Nature Photography How To

Some photographers shoot landscapes, while others concentrate on wildlife or travel imagery. But you can take your outdoor photography to the next level by being less of a purist and combining two or three of these disciplines in your work.

Danish pro Mads Peter Iversen is known for stunning landscape photography, but he had an epiphany on a recent excursion when he wasn’t satisfied with the location. So he took a crack at what he calls “atmospheric wildlife photography” and the images he captured speak for themselves.

As Iversen says, “I didn’t plan to photograph birds this morning, but it turned out really well. Incorporating wildlife into your landscape photography gives it that extra spice, that extra story, and that extra interest for people to look at your photos.”

In the behind-the-scene video below, Iversen shares his thoughts on this hybrid form of outdoor photography. While watching him hike through a bird reserve you’ll pick up helpful advice on composition, exposure settings, equipment and more, as he includes birds in his landscape images.

If you’ve watched the tutorials we’ve posted from Iversen in the past, you’ll quickly realize this episode is a big departure from his typical approach, which is minimalist landscape photography—often with a solitary key subject in a scene.

By switching thing up after not finding what he expected at his location, Iversen imparts a very important lesson that holds true for all forms of photography: If you keep your eyes open and are willing to do things a bit differently, you can make the most of whatever you confront.

After watching the video and picking up several great techniques, head over to Iversen’s YouTube channel for more tips and tricks. And be sure to check out the tutorial we posted from another top pro, explaining how to shoot landscape photos with a wide-angle zoom lens.