Foggy Forest and Tree Photography Tips

Photography Tips

Believe it or not, woodland photography is not everyone’s cup of tea. The confined space and the dense vegetation make taking photos there a real challenge. Add some fog to it and the challenge grows even more. But once you get things right, the results you can get can be absolutely stunning. In this context, photographer Gavin Hardcastle takes us on his photography trip to a foggy woodland and shares some composition tips as well:

A major challenge is finding a good composition. That’s due to the fact that the trees are usually so close by that everything seems like a distraction. Even if you find something that’s interesting and isolated, you’ll still need to keep your eyes out on the background to ensure that nothing’s creeping up from behind.

A simple trick that Hardcastle uses to make his subject pop is to shoot at a lower f-stop like f/2.8. By doing so, you can blur the background while still retaining the details on the subject. This trick also works very well in foggy conditions as the background will melt away thanks to the shallow depth of field.

Another interesting composition tip that Hardcastle likes to use is the 50-50 method. As he explains in the video, a good composition practice you can follow is to allocate 50 percent of your frame to one interesting subject. As for the remaining half, use it to counterbalance the main subject. It shouldn’t be distracting, but interesting enough to pull the viewers’ attention and take them on a visual journey. Make sure you watch the video to see how he uses this technique to create an alluring shot.

Are you a fan of woodland photography yourself? If you have other helpful tips on the matter, be sure to share them in the comments below.