Nature Photography How To

Most photographers reach for a wide-angle lens when shooting nature and landscape photos. But if you want your images to stand out from the rest, it’s time to give your telephoto lens a try.

Dutch photographer Mads Peter Iversen takes a minimalist approach to outdoor photography, and in the video below he demonstrates how a telephoto lens can be an important tool for simplifying complicated landscape scenes. And once he reveals several shooting techniques, he offers a quick tip for editing the images in Photoshop and Lightroom.

Iversen covers a lot of ground in this helpful 13-minute tutorial, including an overview of his approach, the best lenses to use, and a number of methods for impactful composition. Then he moves on to Photoshop. And you can download a free composition eBook after subscribing to his channel, using the link beneath the video.

The destination for this shoot is the forest on a very foggy day, and Iversen uses the dreary conditions and a telephoto lens to create moody images with a unique look. Because it’s winter, the old knobby oak trees are devoid of lush vegetation, providing a great opportunity for detail shots of their interesting twisted branches. You’ll see how Iversen creates powerful separation between compelling foreground and background objects in his scene.

Iversen begins by taking a high position atop a hill. This enables him to make one image capturing the top of the trees below, along with trees in the background on another hill in the distance. As you might expect, this type of shot requires careful composition, thoughtful exposure settings, and important focusing considerations for the proper depth of field.

All of Iversen’s shooting tips are important, and his simple editing tip at the end will encourage you to process landscape photos differently and in a new broader way.

You can find more great nature photography advice on Iversen’s YouTube channel and in a recent story we posted revealing what one pro calls “the best camera settings for landscape photography.”