What do you get when you put four landscape photography heavy weights in one room? You get some great tips from their collective knowledge and experience. In this video from YouTube sensation Nigel Danson, he joins world renowned photographer friends Mads Peter Iversen, Rick Bebbington, and the prolific hater of tripods, James Popsys. I'm with you, James. Tripods are the worst.
With well over a million followers combined across their social media channels, these guys are worth listening to. We've summarised their top tips for you to improve your photography game.
Getting the right conditions for photography is about learning weather patterns and the conditions that you want. You can then use these apps to increase your chances of making your vision a reality, but nothing is guaranteed.
For example, fog is massive component of woodland photography. To predict fog you need low temperatures + high moisture + low wind. These expert photographers recommend Ventusky and clear outside to predict conditions. I also recommend Photopills, which allows you to predict the light at specific times of day.
Photography is deceptively technical, it's easy to fall into a trap of analytic thinking and lose the creative expression.
Mads favourite current location is his home country, Denmark. The land there is extremely flat, which isn't traditionally associated with great landscape photography. Mads is enjoying the challenge that this brings, researching all of the variables needed to craft amazing photos in this restricted environment.
Rick's favourite location is aspirational as he hasn't been there since he is 2 years old. He's called to the pacific northwest, and the world-class fog, forests, beaches, mountains, and rock formations on offer there.
Like Mads, James is most enjoying his homeland in Wales. Unlike Mads, James has landscapes like Snowdonia so it's easy to understand why. If he was to leave his backyard he'd go to the Artic and Antarctic to search for minimalist images.
Nigel's favourite location is simply woodland. His passion for woodland photography is obvious, and he is excited by the near infinite composition possibilities.
Check out our guides to the best photography destinations in Europe:
Unfortunately photography is a craft, and money comes when that craft is mastered and refined over time. There's no quick route to financial success offered by these masters of the craft.
When you have the skills to offer to others, it's best to diversify the products you offer over time. As James says, the most successful photographers are the best marketers.
Once you're marketing yourself your income streams can come from:
The main message here is that making money takes time. The success of these photographers has been built over years and that's the likely reality for you too. If you're interested in increasing your customer base, why not share your knowledge and work on our blog for all to see?