Our Winter Landscape Photography Tips

With the cold march of winter comes a great opportunity to pull on your warm clothes and head out for some winter landscape photography.  

It takes a certain kind of enthusiasm to drag yourself away from the warmth of the fire, but the reward for heading out into the cold is the possibility to take some truly spectacular images. As an added bonus, they always look wonderful printed onto canvas and can make great Christmas presents!

You’ll be pleased to know that your gear should be good to use all year round, but the cold weather has a massive effect on how efficiently your batteries work. When the temp gets close to freezing your batteries will drain 2-3 times quicker than normal, so carry loads of spares and keep them close to your skin under plenty of layers.

Making the most of the available light is the key to great winter landscape photography, so always have your kit ready and your batteries charged so that you can head on out when the weather is at its best. 

Let it snow! – it’s the classic winter wonderland shot, isn’t it? Everything looks great after a fresh fall of snow, so try to get out to your chosen spot before anyone else has walked through it and ruined the virgin snow with footprints! Remember that your camera will underexpose snow and make it look grey, so drop your shutter speed to let a little more light in.

Frost is great too – of course, you don’t need snow to make your winter landscapes spectacular if you have a lovely frosty day. In fact, a sharp frost can provide an even better image because it’s often easier to control the light and see the contours and features of the land – everything just looks a little more magical!

Moody winter skies – you don’t always need a dramatic sunset to turn a winter landscape into a head turner. A beautiful and tranquil winter scene with a rolling and stormy sky can look fantastic if it’s executed correctly. Use graduated filters to balance the sky exposure the ground and you’ll create photos that perfectly capture both sides of the colder months. 

We hope that our winter landscape photography tips inspire you to leave the comfort of your sofa and get out with your camera to shoot – however cold and uninviting the weather may seem!