Nature Photography How To

Everyone has their own approach to travel, nature, and landscape photography, and most experienced shooters begin by carefully scrutinizing a scene before pulling our their gear. In the video below you’ll see what one pro does next to make some truly inspirational images.

Chris Sale is an acclaimed British pro specializing in landscape photography. He’s also a popular instructor with an avid following on YouTube. He says the goal of his tutorials is to help other photographers develop more confidence when shooting outdoors.

Sale’s typical approach is to first scout a location, and return time and time again to photograph it under different conditions. But in this quick episode he describes what he does upon arriving at a location for the very first time—which can often be a daunting task.

Sale has developed a three-step process for finding compelling compositions when shooting unfamiliar terrain. He demonstrates his approach in this behind-the scenes tutorial as he explores a spot that he’s never visited in the past.

His tips for making beautiful imagery involve the importance of choosing the right subject given prevailing conditions, finding the best vantage point from which to shoot, and combining foreground and background elements to create pleasing results. Once you’ve done all that, everything else tends to fall into place.

So follow Sale on his trek, look at his imagery, and see how this three-step approach is a recipe for success. Then head over to his YouTube channel to examine his fine work and find more helpful tips.

And don’t miss an earlier tutorial we posted, explaining how to capture beautiful blue skies in landscape photographs.