6 Tips for unique mountain photography

It doesn’t matter if you are into day hiking, overnight hiking or taking the gondola up, if you enjoy photographing mountains these tips are for you. Bring your photos to the next level and challenge yourself to result in taking breathtaking photos of the views you so admire.

TIP 1 - Time of Day is Everything

There’s a good chance you’ve heard of golden hour and that you should shoot landscapes at sunrise or sunset, and for good reason. So many photography “rules” are broken but this one is followed pretty consistently. Not to mention alpine glow is stunning and often turns white snowy peaks into beautiful pinks and oranges. It’s not to say that you CAN’T get good photos during the day it’s just that there’s a very good chance it will look better dawn or dusk. Let me show you an example. The two photos below are of the same temple and taken on the same day. The first one was shot as the sun was rising and the second was taken after the sun was fully up. The time difference was 1 hour and 45 mins but resulted in two very different photographs.

TIP 2 - Be patient and revisit views

The thing about mountain weather is that it’s always changing. If you’ve found an amazing view but the conditions aren’t quite right and you have to time try waiting it out. Watch the light to see how it changes. If you’re able to, check out the same spot during different times of the day as it will look different every visit. A little patience can go a long way. This first photo was shot at 5:15pm and the second at 5:30pm. It took only 15 minutes for the colors to change drastically! In these two photos I stayed in the same spot and watched as the light and colors changed.

Tip 3 - Pay Attention to the Foreground

When you’re shooting wide try adding some sort of element to your foreground. The reason we love seeing landscapes with someone in the foreground is because it shows scale and emphasizes the size of the mountains. Add depth by incorporating things like flowers, trees, water, rocks, boats or anything that looks good in your foreground. Avoid anything that is distracting, it should add to your story not take away from it. In this example I wasn’t really feeling the mountain view but I liked the lighting so I put emphasis on the flowers and house in the foreground. Play around with how much or how little is in your foreground.

Tip 4 - Play with focal Lengths

If you have a DSLR camera and a few different lenses try playing around with each of them. Often our default is to go wide as possible and cram all of the beauty into one shot. Wide mountain shots do look great but after you nail your wide shot try zooming in. What would this same view look like on a telephoto? Don’t have a telephoto, no problem just experiment with the lenses you do have! You might surprise yourself. This is the same view but the first was shot wide with a focal length of 16mm and the second was shot at 85mm.

Tip 5 - Embrace bad conditions

Sunny days in the mountains are wonderful but there is something to be said about bad weather and the moody vibe it brings. You may think better to leave your camera in your bag or at home but I encourage you to embrace whatever conditions you’re in. Gross weather can create dramatic and dynamic photos with fog rolling through trees, pockets of light trying to break through and intense post storm lighting. Protect your camera by wrapping it in some sort of plastic and have a lens cloth on hand. This is all of course if it is safe to be outside. No photo is worth risking your safety.

Tip 6: Look around and admire the less obvious.

Go for that big hero shot of the amazing view but then take a look around. What do you see? Mountain areas are so rich with life that you have a chance to be creative and observant. If you’re at a really popular spot and everyone is taking a photo of the same view do a 360 degree spin to see what else is beautiful around you.

Bonus tip: Enjoy the process

This is my most important tip of them all - enjoy the process. Don’t get too hung up on getting the perfect photo or that insta worthy shot. Take this time to appreciate nature and the opportunity to express your creative side. Even if you don’t come home with a single shot you like don’t be too hard yourself. You can’t control the mountains so going out often is the key to getting the results you want. Plus at the end of the day you spent the day outdoors and that is always a big win!

Stay safe, stay curious

P.S Did you use one of these tips? Upload your photo to IG with the hashtag #JMphototips and I’ll send you a sweet freebie to congratulate you on your shot!