Start your next photo adventure off on the right foot with these four essential tips from Nat Geo

 

 

Do you want to start 2017 off with a photographic adventure? National Geographic photographer Keith Ladzinski has four tips to help you get “an epic shot” while out in the field as part of National Geographic’s “Get Out: A Guide to Adventure” series.

The four things Ladzinski says you will want to utilize to on your photo adventure are: sun-mapping apps, neutral density filters, handheld gimbals and off-camera lighting. His personal recommendation for a sun-mapping app is Sun Surveyor, which is available for iOS and Android devices. This app, and other similar ones, allows you to determine where the sun will rise and where it will set for a specific location and date. This knowledge helps to plan where you want to go and the kind of shot you want to capture.

What about neutral density filters? Sure, you can replicate the effect of a graduated neutral density filter using software, but it is always ideal to accomplish as much as possible in-camera. A solid neutral density, used for achieving longer shutter speeds than would otherwise be possible, is not an effect easy to recreate on a computer (although it is sometimes possible using image stacking). While Ladzinski didn’t mention polarizing filters, I would add these are an essential tool as well. To see the rest of his tips, watch the video below.

To see more of Keith Ladzinski’s work, visit his website and follow him on Instagram. Readers, do you have any plans to go on adventures this year? Do you have any tips for your fellow readers on essentials for your photographic kit? Let us know in the comments below.

(Seen via ISO 1200)