When you look at a photo of a forest, what’s the first thing you notice? Maybe the color, maybe the story, but most likely it’s the composition. The “congested” surroundings photographers have to contend with make woodland photography a seriously challenging genre of photography. To help you out with some composition tips for forest photography, we have photographer Nigel Danson with his video:
In this video, Danson goes out for a photo walk in the woods on a beautiful foggy day and spends ample time snapping photos. He explains how he took some some particular photos, the challenges he faced, why he made certain decisions, what worked well and what didn’t. Watch the video in its entirety and you’ll get some pointers on the thought process that a good photographer usually goes through when taking a photo. His bottom line:
“Shoot less, observe more.”
With woodland photography, you really need to be selective with what you want to include and exclude. Since the flora is all so close together, chances are high the scene will clash with itself. This will inevitably make your job more complicated. As a photographer, you must simplify things. Even after you’ve taken a decent shot, see if there’s something you can get rid of with cropping. This helps make your image simpler while adding more emphasis to the core subject.
If you’ve been struggling with your composition—especially in forest and nature photography—be sure to watch the complete video. Danson’s critiques will definitely help you out.
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