Nature Photography How To

Do you struggle with exposing photographs properly? Are your images either too bright or too dark? Well you’re not alone. But if you watch the following tutorial, those struggles will be a thing of the past.

Capturing images with brightness levels that look as good on the computer as they did through the viewfinder is the bane of beginning photographers, and even more experienced shooters encounter this problem on occasion, particularly when shooting outdoors.

Knowing how to set your camera for accurate exposures can be a particularly acute challenge for landscape photographers because of ever-changing light—from sunshine to shadows—as well as varying tones that often appear throughout a complex scene. The task can become even more problematic when shooting with wide-angle lenses because of their inherently expansive field of view.

In this behind-the-scenes video you’ll see how one acclaimed pro consistently achieves very precise exposures under a wide range of lighting conditions. Danish landscape photographer Mads Peter Iversen reveals his favorite tips, tricks, and techniques while shooting at one of Denmark’s most beautiful locations.

Briefly distracted by a few curious cows that humorously attempt to eat his tripod, Iversen demonstrates how using the histogram on the back of your camera is a great starting point for getting exposures right. He also explains how he uses auto-exposure bracketing, what he calls “zebra stripes,” and a variety of other tricks and techniques.

And if that’s not enough, you’ll watch Iversen capture what he calls “one of those once-in-a-lifetime photos” Take his advice to heart, and then head over to Iversen’s YouTube channel to learn more about making great landscape photographs.

For more tips on this topic from another pro, check out the recent tutorial we posted exploring whether a light meter or your camera’s histogram is the best tool for precise exposures.