Lake District Photography Itinerary: The Best 3-Day Trip for Stunning Shots

Visits to The Lake District are often far more fleeting than you might want them to be, especially given that a lot of us are working full time and stays often last just a few days. I’ve been living here and photographing the eternal beauty of this place for over two years now and have used some of this time and the benefit of my experience to create a 3 day photography itinerary for this incredible part of the world, so that you can grab some social media worthy shots whilst exploring the dramatic landscape this place lays out right in front of us at every single turn.

I’ve worked this into a three day itinerary, but it doesn’t need to be done over the course of three consecutive days. You might want to cram all of these into one trip, but could just as easily spread these out over the course of a week, or over several visits, the choice is yours!

What I have tried to do here is to combine some easy what I like to call “walk up shots” where you can park up and walk the shortest of distances to the car, with some longer walks and more interesting terrain.

As with many of these blogs, it’s essential I give you some of the key safety information, especially if you’re travelling alone. Always make sure someone knows where you are, where you are going what time you expect to be back. Mobile phone and battery pack should be charged before you set off, your head torch should be charged and packed even if you think you might not need it - especially if you’re cutting it fine to get back before nightfall and if you’re out in the hills, you must have your map and compass with you. Appropriate footwear, clothing and enough water are also a must. If you’re trying to plan and you’re not sure where to start, my blog about Must Have Apps for Photographers will come in handy!

So what about the photos? What about the locations and what about the subjects? I’ve laid this out in 3 days below, do them in any order you like, do them in one weekend or one week or spread them out over the course of a few weeks or even across the year, the choice is yours.

Day One - Angles and Structure

Sunsrise: Derwentwater.

One of the smaller major lakes in the The Laker District, it’s in the northern part of the National Park and is really close to Keswick. Derwentwater is over looked by Catbnells and Skiddaw, and at just over 3 miles long, it provides homes to kingfishers and otters as well ospreys over the summer before they head south to overwinter.If you head into the surrounding woodlands, there’s a good chance of seeing a red squirrel or two. Sci-fi fans may recognise parts of the landscape from Start Wars - the scenes on Takodana were filmed at Derwentwater.

<— LEFT: The view from Surprise View, Keswick.

There are plenty of photo opportunities dotted around the lake, but head to The Theatre by The Lake for sunrise. From here you can shoot back towards Catbells. This is a popular spot amongst photographers shooting the sunrise, so get here early to secure a good spot! Head to Crow Park for this one, what3words //////driveways.trails.teachers will get you in the rough area, you’ll just need to fine tune a little bit when you arrive.

When you’ve captured your sunrise shot, there will be a bit of time to explore Kewsick, plenty of good places to eat and relax here, as well some great outdoor shops if that’s your thing. If you are looking for a spot for lunch, then The Round is fantastic - amazing burgers and cocktails (if you like them!), but you can’t book and just have to turn up - good luck!

During the Day: Around Keswick and Derwentwater.

Suitably refreshed, the next stop on your itinerary is Ashness Bridge (what3words ///nation.custard.reinvest), a short drive from where you were for sunrise. This is an iconic Lake District Location and is one of the most photographed packhorse bridges in the entire national park. These were built for horses carrying heavy loads to enable them to cross the water.

You might want your ND filters for this location, it looks great with some motion captured in the water, especially if the water levels are good following the rain (we get a lot of that up here)!

Once you’ve visited here, you should head up the road to Surprise View (what3words ///heartened.coconut.cork. - this will get you to the National Trust Car Park, the viewpoint is a 30 second walk from here) This is an incredible location over looking Derwentwater, with Bassenthwaite lake in the distance. The views over the Borrowdale are amazing, and were popular with the Victorians and the Romantic Poets. Take care, there isn’t a safety rail, but there is a huge steep drop.

Sunset: Friar’s Crag.

Once you’re done at Surprise View, you can start to think abuout sunset and I am recommending Friar’s Crag for this. You can find the location at ///itself.surcharge.truck. We’re headed back to The Theatre by The Lake for the start of this one, walk past with the theatre on your left, keep the lake on you right and head towards the end of the tarmacced road, when the tarmac runs out, follow the track until you reach the bench at the end and hopefully you’ll be rewarded with some amazing golden hour light as the sunsets and you look across the lake towards Catbells.

Top tips for day one:

Pack your ND filters to help manipulate your exposure times, especially at Ashness Bridge and make sure you have your polarisers to deal with the reflections coming off the water. You’re probably going to want a tripod and I’d recommend both a wide angle and a zoom lens so that you can experiment with as many compositions as you want.

Day 2 - Mountains and Panoramas.

Sunrise - Buttermere.

We’re heading southwest from day ones adventures and to the Beautiful Buttermere. There’s a bit more walking involved today, as the parking isn’t quite as handy, but the views are well and truly worth it. You’ll also need to cross your fingers for a calm morning. Buttermere on a still morning is renowned for its mirror-like reflections, which are a photographers dream.

Park at the National Trust Car Park (///promises.parsnips.smoker), and then it’s a bit of a walk down to the lakeshore. This should take you about fifteen minutes, some of which is on the road with limited footpaths so dress accordingly and make sure you can be seen.

Once you’re by the lake shore, the walk is very easy and nice and flat, if a little boggy underfoot at times. Head for the lone pine tree for a classic Lake District Composition with Fleetwith Pike in the Background. If you’re there in Spring/Summer then head for the bluebells for an extra pop of colour.

You’re surrounded by mountains at this location, with Haystacks, Fleetwith Pike, and High Stile all beautifully reflected in the water.

Once you’re by the lake shore, the walk is very easy and nice and flat, if a little boggy underfoot at times. Head for the lone pine tree for a classic Lake District Composition with Fleetwith Pike in the Background. If you’re there in Spring/Summer then head for the bluebells for an extra pop of colour.

Buttermere in the depths of Winter —>

You’re surrounded by mountains at this location, with Haystacks, Fleetwith Pike, and High Stile all beautifully reflected in the water.

Once you’re done with your sunrise shoot, circular walk around the lake is a lovely one to get under your belt before heading into the village for a cup of tea, or something stronger if that’s your thing (and you’re not driving!) and something to eat before you move on.

Daytime - Honister Pass.

A word of warning, that if you’re not a confident driver then this might not be for you. Some of the roads are very steep, very narrow and very windy. Pay attention to the weather forecast, if it’s snowy or particularly consider whether or not you actually need to drive along it - opportunities to take photos will be there tomorrow, make sure you are too! Take your time, drive within your limits and make sure you’re looking well ahead of you.

Now that the serious stuff is out of the way, this is a great road to take photos on - there are sweeping views across the Lake District Fells and valleys, and you can also spend some time at the Honister Slate Mine, learning about the rich history of slate mining in the area.

Having your long lens in this area is going to help you get some great compression and layers into your shots. There are places to stop and get out to shoot/walk to find compositions, but be considerate of other road users, your own safety and especially considerate of the farmers who work their sheep in these hills - don’t block their gates or the entrances.

You’ll see plenty of small, picturesque waterfalls as you drive along this picturesque mountain pass, if you’re stopping to take pictures then the above rules still apply.

Herdwick sheep roam freely in this area and they make great subjects, but they aren’t renowned for their knowledge of the green cross code, so make sure you’ve got your wits about you!

Sunset - Wastwater

England’s deepest lake, with an average depth of around 80 metres. It’s bordered by Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain )at its northeastern end), but parts of the lake are below sea level - it’s got both extremes all in one beautiful location. The view is so beautiful that it won a public vote in 2007 to be named as Britain’s Best View.

You’re going to want to follow the road along the western shore of the lake, where you can scout for compositions. Favourites look towards the north with Scafell Pike looming large in the background, Great Gable being frame across the lake and the screes on the steep slopes, which have been formed by millions of years of geological activity.

You’ll usually find Wast Water much quieter than spots like Windermere and Derwentwater owing to its much more remote location.

Top tips for day two:

Check the weather to see if you’re in luck with a calm day at Buttermere, if not, pack your ND filters to try and smooth out some of that water and to get some movement in any clouds. Pack some variation in your lenses - wide angles to capture some stunning pano’s and dramatic shots and then something longer to get some compression in layers in the shots along Honister Pass.

I’d rely recommend doing the circular walk around Buttermere. The views are incredible and that walk is a great way to find more compositions and work up and appetite for some cake in the village!

Day Three

Morning - Rydal Water and Rydal Cave

Park in the village and follow the signs! The path to Rydal Cave is well way marked and provides great views over Grasmere, Rydal Water and Grasmere village.

This is not natural cave, but was made by quarrying in during the 19 Century and were part of the Loughrigg Fell Slate Quarry, which provided stone for building.

Inside the cave you’ll find a cathedral like structure which provides a home for bats, the water in the pool makes an idea home for frogs and newts if that’s your kind of thing.

The water inside the cave can be crossed by stepping stones, which create a great leading line, but if you want to shoot this, go off season or when you can see it isn’t busy. This cave is not a hidden gem, and as such it does get very busy, especially during peak tourist season.

Looking out of the cave, lots of the surrounding vistas can be framed in an almost window-like composition, using the cave entrance as a natural frame.

Once you’re done here, I would recommend heading down into Grasmere village and getting in the queue for gingerbread - I can almost guarantee it’s the best gingerbread you have ever tasted, all served by people in traditional costume!

Daytime - Tarn Hows

Once you’ve filled up on Gingerbread, hop in the car for a drive of around 20 minutes to Tarn Hows. The closest car park is at National Trust Tarn Hows. Free parking here if you’re a national trust member. There’s a lovely circular walk here and it looks amazing during the autumn. It’s about 1.5 hour walk around the water with compositions aplenty and some great reflections if you catch it in the right weather.

Once you’re done here, you can head back into Grasmere or can choose something different and head to Ullswater.

Sunset - Choose from Grasmere or Ullswater

Time to catch that final golden hour! Your choice here is between a 30 minute drive back to Grasmere or you can opt for a longer drive (around an hour) up to Ullswater at Pooley Bridge. My preference here is for Pooley Bridge, especially if you’re leaving the area to go home as it’s much close to the M6 and to the Rheghed Centre, where there is a place which sells the most incredible ice cream (the rhubarb and custard is my favourite, or if you’re feeling adventurous, how about brown bread and lemon curd?!).

The sunsets at Ullswater are incredible if the conditions are favourable, and stopping in Pooley Bridge puts you in amongst a lot of amenities, including pubs and restaurants as well as small number of other shops.

The famous composition here is The Duke of Portland’s Boathouse, it looks great in the golden hour light, but the views across the Far Eastern Fells (including Arthur’s Pike, Bonscale Pike, Loadpot Hill, Hallin Fell, and Place Fell) are fantastic and the people using the lake for paddle-boarding, swimming, boating etc. can provide a real sense of scale and drama in your images.

Once you’re finished shooting, I would say that after today, you have definitely earned a spot in one of the local hostelries (you’ll need this if it’s winter as it gets really cold!) and a bite to eat before you head home for the day.

<— Paddle-boarding at last light, Ullswater; this image is available to buy as a print in my shop

Final Words:

So there you have it, a 3 day photography itinerary for the Lake District, which you can complete all in one go, or split across several days or visit to The Lake District. I have listed some of my favourites in here, so I hope you have found this useful and that you enjoy making images in this incredible landscape just as much as I do.

Street vs. Landscape Photography: A Personal Perspective

Moving from London’s bustling streets to the peaceful landscapes of the Lake District transformed my approach to photography. In this guide, I share practical tips for making the shift from street photography to landscape photography, including composition techniques, gear recommendations, and how to work with natural light.

It’s been almost 2 years since I made the move from London to The Lake District, and in that time I’ve had to learn (and will continue to learn) a lot about landscape photography, what it is, what it means and how to capture successful images. In this blog, I am going to break down some of the things that I have learned, some of the stuff that I have changed and what has had to stay the same as I continue on this landscape photography path in The Lake District

One of the things that I have learned, is that I need(ed) to adapt what I was already doing. As with so many things, there are a lot techniques, “rules” and conventions that apply to the landscape photography I do now in Cumrbia, that were also important things to remember in street and cityscape photography.

I am aiming to break down some of these below; I hope you find it interesting and maybe learn something as you read!

This blog contains Amazon affiliate links and I may receive a small kickback if you decide to make a purchase using one of them. 

Light is Key - Lessons from The Lake District.

Yes, light is key to both styles of photography, but (in my opinion, and certainly in the way I work) you see it and use it differently. Perhaps, for me, a big part of this is that I shoot far less in low light now. There’s not a whole lot to photograph in the hills at night time unless you’re an astrophotographer (something I am yet to have a ‘proper’ go at), or you love super long exposures!

For me, the biggest difference in how I use light, is that when I am doing landscape photography in the Lake District, the light becomes the photograph, it is the subject and it is what generates a lot of the interest, especially when it’s dappled sunlight across the Fells. In my days shooting in the city, I used it in a different way, often finding interesting coloured lights and then using really wide apertures to force these out of focus to create wild bokeh style backgrounds, usually with interesting foreground texture (more on foreground later), often by the way of drain covers, or leading lines.

Golden hour, and blue hour, are important to both styles. Golden hour, the period before sunset and the period after sunrise, and blue hour, the period after sunset and before sunrise, often provide some of the ‘best’ light for both styles of imagery. In the city, I used it to photograph buildings, in the landscape, I use it to photograph entire scenes, or parts of them.

Many photographers see this as the ‘best’ light, but it does mean, especially as a landscape photographer that you are subjecting yourself to super early starts or late nights, waiting for it to arrive.

Harsh light, i.e. when the sun is high in a clear sky can make landscapes much more of challenge, whilst street photographers will likely see more opportunities with this kind of light, which creates strong, harsh shadows can make for some really interesting compositions, but because of the way that the landscape photography environment is made up, these opportunities are often fewer and further between.

Ultimately, and this feels like a bit of a cop-out, you have to be outside to experience any kind of light, you make your own opportunities, and you can’t shoot any images in good or bad light, if you’re sat in the house!

Composition in Landscape Photography vs Street Photography.

This could, and probably should be a blog all of its own, but I will ‘quickly’ touch on some of the similarities and differences that I have found whilst making the switch, this isn’t a ‘how to’ guide, but will look at some of the similarities and differences which have affected me as someone making the switch into predominantly landscape photography vs street photography.

There’s a lot of differences and a lot I have had to learn, change and adapt. I think that perhaps the biggest shift I have had to make is how to decide what to do with what’s in front of me. In the city, the environment is very much on top of you. In a city like London, where I did the majority of my photography, everything is close to you, if you walk through Canary Wharf or around parts of the City of London, then huge skyscrapers ascend above you and horizons can be non-existent. The environment limits how much you see and almost forces you into certain compositions in particular locations.

Contrast that with being out in wide open spaces, often on top of the highest point for miles around. This comes with its own set of challenges and of course, the temptation just to shoot the whole scene, or to photograph the whole of the sunset or sunrise over Derwentwater. This has been one of the hardest things for me to adapt to, especially when photographing in The Lake District, when there is a stunning vista laid out in front of me, with an amazing sunset kicking off in the background.

I have done a number of things to help me with this; I have looked at a lot of work by other photographers, (but have tried to avoid looking at other Lake District Photographers so that I don’t end up just taking everyone else’s photos), watched YouTube videos, practiced, and finally, have gone on shoots with just a longer focal length lens (usually my Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L), as this takes the wide shots out of play and makes me pick out what I think are interesting features in the landscape. It makes me look for different compositions, different subjects and more creative ways to work with the light that is in front of me.

I don't always go out with just one lens, I often take something which is a bit wider (like a 24-105mm) or sometimes, something super-wide (like my Canon EF 10-18mm F/4.5-5.6), but I do try to think more carefully about my composition when I am shooting with a wider lens, which leads me neatly onto my next point about foreground interest.

When I was shooting in the city, I would use foreground interest to force background lights out of focus to create bokeh, and this kind of foreground interest is something I am trying to include more of in my landscape photography.

I just have to look a bit harder for it, and I’m also not trying to force my images to have out of focus elements (more on focus stacking later). In the city, there are interesting textures, in convenient places, everywhere. There are tons of interesting textures in the country as well, but getting them in the right places, with the right background and a pleasing composition which leads the eye through it, is much more of a challenge, but foreground interest is often key to a successful image. It could be something as simple as a boulder or a patch of heather, but having it there makes a huge difference to your images.

Weather Conditions in Lake District Landscape Photography

No blog about UK landscape photography would be complete without a mention of the weather, but it is something that I have found impacts what I shoot, where I shoot and when I shoot it way more than it did when I lived in the city. When I lived in London, the weather was any combination of hot, dry, wet and/or humid. Occasionally it snowed. Going out to shoot in good weather was a no brainer, going out to shoot in the rain or just after it, was even more of a no brainer - cities look awesome in the rain and in low light - reflections, bright lights and extra textures. You were also never very far from the warm shelter or a shop or a tube station.

I’ve become a bit obsessed with the state of the weather since landscape photography became my biggest focus - will there be rain, how cold will it be, how bad is the wind when I get further up and into the hills? Is there any lightning forecast? What are the chances of a cloud inversion? Is there going to be mist?

The answers to all of the above will influence where I go and shoot and when I decide to go there. If you’re new to photographing in the Lake District, apps like Clear Outside, Ventusky, the BBC Weather App, and the Met Office Mountain Weather Forecast are essential for planning sunrise or sunset photography trips.

There’s some great apps to help you stay on top of this, don’t just rely on one, have a look at what they are all saying, some of my favourites are Clear Outside, Ventusky and the BBC Weather App. If you’re heading out into the hills, the you should always check the Met Office Mountain Weather Forecast. The last thing you want to be is stranded half way up or at the top of fell when the weather closes in, putting yourself and others who may have to come and fetch you down in danger.

Focus Stacking

This has been a real game changer for me, but it has taken some practice. Focus stacking is essentially a different version of exposure stacking, something which I had done in my city photographs to enhance the dynamic range. If you’re trying to achieve pin-sharp images of the fells from foreground to horizon, especially during golden hour, focus stacking is an essential technique for Lake District photography.

Focus stacking, on my camera at least, is a far more manual process. What focus stacking does is to combat some of the physical limitations of your lens and allows you to have all parts of your image either acceptably sharp or pin sharp. Essentially, you take several exposures of the same scene, with your camera mounted on a tripod (this is important, as if you move the camera, your attempts are over before the have even begun!), with each exposure focused on a different point. So, for example, you may focus on the foreground, take an image, then the mid ground and take another image, and then the horizon line and take another exposure. Three generally works well, you could do more, but this can make things more complicated in post production.

When you get back to your computer, you can do all of your light room edits etc. and then export the images to layers in Photoshop. Once in photoshop, you can ask it to automate this process for you, or you can use masks to have full control. It’s slightly more involved than that, and I will do a tutorial on this at some point in the future, but in the meantime, there are lots of tutorials on YouTube that will talk you through the process

I did far less focus stacking in the city than I do in the country, I think largely because my style has shifted and I want more of the scene in acceptable focus than I did in the city when the goal was often bokeh balls.

Slowing Down Your Process

This has been a big adjustment for me. In the city, everything moves a lot quicker, no one is taking their time. Opportunities for images can be fleeting, gone in seconds and won’t come back.

Thats’s not to say that things don’t change at all in the country, but there is more time to let a scene develop. You can stay in one spot and see various stages of light, see patterns change and wait for light to move to where you want it, especially if you’ve got some great dappled light illuminating the hills above Ullswater.

<— Not me in the image, I’ve used a stock image here!

When I was doing much more street photography, I always felt like I needed to be moving, whereas with landscape photography, you have time to slow down and take things in and wait for the opportunities to present themselves, photographing the scene in front of of you as it changes. The big difference is that sometimes, it can take a long time (and a lot of effort) to get to where you want to be. In the city, hop off the train or get out of the car, and generally you’re in amongst it. The country is often a lot more uphill and not as easy to access, but that’s all part of the fun!

You don’t limit yourself by staying in one place, you have time to explore what is in front of you and enjoy the way it changes - as the light moves, so will your eyes and you’ll notice things that you hadn’t thought about capturing only moments earlier.

Gear

This isn’t going to be a ‘does gear matter’ section, but a comment on the type of gear I’m using.

I used to rely heavily on fast lenses - I was using wide apertures for shallow depth of field and often needed the extra light for shooting in low light conditions. I have come to realise that I don’t need a plethora of fast lenses for what I am doing now. I am more concerned about image quality and sharpness, which helps with the cost of things as well - fast lenses are much more expensive. Take the Canon 16-35mm L series lens, there is a difference of almost £300 in the price of the F/4 version when compared to the latest version of the same lens with a maximum attitude of F/2.8. The F/4 versions are also a lot lighter, which is great in terms of carting it around with you all day.

I do still have a couple of fast lenses, namely an F/1.8 nifty fifty and an F/1.2L 85mm Prime. The 85 is a unit of a lens, weighs almost 2kg and is incredibly sharp. These two lenses also hardly ever come out with me unless its for a portrait session or I have a genuine use case for them in the field - 2KG is a lot to carry around all day and then not use! The 85mm was a staple of my bag in London, because of that shallow depth of field, and it was great in low light as the front element is like a bucket.

The lenses that tend to come out with me now are a 10-18mm EF, 16-35mm f/4L, 24-105mm F4/L and my 70-200mm F4/L. These save weight, cover the whole range of focal lengths and give me all the flexibility I could ever need.

Some things are a given for both styles - a sturdy tripod is a must, if it’s light weight, then even better, but expect to pay good money for the privilege. The other item that has been really useful is my Peak Design Camera Clip, which whilst a little pricey for its size, is a must have for when you are out walking, but you might want to get it back in your bag when the terrain starts to get a bit trickier. Better to break a tumble with your hands and not your camera and expensive lens!

What bag you put it all in is very much a personal choice, but for short walks, I like the LowePro Fast Pack , (you can read my review of the Lowepro Fastback here), and for longer walks I take the LowePro Protactic 450 AWII. The latter is a much bigger bag and it comes with hip straps, which make longer days much more comfortable, but it does lack space for your non-camera gear like a jacket or something to eat!

In Summary

I think it’s clear that there are a lot of similarities between the two different styles I have shot, but in short, we’re still taking photos, we’re still telling stories and we are still doing it using similar equipment. We are, to an extent very reliant on the weather but for different reasons.

For me, the biggest difference is the tempo that things move at in the landscape photography world, it’s slower and at times more methodical, with a greater need for focus stacking if you want that front to back sharpness in your images.

Which one would I choose? Well both of them. I still do some street photography and still really enjoy it; I enjoy the dynamism and the change of pace it offers from the much more pedestrian pace of landscape photography, but regardless of what I prefer, I just love being out with camera, taking images, sharing images and telling stories!

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What’s wrong with my photo?

A beginner's guide to reviewing your images after your shoot and diagnosing what’s not quite right in the bad ones!

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So you’ve got your camera and you’ve chosen a lens, you’ve read my blog about the exposure triangle and you have taken some of the information from 10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Beginner Photographer, you’ve been out on your first shoot and now you’ve had a look at the images in your editing suite of choice.

You’ve managed to secure a few shots that you’re really happy with and you’ve got a few others that have got issues, they might be blurry or noisy or out of focus. You know there’s something that you should have done differently, but you’re not sure what changes you need to make.

We’re looking at some technical stuff in this one, some of which will be specific to your camera so you might want your camera and its instruction manual to hand when you’re reading this. An open YouTube tab might be handy as well.

This blog is going to aim to show you some common mistakes, what they look like and what you can do to stop it from happening again!

Blurry Images.

This image was taken at night, outside my old flat in London and it’s blurry. Really blurry.

There are different kinds of blur in photography, but the two we see most of in camera are motion blur (where the subject is moving) and camera movement (where the camera has moved as you take the shot).

This image hits the jackpot as it has both! The tree is blowing in the breeze and the camera has moved as I have taken the shot.

So what’s caused this?

There’s a couple of issues here, both related to the amount of light available. It’s a night shot, so lots of light needs to hit the sensor to properly expose the shot. To let enough light into the camera means the shutter needed to be open longer. In the case of this image, the exposure length was 0.5seconds which isn’t massively long, but certainly long enough to cause the issues that we can see.

This image was also taken hand held, i.e. not on a tripod and without a shutter release cable. When I pressed the shutter, the camera moved and in the 0.5 seconds the shutter was open, I also moved and as a result the camera moved even more. It was also a windy night, so in the same 0.5 seconds, the wind has blown the tree and this has been recorded as blur by the camera’s sensor.

As a general rule of thumb, if your shutter speed is longer than the focal length you are using, your camera should be on a tripod. So for example, if you are shooting at 50mm and to correctly expose the shot you need a shutter speed of (for example) 1/10 then you should be on a tripod.

There’s other things you could do as well that could be useful if you don’t have a tripod. You could try increasing the ISO - this would make your sensor more sensitive to the light, so you could reduce the shutter speed, but remember his could introduce noise to the image.

You could also try increasing the size of your aperture but remember, this could impact the sharpness of the image (lenses are usually sharpest towards the middle of their aperture size) and will have an impact on the depth of field of your image. This shot was taken at 50mm with a shutter speed of 1/50th of a second and an ISO of 100 - I could have increased the the ISO but it would have introduced too much noise into the image so the tripod would have been the best way to go here.

By contrast, the skyline shot above was a 30 second exposure, 15 times longer than the night image of the tree and the house, and the whole thing is pin sharp. It was shot at f/8 with an ISO of 100 at 70mm so the above rule regarding focal length and shutter speed comes into play here; this would have been impossible without a tripod!

Underexposed and Over Exposed Images.

The image on the left is one that we would use the phrase “blown out” to describe the sky. The shutter has been open for too long.

This means that when this image was taken, the shutter was open for so long that enough light hit the sensor to “overload” the photosites that it’s made from.

This means that effectively, no data has been stored in them, there is no detail there and the image shows a patch of complete white. No amount of editing is going to sort this out unless you replace the sky in Photoshop.

By contrast, the image on the right is under exposed, so the opposite is true. The shutter wasn’t open for long enough to let sufficient light into the camera to hit the sensor and so the photosites on this image are black, but this presents the same problem - there is no data present in those parts of the image.

Fortunately, the solution to under and over exposed images is simple and doesn’t require any extra kit to solve it (unless of course you are needing such a long exposure that you need to crack out the tripod). It pays to get this right in camera!

An over exposed image needs a shorter exposure time and an underexposed image needs a longer exposure time.

You should always check your exposure using the light meter which is built into your camera making sure it’s as close to the centre as possible.

You can also turn on the zebra stripes/similar in your camera. Check the manual to see how to do this, but the premise is simple, if you have over/underexposed areas of your image, the LCD screen will flash to show where the problem areas are. This a great way to see these areas at a glance and its really helpful when you’re starting out if you don’t know how to read your histogram or aren’t confident with the light meter.

But what about images that high dynamic range, and what is high dynamic range?

Images that have high dynamic range have really bright elements and really dark elements in them. You can often find these sorts of scenes at sunrise and sunset whilst the sun is rising/setting and parts of the scene are falling into darkness or haven’t been lit up in the morning light yet.

There is a way around this, and it’s called exposure bracketing. To do this, you need to take a correctly exposed image, an under exposed image and an over exposed image (you’re going to be exposing for the highlights, shadows and “midtones” in the respective images). Most cameras have this function built into them, and it will be called Automatic Exposure Bracketing (AEB) and you should consult your manual to see how to do this with the model of camera that you have. Once you’ve got this set up, you can capture the images and then blend them in either photoshop or Lightroom to get yourself an image that is perfectly exposed! In most models, if you change the shooting mode to “burst” it will take all three images without you having to touch the camera and risk introducing any movement into the image.

Spots

More precisely, sensor spots! I have highlighted some of the ones in the image to the left although they’re already quite small and the size of this image isn’t helping, but they’re there! If you look closely, you will find even more.

These aren’t uncommon, especially if you’re changing lenses a lot and if you’re not changing them in a way that can help to prevent it.

The good thing is that they are easy to deal with using the clone stamp and/or spot removal tool in photoshop and/or the clone tool in Lightroom, depending on what you prefer. Both programmes will provide good results.

Whilst these are easy to get rid of, if there is a lot of them in your image then they can be time consuming and you always find more when you start to look for them. You might also find that they appear in some images and not in others, even though they were taken seconds apart. This is because the focal length you are using and the aperture size you are using can impact how many, if any at all, appear in your image.

These tiny, yet terribly irritating blemishes are caused by tiny dust particles settling on your camera’s image sensor and are easy to prevent and minimise if you do a couple of things . Firstly, never leave your camera without either a lens or or a body cap over the mount. This prevents the sensor being exposed to the open air and dust.

Secondly, whenever you are changing the lens on your camera try to have it pointed with the lens mount facing the floor. Dust tends to fall down and not up, so by doing this, you minimise the risk that you are exposing your sensor to. The more you change lenses, the easier this task will become as you build up some muscle memory.

You should also make sure that you keep your sensor clean. You can do this, or your can pay someone to do it for you. It’s not a difficult process, but it is a very delicate one and you’ll need a steady hand. If you’re not confident in your own ability to do this then most good, local camera shops will have a sensor cleaning service. You can buy packs of sensor cleaning swabs on Amazon and they are fairly cheap. I have linked the ones that I like to use here. You’ll pick a whole pack of these up for less than half the price of a sensor cleaning service in a shop but be warned that if you cause any damage to the sensor, you have set yourself up for a pricey repair and in extreme cases, you could completely write off your camera.

Always consult the manual for your camera and the manufacturers instructions for cleaning your sensor prior to having a go at doing it for your self.

Soft Images

Or, in the case of the image to the right, soft subjects.

When we talk about soft images, what we are talking about is an image which is out of focus. Or at least the subject of the image is out of focus or “soft”.

In the image of Chaffinch on the right is out of focus, or at least the subject is. What we have is an image where the camera has focussed on the wrong part of the image, you will see that the grass and debris in the back ground is much sharper!

The grass in the foreground is also out of focus, but in a shot like this (were the subject in focus!), could actually be desirable and help to draw the eye to the subject, but as we don't have the focus in the correct place, this is a moot point.

This image is unusable and unrecoverable. Were this the only shot of this bird I had, it may have been disappointing but fortunately, I managed to get one that was in focus!

Thankfully, again, this isn’t a difficult one to sort out, but the way in which you go about it is something which is going to be partially dependent on your camera brand and you’ll need to consult the manual, or YouTube to get the right settings.

You will need to familiarise yourself with the different autofocus modes in your camera, and make sure that you have the focussing indicators turned on so that you can see, through your viewfinder, or LCD screen exactly where the camera is focussing. This will help you in most cases to ensure that you are nailing the focus on the subject.

The autofocus in many newer cameras is powerful enough to detect the subject, recognise what type of subject it is and focus on it, if you have an older camera, you won’t have this luxury so you’re going to need to practice.

The image above was also shot at an aperture of f/4, which means that the depth of field is quite shallow, stopping down to f/8 might have help to save this image and given a deeper depth of field with more of it in focus, but this would have also mean slowing down the shutter to a speed which isn’t practical for shooting faster moving subjects.

If you’re shooting fast moving subjects like birds or sports, then you also might want to explore back button focus as this can make your life a bit easier - again, the way in which your camera is able to do this is going to depend on the make and model so consult the manual and consider watching some model specific videos on YouTube which will show you how to do this.

It can be slightly different in landscape photography and still life photography, or indeed any other genre where your subject is moving very slowly, or not moving at all, as you are likely to be using manual focus. The rubber duck above was shot in a studio using manual focus and a smaller aperture to give a greater depth of field.

Manual focus gives you complete control over where you focus and how you focus, within the limitations of your equipment and settings. When you have focussed your image, use the functions on your lCD to zoom in and check that you are completely pin sharp! You could also turn on focus peaking if your camera supports it as this will give you a further visual signal as to if/when your subject is in focus.

With any discussion about focus, we should remember that lenses have limitations. They have a minimum focus distance (how far away a subject should be before the lens is physically able to focus on it) so you’ll need to be in the right place to get the subject to be “focusable”. You’ll find this information printed on the lens you are using. You can also use the tools in PhotoPills to help you calculate hyper-focal distances. This can be quite complicated, so work on the basics first and then about going down this rabbit hole!

Grainy/Noisy Images

Sometimes, when you get your photos into Lightroom, you will be able to see that they have a kind of texture to them, almost like they have been printed on sandpaper.

What we’re dealing with here is digital noise, which is introduced into images when the ISO setting is cranked up, this amplifies something called “photon shot noise”in your image which leads to the grainy feel that you can see in the grass in the image on the right hand side.

This is one of the easiest things in this list to sort out, you just need to know your camera and be familiar with how well it deals with high iso. For example, on my Canon 80D, I know that I can get the ISO up to around 6400 before the grain starts to become an issue, but this varies from camera to camera, there is no hard and fast rule. You will need to do some experimenting to find out where the red line for you is and how much grain you are willing to accept in your images.

Remember that if you reduce your ISO, you will need to adjust shutter speed and/or aperture to compensate for this. If you are working at higher ISO’s then you really need to nail the exposure in the camera, as if you try increasing the exposure too much in Lightroom you’re really going to exacerbate any noise in your image and could end up with something that is unusable.

The other way that you can deal with some noise is in post production. The latest version of Lightroom has a noise reduction function built into it and this is pretty good at removing noise, but the trade off is that you can end up with images that look a but un-natural if you use it too much or if there was a tremendous amount of noise in the image to begin with. Other tools which can do this are available, but you need to be aware of the same issue and you should check the cost of these bits of software too!

To wrap up, understanding and avoiding common photography pitfalls is all part of the journey to improving your craft. With a bit of practice and attention to detail, these issues become easier to spot—and even easier to fix. As with most things, it comes with practice, and sometimes a lot of patience.

If you’ve found this guide helpful or have any questions about your own photography challenges, I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to drop me an email, or connect with me on Instagram and Facebook for more tips, inspiration, and behind-the-scenes content. Happy shooting!