Take amazing photography in the Lake District
There’s a reason why mountains are a muse for so many different artists. Mountainous landscapes can provide endless photographic opportunities from intimidating, craggy rock faces to smooth, rolling fells. Whatever you’re looking for in landscape photography, the Lake District has it all.
The Lake District is one of the most photographed places in Britain; there are over 95,000 posts of Helvellyn alone on Instagram, so how do you make a shot unique? Here is our beginners guide to taking amazing photos in the Lake District…
Get the right kit
Suitable Camera Body
Wide-angle Lens
Filters
Tripod
If you’re new to photography, it may seem overwhelming how many different cameras and lenses there are out there, sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. For landscape photography, you want a lightweight, weather resistant camera body along with a wide-angle lens in order to fit as much as you can in the frame.
Camera Body
Start off with a suitable camera body
Fujifilm X-T200
A lightweight, compact camera such as the Fujifilm X-T200 is ideal for landscape photography. Its small frame doesn’t take up too much room or feel heavy. Its weather-resistant features mean your camera is protected against the elements allowing you to shoot outdoors in all seasons. The camera can also connect to your smartphone, allowing you to control settings from your device and easily transfer images directly to your phone allowing you to instantly share your shots. This model also has a long battery life, which is great for big hiking days.
Wide-angle lens
Invest in a wide-angle lens
Fujifilm XF10-24mmF4 R OIS WR-
Using a wide-angle zoom lens for landscape photography is the most suitable option in order to fit everything you can in the frame. A great example is the Fujifilm XF10-24mm F4 R OIS WR lens. It is compact, lightweight and built to be weather resistant allowing outdoor shooting in all weathers. Using a small aperture like f/16-f/22 will likely get you the sharpest landscape images with everything in focus as possible.
Filters
Use filters to get creative
Neutral density filters are ideal for shooting with water. If you want a dreamy image of a waterfall or lake, use these filters along with a slow shutter speed to reduce the amount of light that enters the lens, giving water and clouds a silky look.
Graduated neutral density filters are useful to carry as they reduce contrast between the sky and the ground. For example, if you’re shooting a dark mountain against a bright sky, the filter will reduce glare and preserve highlights and shadows in the image.
Polarising filters are a great piece of kit as they reduce reflections, haze and glare therefore keeping your images vivid and saturated on bright days.
Light pollution filters are designed to reduce light pollution when shooting in darker conditions. They are ideal for capturing the night sky and stars in the most detail you can.
Adding a lightweight tripod to your kit will increase the different kinds of images you can take. When photographing movement in lakes, waterfalls, or the sky, a slow shutter speed will only work if your camera is steady on a tripod. A tripod like the Joby Gorillapod is ideal for outdoor shooting as it’s small and designed to wrap around objects such as trees allowing you to get a stable shot on just about anything.
Work with scale: To emphasis the dramatic heights of a mountainous landscape, using a person, animal or object to give your image perspective is the best way to showcase the giant size of a mountain.
Make the most of the best natural light: You can shoot any time of the day in the mountains with the right kit, but if you’re able to get a clear day on the tops at sunrise or sunset, you will capture stunningly warm colours and interesting silhouettes. Experiment with different filters, backlighting and angles to make the most of the light.
Shoot manually: Using the manual mode on your camera gives you control allowing your image to have your desired outcome. If you want to capture water or sky movement in your image, control your shutter speed. If you want to focus on a specific object, control your depth of field. Shooting this way allows you to get to know your camera best meaning you can adapt to the conditions and light you have to work with on the day.
Consider composition
Certain compositions work best when photographing mountains. For example, the rule of thirds is a classic composition for landscapes. Centre your shot so the sky makes up the top of the image, the mountain peak in the middle, and the foreground at the bottom. Try getting the full mountain in your image and avoid cropping mountaintops. However, don’t focus on rules too much; composition is the main aspect of photography that makes your image unique so it’s best to experiment with different angles and framing of the landscape and see what looks interesting to you.
The Lake District has endless, stunning shooting locations to practice your photography skills. Here’s a list of some popular places to get started…
To practice shooting water and reflections, Buttermere Valley is the perfect playground. Buttermere’s lake is surrounded by fells creating mirror-like reflections on a still day.
For capturing waterfalls, one of the Lake Districts best has to be Aira Force. You can get up close to the water, giving you more freedom to capture different angles and shots.
For a more dramatic image, photographing large, dominating craggy mountains such as Great End and Dow Crag is perfect.
Once you’ve practiced, why not test your new skills by photographing our handpicked most photogenic mountaintops?
Check out our blog post: ‘The Most Photogenic Lake District Views for Summit Seekers’.