the twilight blue hour – harsh shadows are always difficult to fix.
Tip #4
Be adaptable
Use a tripod if you want maximum sharpness. But don’t let that hold you back if you want to snap a quick moment - like a deer crossing your path or a cloud wrapping around a distant peak.
Tip #5
Embrace the challenge
Dealing with poor weather and light is the trickiest part of landscape photography. It’s the worst feeling when you hike several hours and the view you came to see is clouded over completely.
You also need a lot of patience if you’re photographing wildlife, sitting and waiting for the right moment to release that shutter.
But that's all part of what makes the job so satisfying!
Tip #6
Remember that the right gear isn't everything
Don’t focus on gear, look to improve your skills with the gear you have and improve your editing techniques.
But if you feel you’re there with the skills, get a good zoom lens like a 24-70 and a tele such as 100-400, and you are pretty much good to go for most landscape compositions.
Go for the highest MP count you can afford and try to stick with Full Frame if you are a pixel peeper like me! Drones, too, are super useful if you like an adrenaline rush.
Tip #7
Invest time in the edit
This is probably the most important step in the process and the hardest to master. It’s taken me four years of daily processing to finally get satisfied with my editing (and because of this I’m going to be releasing a post-processing course focussing on Lightroom later this month! Stay tuned). After finally being happy with my editing, I arrange a collection of my photos to be printed, Inkifi print instagram photos on premium quality, sustainable materials. With the help of editing, the photos are printed at their full potential.
Tip #8
Practise
When we're talking about any stage in the landscape photography process, practise makes perfect. Shoot and edit as much as you can and you’re sure to improve your craft.
Big thanks to Luke for sharing his landscape photography tips and beautiful images. You can see more of his work over on Instagram and his website.