Forest Photography For Beginners
Why Forest Photography?
Photographing the forest is one of the best ways to capture the beauty of the natural world. Forests are incredibly diverse in terms of both flora and fauna and offer a large variation of lighting situations which can generate atmosphere and intrigue to your images. The interplay of light and shadow, the textures of bark and moss, the vibrant colours of wildflowers – all these elements combine to create endless possibilities for breathtaking woodland pictures. But forest photography has its challenges. It’s extremely hard to see the forest through the trees and that together with low light situations and unpredictable weather can catch out the unprepared beginner. But don’t worry, this full beginner guide will help you take amazing forest photos.
📸 Make Your Photos Look Stunning Like the Pros — With Adobe!
Essential Gear For Forest Photography:
Camera
Canon EOS Rebel T7
We recommend a DSLR, mirrorless or Bridge camera that you can have full manual control of and interchangeable lenses. But if you’re just shooting with your phone or a compact, that’s fine too. A lot of the advice we give you in this guide can apply, no matter what you’re shooting with!
Lenses
We say the best camera is the one you’ve got, and you can apply to lenses too! Don’t let not having all the fancy gear hold you back from trying forest photography.
Kit lens: Your standard zoom lens will work fine for this – anything else is just nice to have, so don’t worry about going out and spending thousands on glass. It’s a very versatile lens, so is great if you’re a beginner.
Nice to have:
These recommendations are largely dependent on what you plan on shooting in the forest and are non-essential to capturing forest photography, we just think they’d make a great addition to your kit bag!
Wide-angle lens (14-24mm): Ideal for capturing expansive forest landscapes and emphasizing the scale of towering trees.
Macro lens (90-105mm): Perfect for your venturing into the macro side of things. You’ll be able to get close-up shots and show intricate details and textures.
Telephoto (70-200mm): Great if you’re going to aim to capture across huge distances in the forest – the long focal length will enable you to get shots into the tree canopy.
Canon 15-35mm wide angle lens.
Canon 100-400mm telephoto lens.
Canon 100mm macro lens.
Pro Photographer Jack Lodge using a tripod in his Forest Photography Course – find out more about the equipment he uses here.
Tripod:
A sturdy tripod is crucial for sharp images, especially in low-light conditions where you’ll need to use slower shutter speeds.
Filters
Polarizing filter: Reduces glare and reflections on leaves as they tend to reflect the sunlight (even in overcast situations!). It’s help enhance and even out your colours too.
