- As someone who's been practicing
landscape photography over the last 10 years,
one of the most common questions I get asked is,
"What gear do you need to get started?"
You probably felt that you needed
an expensive lens, the latest camera,
but the truth is you can get great photographs
with the best setup designed for you.
That's in today's video. Let's dive in.
(bag unzipping)
(serene music)
So I really wanna share with you what I think
is the essential gear that you actually need
to start with woodland photography as a beginner.
So the first thing you're going to need,
actually I think we probably all know,
is we're gonna need a camera.
The one thing you're gonna think about
is when you're purchasing a camera
or considering what camera is suitable,
and it can be a compact camera,
micro four thirds, crop sensor,
or even a full frame,
is we're looking for an interchangeable lens system.
That's probably the most important thing to think about
because that gives you options and flexibility.
And so what I've come to understand the secret
for success with woodland photography particularly,
is the focal length.
So let's talk about lenses.
So from my experience, the majority of my forest
and woodland tree photographs are all taken
in the vicinity between 35-mil and 60-mil.
So when you're thinking about a lens,
the most important thing is actually
the flexibility of the focal length
and what range you can get with the lens.
And the reason that's important,
the reason the majority photos
are in that 35 to 60-mil focal length,
is because that's the most natural perspective
and gives the viewer
the feeling that they're actually in the image with you.
The other advantage, I would say,
an ultra wide lens
whether it's a 16-mil or even a 24-mil,
is that you're able to keep the foresting quieter.
Now we know it's chaotic.
We know it's messy. But using longer focal length,
35 through even to a hundred,
you can isolate parts of the forest
and ensure that you've got a much more tidier frame
and it's easier to control as a photographer.
So given all that, what lens would I actually recommend?
Well, I think you should start off with
something like either the kit lens your camera comes with,
so it might be an 1855
if you're on a crop sensor camera,
or if you can afford it and it's within your budget,
something like the Sony 24 to 105 F4 lens
is a great first lens.
So flexible and versatile.
And it gives you that full focal range
we talked about before between 35 and 60.
I don't wanna get too hung up on how fast the lens really is
because the reality of situation is in woodland photography,
unless it's your intent,
you're gonna be probably shooting apertures
something like F8 through say, F13.
So, one of the reasons I really love
the 24 to 105 or that focal range on a lens
is it really is a lightweight lens
to pop into your camera bag.
But I do have the flexibility
to then go to 72 over to a 100,
if I want to, than carrying one lens.
Now the next piece of gear you're gonna need,
which I know some people don't really like, is the tripod.
You're gonna need to get one.
The reality with woodland photography and forest photography
is you're in a dark forest and you're gonna need
a slower shutter speed and potentially a higher eye,
so as to capture that image you're looking to take.
And the only way to really do it is with a tripod.
Now admittedly, you can try to do it obviously handheld,
and that might work for you, but with a slow shutter speed
any micro shake will be introduced into your images
and then you're gonna get leaves and branches,
and I think there's lots of things to consider
in the woodland that can be affected by even the slightest
touch of wind, unlike today because it's beautifully still.
Having a tripod just makes that chance of success
so much easier.
So admittedly, this tripod here, which is a Sirui,
it's overkill for forest model photography.
I bought it for seascape photography.
But I still use it, and the main reason I do use it is
because it's got these amazing, these tripod spikes
and having the spikes actually ensures
that you can lock it into the ground
and then the tripod won't move and the camera won't move.
So the next piece of gear that you just need to have
is a lens cloth.
And I always have them in my pocket, have them in my bag
have them stuffed in my jacket.
If you're shooting in snow, rain, even fog condensation,
wiping the lens clean, having clean lens is important.
So the next piece of gear I wanna talk about is
probably a "nice to have" maybe not a "must have,"
and that's a circular polarizer or a CPL.
Now a CPL can be very handy for taking glare off leaves
and especially in the wet forest, that can be
very beneficial because it really does saturate your colors
and gives you a really pleasing image.
But as my landscape photography,
particularly my woodland photography has evolved,
I probably haven't used the polarizer anywhere near as much
as I did as recently as two years ago.
But you do need to carry spare battery.
And the reason you need a spare battery is
because you just don't wanna be out there
and the camera's failed on you.
You forgot to charge the night before.
Next up is something that changed my photography,
especially my woodland photography,
is an L bracket.
And the L bracket sits on your camera like so
and it gives you the ability to shoot horizontally
and then vertically without moving the ball head
if you are using a tripod, and so you can quickly switch.
It just speeds up your workflow.
And with a kit that we put together today, you can get
away with a reasonable size lightweight backpack.
The thing I would encourage you to think about
is when purchasing a camera bag, is really look
at your lens and camera first.
The other thing that's worth considering the most
important thing is waterproofing or how does it resist rain?
It actually has a rain jacket as well
which you can put over this part of the bag here.
So we've got our gear.
We've gone out, we're taking some wonderful photographs.
We've got back home.
We're gonna process some of our images.
We'll have a look at them.
We're gonna need some sort of software to do that or an app.
Now I know a lot of beginners use Lightroom
on their iPhones or their Android apps like Snaptube.
They are all fantastic gaps to get started with.
So one of the great things about using something
like Lightroom is you can have your own presets
or a predetermined look that you can start with
for your editing process, so you can
get going really quickly.
And as your photo library does grow,
you might need to consider your storage solutions.
So things like maybe an external hard drive,
perhaps you might use some
of the cloud solutions whether it's Apple or Google Photos.
These are things to come in the back of your mind
when you realize you need to look
at the capacity of your tablet, iPhone, or your laptop.
That's where you need to consider those solutions as well.
If you do wanna learn more about the gear
we've talked about today, be sure to check out the article
that I mentioned. It's on my website.
The link is in the description below.
If you haven't watched the first episode in this series,
then the next video I suggest you watch is that video.
It's on the best settings for woodland photography
to get you started.
I'll you in the next video.
Bye for now.