How To Get Great Photos in Any Weather Condition
Landscape and adventure photographer Michael Shainblum took another trip to Iceland and shares some tips for getting great photos no matter the weather.
As Shainblum says in this 15-minute video, photographers are often so busy checking the weather that they sometimes decide not to shoot because of completely clear skies or a little bit of rain, which he says is a big mistake and definitely limits creative possibilities. Typically, a clear and bright day is considered the ideal time to photograph landscapes, while gray and stormy skies would just leave most creatives at home. In contrast, Shainblum has noted that some of his favorite pictures from that trip to Iceland would come from that “bad weather” trip.
“I think when we have unusual or difficult weather, we have to work a little harder to create an image,” says Shainblum. “You have to think outside the box to make something work, sometimes that’s where I think your true creativity shines through.”
The two images above were taken during a very heavy rainstorm which made it quite difficult to get decent focus for the shots. Shainblum recalls not even being sure he would be able to capture anything of value as it all happened, but he was fortunately surprised and happy with how the shots came out with his telephoto compositions and said the vertical waterfall shot is his absolute favorite picture from the stormy day of shooting.
“I came up with this image because the wide-angle composition just wasn’t possible on this shoot, so I had to try something different.”
On a “clearer sky” day, Shainblum managed to photograph a canyon (above) that had been on his bucket list for several years. He explains that at the start of the hike to the canyon near the summit there was a series of swirling clouds that created a fantastic atmosphere that made him very excited to capture it, but as they neared the position the clouds had cleared Leaves a pretty dull and boring background for the shot.
At first he was a bit disappointed, but then he spotted an incredible rainbow at one of the falls, which finally allowed him to capture some of his favorite pictures of the whole year.
Effectively, this only reinforced Shainblum’s belief that no matter how hard a photographer can plan and prepare a given image, the spontaneous moments found along the way often result in a much better composition and experience. When the rain eased a bit, he managed to get his drone in the air just long enough to capture some of these surreal images of the cliffs and the slowly clearing fog.
When he saw a bad weather report in the morning, it was tempting for him to just stay at the hotel and hang out in the city instead of messing around on the cliffs. However, as he made it through anyway, the images he was able to capture along the way proved that the inclement weather experience was worth every single drop of rain.
Shainblum says that when it comes to landscape photography, the particular weather conditions of the day aren’t that important because you can take beautiful pictures in any condition.
“It’s just important to remember not to get discouraged if the weather doesn’t turn out exactly as you’d hoped, because in those moments, with a little creativity, you can end up finding something new and exciting that does.” leaves a little moments to be really proud of.”
You can find more of Shainblum’s work on his website, Instagram and YouTube channel.
Photo credit: Photos by Michael Shainblum.