How to Master Tree Photography
- Choosing the Right Location for Tree Photography
- Understanding Light
- Tree Photography Composition Tips
- Capturing Details and Textures in Tree Photography
- Keep Seasonal Variation in Mind
- Creative Perspectives for Tree Photography
- Final Thoughts on Tree Photography
- Recommended Photography Gear
Photo by HelalPhotos via Shutterstock
Tree photography is a specific type of landscape photography that has seen a massive peak in interest in the last few years. While there are many reasons for this, one of the biggest is that people spent more time outside reconnecting with nature during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to people falling back in love with trees.
With that said, if you want to learn how to master the art of tree photography, this article is for you! Below, we’ll break down tree photography's six most important parts: location, light, composition, time of year, detail, and perspective. Keep reading to learn more!
Check out the video above by Mark Denney for an in-depth video tutorial on how to photograph trees.
Table of Contents
Choosing the Right Location for Tree Photography
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There are many factors to think about in tree photography if you want your images to stand out and have strong visual appeal. One of the most important is location. Location plays an essential role in tree photography because it will impact your pictures' composition, mood, and more.
Other things to consider related to location include the types of trees, surrounding landscape, and time of day. For example, the trees (or cacti) and overall landscape will be extremely different if you shoot in Arizona's arid deserts or the Pacific Northwest's rainy forests. Sunrise and sunset times will also vary depending on location.
Understanding Light
Photo by Ivan Kruk via Shutterstock
Light is the core pillar of all types of photography, including tree photography. Without good quality light, preferably natural light, your photos will look flat and won’t attract viewers. Depending on the genre of photography you are shooting (macro, portrait, product tree photography), you can also use artificial light sources to enhance the image.
The two most popular times of day for tree photography are the golden hour (the hour before sunset) and the blue hour (the hour after sunrise). These times are the best because the golden and blue colors create unique moods that boost visual storytelling and highlight trees. If you want to practice tree photography during the middle of the day, we suggest investing in good polarizing and ND filters.
Tree Photography Composition Tips
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Experimenting with and understanding tree photography composition techniques is crucial to composing compelling photos of trees. The most basic composition tool is the rule of thirds, and following it will instantly improve the quality of your images. Other creative composition techniques are framing, leading lines, filling the frame, and negative space.
To create visually appealing compositions, you should also take into account elements like branches, foliage, and tree trunks. You can use these elements to attract and direct attention or to frame your primary subject. Tree photography can also be combined with other photography genres like portrait (shown above), action, and wildlife photography.
Capturing Details and Textures in Tree Photography
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When we think of tree photography, our minds naturally gravitate toward classic images of vast green forests and isolated trees in the savannas of Africa. However, tree photography is so much more than that! A sub-genre of tree photography we particularly enjoy shooting is macro or close-up photography.
When you zoom in on trees, you can capture beautiful photos of small details, patterns, and textures created by bark, leaves, or branches. We recommend purchasing a “true macro lens” and a tripod for this type of photography. As for camera settings, you will want to get comfortable adjusting manual focus and aperture.
Keep Seasonal Variation in Mind
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Trees have a fascinating seasonal life cycle, meaning they will look drastically different depending on the time of year you are shooting them. In spring, leaves are sprouting, and flowers are blooming. Summer is when trees are the most full of leaves. In autumn, leaves start changing colors and falling (depending on where you live). Finally, in winter, many trees have no leaves at all.
Personally, autumn is our favorite time of year for tree photography. The red, yellow, and orange colors of fall foliage are gorgeous and ideal for tree photography, regardless of whether the leaves are still on the trees or the ground. That said, the greenery of spring and the stark beauty of winter are also excellent for tree photography.
Creative Perspectives for Tree Photography
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One of our top tips for tree photography is not to be lazy with angles and perspectives. By this, we mean exploring your inner creativity by experimenting with unique perspectives and angles! Shooting photos of trees from low angles and high vantage points can yield especially stunning results.
Photography equipment also affects perspective. Wide-angle lenses and small travel tripods are useful for low-angle photography. In contrast, telephoto lenses are perfect for far-away trees, and drones are ideal for birds-eye-view photography. Additionally, incorporating reflections and shadows in your tree photography can add visual interest.
Final Thoughts on Tree Photography
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As you can see, there’s much more to tree photography than simply pointing your camera at a tree and taking pictures. It takes time, patience, and a lot of practice to master tree photography. But now that you know what to focus on to improve your photos, what are you waiting for? Head outside today to start your journey towards becoming a tree photography master!
Recommended Photography Gear
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