Nature Photography How To

It often takes a serious commitment to venture out with your gear in winter, when temperatures hover around freezing, the wind is howling, and the landscape is covered in snow. But the stalwart photographer will be justly rewarded with great images by following the 10 must-know tips and tricks in the video below.

Living in Denmark, photographer Mads Peter Iversen knows a lot about challenging weather, and in this tutorial he demonstrates his method for capturing stunning winter photographs so you can do the same. He covers several important topics including exposure settings, his preference for minimalist compositions, the lenses he prefers, and he offers some quick editing advice.

In this behind-the-scenes episode you’ll watch Iversen do his thing in the field, and see how he scouts locations for a compelling subject when he first arrives at a destination. Iversen is an adept visual storyteller and he’s always on the lookout for snow to convey a winter mood.

When it comes to composition, he follows a few important rules to simplify a scene. Often that means a singular foreground subject against a clean background blanketed in snow. Other times he uses an abstract approach when his goal is to create more artistic photographs.

Iversen provides very sound advice when it comes to exposure and other camera settings, and explains why it’s often necessary to intentionally overexpose your shots. You’ll see why he chooses one lens over another, depending upon the scene and the story he’s trying to tell. And he provides a complete list of his preferred gear in the description below the video.

We frequently talk about arriving at your location early to maximize the opportunities nature has to offer. This rule is particularly true in winter, because you don’t want another person’s footprints in the fresh snow covering the ground.

So the next time nature calls, arise at dawn, dress yourself warmly, and give Iversen’s tips a try. You can find more great nature photography advice on Iversen’s YouTube channel, and in a recent story we posted explaining the best cameras settings for landscape photography.