Anyone who has ever said “the picture doesn’t do it justice” understands how hard it can be to bring back good photos from a trip. Many people carry a high-end camera into the mountains and come back to find that they took very few pictures, didn’t take pictures of the moments they remember the most, or the pictures they did take don’t come close to showing the beauty of the places they saw. Apply these tips, and your next vacation slideshow will make your friends envious of your trip instead of putting them to sleep in your living room.
Keep your Camera Accessible
Too many times people watch amazing events unfold in front of them while their camera remains buried in the bottom of a pack. Whether you’re packing a point-and-shoot or a full-size SLR, carry your camera in a place that allows access without taking off your pack and digging through all your gear.
Point-and-Shoot:
A point-and-shoot camera’s small size makes it extremely easy to keep accessible. Get a case like the Mountainsmith Cubik that barely fits your camera, zips closed to keep out the dust, and includes a clip loop or two. Clip this case to your backpack’s shoulder strap or waist-belt, or clip it to your climbing harness and bring it up on long routes. Put it in the pocket of your ski jacket when you head to the resorts. Just make sure the case is easy to get to and has enough padding to keep your camera safe if you fall skiing, trip on a hike, or take a big whipper on a rock route.
SLR Pouch:
An SLR gives you a lot more control over your photos, but it’s much larger than a point-and-shoot and harder to keep accessible. Get your hands on a camera pouch that barely fits your SLR and a single attached lens—something like the Mountainsmith Quickfire works great. Now keep your camera within reach no matter what you’re doing. Lowe Pro makes a harness system that allows you to carry a camera pouch on your chest so it’s always right there in front of you and ready when you need it. The Mountainsmith Chest Pack also works very well. You can also clip your pouch to your backpack’s shoulder straps and accomplish the same thing. I’ve sewn reinforced clip loops to a small SLR case and clipped it to a climbing harness to bring a full-size camera on a Grade V wall. If you absolutely must put your camera in your pack, at least make sure you put in on top where it’s easy to get at.
SLR Pack:
When you want to bring extra lenses, a flash, or other goodies, you need to pack it all in a way that allows easy access without being a burden to carry. For most people, this means a photo pack. Look for something like the Burton Focus Pack or the Dakine Sequence Pack that holds your SLR body and several lenses, flashes, accessories, a tripod, and also has a ski- or snowboard-carry option. When you set it down and open the zipper, it opens to give you access to everything at once, so you’re not digging through individual pouches. Most ski and snowboard photographers prefer something that with an opening at the back panel, so when you set it in the snow it keeps your shoulder straps dry. You’re also less likely to forget to zip it up before putting it back on. You can ski with it, hike with it, and bike with it.
Shoulder Bag:
Climbers need something different. Since climbing photographers do most of their work while hanging from a rope, they can’t very well set down a pack and dig for gear when dangling from a fixed line. The solution is to use a shoulder bag like the Crumpler 8 Million Dollar Home that can be opened from the top and allow access to all the gear inside. Several companies make bags of this design, and the better ones feature a lid that opens away from your body to let you get inside easily and quickly. Recently I picked up a Lowe Pro Sling Bag that stays in place on your back like a pack but can be slid around to the front without removal. I’ve only taken it out on a couple shoots, but so far it’s done a great job of combining a pack’s easy transport with a shoulder bag’s accessibility. If you’re shooting on a wall, make sure you keep everyone’s safety in mind. Dropping a lens from 100 feet can send your buddy to the hospital.
Celebrate Your Exposure
Now that you’ve handled your baggage, let’s talk about exposure and shooting techniques. Mother Nature has a tendency to change shooting conditions on a whim, so it’s best to learning how to dial in your camera’s exposure and quickly adapt your techniques.
Point-and-Shoot
Given the advances in point-and-shoot camera technology (higher quality, more exposure features, smaller size) this genre of shooters has become quite versatile. All the little cameras from the big brands offer an automatic exposure, but banger shots require switching to manual mode. Here you can control exposure options that allow you to truly craft your photo instead of leaving it up to the camera to decide. Increase your shutter speed to at least 1/500th of a second to freeze fast moving subjects, or drop your aperture to the lowest available setting (2.8 if you have it) to get portraits with a shallow depth of field.
In the failing light of dusk or the dim light of dawn, the little appreciated function of ISO becomes important. ISO adjusts the sensitivity of your camera to light; the higher the ISO (800, 1600, 3200) the faster you can make your shutter speed without making the image too dark. Real world example: On a bright sunny day on the snow there’s plenty of light available for your camera, so you can shoot LOW ISO and get crisp images. Shooting your buddy jumping over a tiki-torch lit bonfire? Venture into the 800 or 1600 range. Your shots might be a tad blurry because your camera has to keep the shutter open (you can fix this by turning your flash from automatic to ‘on’) but at least you’ll be able to see his bare ass soaring through the sky.
Many point-and-shoots also offer a long-exposure option that allows you to shoot at night by holding the shutter open for up to thirty seconds. Grab a tripod or walking stick, or carefully prop your camera against a backpack and start shooting the starry sky. Jack up your ISO to 1600 or 3200 and keep adjusting shutter speed until the image you want shows up in the LCD.
Cruising With Clamps
Bogen / Manfrotto sells these nifty little objects called Super Clamps. Along with a 1/8th-inch threaded stud that screws into the tripod mount on the bottom of your camera, you can attach your point and shoot to just about anything. Suddenly cross-staves on your canoe, a sturdy stove stand, or your bike handlebars all become a temporary tripod. Have a video mode on your camera? Clamp your point-and-shoot onto your handlebars and voila—instant POV footage.
Choosing Your Lens
When shooting with an SLR, try a wide range of lenses before you buy, and do your best not to get caught up in the gear arms race. Often professional photographers amass an armory of glass, only to pare down to the bare essentials later in their career. In action sports, the bread-and-butter lenses are the 80-200mm 2.8 or 70-200m 2.8 (substitute in a F4 lens to save weight and case) and the 50mm 1.8. Buy used gear to save serious loot, but don’t buy from professional photographers—their second-hand gear is often more beat up than a stray cat in a Tijuana saloon. Once you invest in telephoto and portrait glass, look for a fixed lens in the super wide category (10mm-20mm). Zoom lenses in this range are near-pointless; you’ll always shoot at either 10mm or 20mm, but rarely in between.
Shoot Anything That Moves – General Tips
What You’re Packing and How You Pack It
Learn to pack your new gear efficiently. Determine specific spaces for your memory cards, batteries, body, and lenses. Stick to this system religiously and you’ll always know where to find a piece of your kit, even in the dark. Make a point to regularly check that your bag is zipped up and you’ll avoid the seriously rookie move of having your gear hosed with snow or debris when you move it. Any shooter worth his or her salt has a small first aid kit readily accessible in a top pocket, and he or she announces the location of this kit to the group. Even the most level-headed people make mistakes in the presence of a camera, so be prepared for banged up buddies.
Angle of Your Dangle
Boring photos are shot from shoulder height, straight on, and from the ‘usual’ distance a normal human being would watch the action from. Sometimes nailing a creative powder shot, or making an old boulder problem look new is simply a matter of sticking yourself inside the guts of the action or stepping back to see some context. Scout locations ahead of time if you can so you’ll know what angles will work and how the terrain will either help your cause or hurt your efforts. Keep a running list of the most successful angles you discover, how they correspond to particular activities or features, and eventually it’ll all become second nature.
Playing Telephone
Nailing the best shots requires crystal clear communication between the parties involved. Let your athlete know the body position you’re looking for and determine the exact route they plan to travel. Work with your subject to make sure his or her wardrobe doesn’t blend into the background or foreground (camo or dark-colored outfits almost always translate into useless photos). Cheap two-way radios can eliminate miscommunication and save you serious energy yelling up and down the hill. Ask your athletes to give you thirty second and ten-second warnings before they drop in, and have them count down their approach. Be honest and ask for a re-do if you miss the shot, it happens more than anyone would like to admit.
Earth, Wind, and Shooting Weather
Check the weather first thing in the morning before a shoot. An accurate forecast will help you decide how to pack to protect your gear, the supplies you’ll need, and what kind of aesthetic your photos will have. A rainy day might seem like a terrible time to shoot, but it could result in low-lying fog that adds a moody look to your photos. Clouds actually diffuse the harsh sunlight and create a soft, even light that has predictable intensity throughout the day. Don’t be afraid to venture out if the weather looks frightful—there’s a good chance you won’t have any competition to interrupt your shooting.
Time is of the Essence
Quality of light can make or break your shots, so prepare by checking out the sunrise, sunset, and conditions for the day. Take notes regarding how and when the light will fall where you want to shoot. Avoid shooting in the middle of the day when the sun is overhead and the ambient light is at its harshest. Plan to shoot your routes, powder turns, or bike lines either early in the morning (around 5 to 7am) or late in the day, around 4-6pm. In between windows of light you’ll even have time to bag your own turns or help your roommate slay that twelve-pack he’s girlishly struggling through.
Expand Your Creative Box
Photos that stop you in your tracks work to creatively break rules and often borrow elements of other, successful photographs. If you’re into climbing, research the portraits in mountain biking magazines and if you’re into mountain biking, check out the action in skate mags. Every sport has its own photographic look that’s common among its professional lens jockeys. For quick cheat sheet of some of the most powerful, technically sound, and aesthetically dialed imagery, pick up a surf magazine.
Professional Courtesy
Wandering the wilderness with your camera you may cross paths with full-blown, professional shooters working the same terrain. Keep in mind that if this is their full-time job, you’ve just ventured into their office and they’re most likely trying to pay their bills. Tread carefully, exercise professional courtesy, and go about your own business. It’s poor form to poach another photographer’s angle and shows a general lack of respect to crash a closed shoot. Consequences exist for such behavior, but none more detrimental than developing a poor reputation among the tight circle of professional outdoor photographers. It’s a small world so remember to play nice. And avoid giving away your photos for free, even for ‘exposure’ from magazines or advertisers (rookie mistake).
Shot in the Back
Now that you’re in prime shape to shoot, be aware that photography may quickly overwhelm your favorite past time. Hundred-day seasons may dwindle to five days of shredding and ninety-five days lugging heavy backpacks and lusting for that perfect shot. Even if you don’t take things this far, we hope you’ll use some of the pointers above to push your versatility as an outdoor shooter.
Amass an arsenal of deliciously awesome images with nowhere to put them? Keep the risqué, camping-with-your-girlfriend selections for blackmail purposes and upload any shots including gear in outdoors over at the Backcountry.com product pages. Champion the cause my friends.
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Tags: photography
quote #1:
“And avoid giving away your photos for free, even for ‘exposure’ from magazines or advertisers (rookie mistake).”
quote #2:
“upload any shots including gear in outdoors over at the Backcountry.com product pages.”
question #1:
really?
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Great tips, but you should warn people that using a higher ISO will cause ‘digital noise’ in their pics. so change the ISO if you have to, but do whatever you can to get the shot with the lowest ISO possible!
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great article. Any guidance on lightweight digital SLR bodies to carry into the back country (climber / skier)? I am finally making the jump from film to digital. I have used a Canon EOS RebelX for years. thanks
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Professional Courtesy: “It’s poor form to poach another photographer’s angle and shows a general lack of respect to crash a closed shoot. ”
Makes me think of that commercial that came out recently of the guy with the pocket point and shoot camera actually putting his camera in front of a pro’s SLR to snap the picture of a rare bird, while the pro was about to take the shot. I was shaking my head at that commercial thinking “he should have got his butt kicked down the hill” After all, “Consequences exist for such behavior”
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@Doug
In hindsight I would reword my closing statements to ‘upload any shots you don’t care to publish (such as B-roll)’. We’re certainly not trying to encourage anyone to give away their profitable photos, only to add to the community with gear-specific shots as they see fit.
Most shots that would be helpful for a gear review in the community often wouldn’t otherwise be of interest to advertisers or publications. Example: A point and shoot photo of someone adjusting their zipper, checking interior pockets, or a back shot of a person hiking in a pair of rain pants, etc.
Orchestrated action, portrait, or lifestyle photos hold an entirely different level of value for the photographer and potential compensation.
Thanks for pointing out these contradictory statements in the article.
@Tim Excellent point. For brevity we edited out a couple of sections, one such section was on picking ISO and how it affects noise in new digital SLRs.
You’re absolutely right, as you push past into the 1600+ range the darker portions of your image start to get grainy. Newer bodies like the D300, D3 series, or Canons 5D, 7D, and EOS 1 Series all handle noise surprisingly well, even at high settings.
@Randy
Weight is certainly always a concern. A camera like the Canon G11 would allow you plenty of manual control, the ability to shoot RAW, and a hotshoe for a flash. Downsides are the shutter lag, it only shoots 1fps, and the fact that you can’t swap out the optics.
I would suggest the 50D or the 7D (although the digital rebels are definitely great choices too). Until you get to the 7D the drive mode isn’t that great (3-5fps), but if you get your timing down there’s no need to spray and pray at 10fps. I’ve shot plenty with the 7D as my backup body, and without a grip it has a more than manageable weight. Assuming you can swallow the price tag then its a winner, otherwise go with the 50D and you’ll be more than happy.
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