How to shoot desert photography?

For photographers, shooting deserts and sand dunes seems a bit out of reach. But deserts are almost everywhere in the world. These places are really good places to forget time, because what he sees in front of him is a huge sand space. The desert is an ideal place to take beautiful and amazing photos, mainly to prepare for shooting in the quiet and tired vegetation in this area.

Some knowledge about deserts and sand dunes

When we talk about desert, any resident will first think of hot climate, endless sand and no vegetation. There seems to be something interesting to shoot here? Indeed, the desert landscape is characterized by sparse and extremely depleted vegetation, sand, bright sunshine and significant temperature changes during the day (very hot during the day and very cold at night). It seldom rains in the desert. In some deserts on our planet, rainfall only occurs once every few years.

However, despite these characteristics, there are still great differences between different deserts. In some places, you can't see anything except sand. In some places, the surface is solid asphalt. In the third part, you can find huge cactus bushes. The desert is not as unified as it seems at first glance. There are many things to see and take pictures. Of course, the photographer is most interested in shooting huge grains of sand stretching for thousands of meters. Moreover, sand can have different shadows. The most common sand in the desert is yellow, which is composed of seasons. But there are black volcanic sand and white sand.

You can also photograph sand dunes. They are different from traditional deserts because they can be located not only in hot areas, but also almost anywhere. Even near fresh water or the ocean. At the same time, it is easier to take pictures of sand dunes, giving viewers a complete feeling that this is a real desert. It is the sand dunes that give us the impression of desert.

Another interesting phenomenon in the desert-sand dunes. These are the same sand dunes, but they are located in the desert. They also have about 32 unique species. Dunes and dunes often form amazing minimalist landscapes, and they should definitely be captured by cameras. In the desert, people can also observe the so-called Tucker people. These are dry clay blocks, which are certainly not as striking as sand dunes, but they can also make the desert scenery more diverse and interesting.

Preventive measures and equipment

When you plan to take pictures in the desert, you must follow certain precautions. A serious problem faced by photographers is high temperature. Due to continuous sunshine and low humidity, people may be threatened by heatstroke or dehydration. It can be said that in some deserts, the temperature in the shade during the day rises above 50 degrees Celsius. It is not easy to stand such a test.

Always provide enough water. If you want to drive across the desert, please pay attention to the water in the radiator and whether there is air conditioning in the car. Walking in the desert is full of light, but at the same time, thick clothes can protect the skin from cruel sunlight. A desert is not a beach. Everything here is serious. In addition to the risk of sunburn, you will lose a lot of water by evaporation. It is urgent to carry any headdress and sunglasses with you.

In the desert, you will have to drive on hot sand, which is much more difficult than walking on flat and hard ground. Need comfortable and practical shoes. Always check your surroundings carefully-sometimes it is much easier to take a winding path in the sand than to try to go straight through the steep sand dunes. In the desert, you are in danger of getting lost because there is only sand around you. The footprints left on the beach will soon disappear after a gust of wind. In addition, sometimes in the desert, when the visible area is reduced to a few steps away, you may encounter sandstorms. Therefore, you should go to the desert with an experienced guide or be equipped with a compass and GPS receiver.

Another problem is the photographic equipment in the desert. When shooting in such an area, you should use a SLR or an advanced compact camera in a reliable and protected situation. In the desert, protect your camera from sand, which will still try to penetrate into the equipment. Use protective filters. It is recommended to change the lens as little as possible when shooting to avoid the danger of sand infiltrating into the camera cabin again.

Optical elements can have many uses, depending on how you plan to take pictures in the desert. For people who shoot desert scenery, it is best to have a good wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens when the subject is far away.

Don't forget to bring the hood in the photographic equipment bag. Shooting with a film camera in the desert is not the best method, because the film photosensitive material has poor heat resistance. So when shooting with a film camera in the desert, you usually get frames with very large particles.

Shooting in the desert

When shooting in the desert, you should first observe the place carefully, look at the surrounding scenery and try to pay attention to interesting details. There is no need to go to the first sand dune or sand dune to shoot at once. In the desert, you will face very bright and contrasting natural light, in addition, it will be reflected by nearby rocks and sand itself. Of course, even with special filters, strong light can't get high-quality and beautiful photos.

In this regard, it is suggested to take as many photos as possible until the sun reaches the zenith. The best shooting time is early morning. The sun is not so baked, so it is comfortable to walk on the beach that has not warmed up. In addition, the oblique sunlight can emphasize the texture of the sand and the beauty of the surrounding scenery.

Some people (not the most experienced photographers) look for a stone or a lonely bush in the desert and take pictures nearby. However, this ordinary plot is unlikely to interest the audience. In fact, shooting in the desert is an opportunity to "play" the picture with something that is difficult to touch or express in words-emotion, texture, proportion and abstraction. Perhaps the most common plot in the desert is the underline in the sandy picture. Sitting on the beach, you will appreciate the light and composition, and then pinch the aperture as tight as possible to take clear photos.

Besides sand, you can also take strange scenery in the desert. It is best to use a tripod and a telephoto lens, combined with a far-near scheme. You can find a mountain to shoot. Shooting from a huge sand dune or a nearby hill will help you convey the scale and complete privacy of the surrounding space. To capture as much space as possible in the picture, please use a wide-angle lens. Or use scaling to put various objects at a certain distance from each other together.

When shooting the charming scenery in the desert, please pay attention to the sky, which truly reflects its beauty. If you are lucky, you can shoot surreal scenery in the desert-the audience will think they are photos from Mars or the moon. This effect can be achieved by photographing desert areas with unique surface colors, because there are some sediments in the soil. In order to create a lifeless Martian landscape in the picture, the salt marsh is very suitable, which is characterized by no vegetation at all and abnormal surface color.

In the desert, you can photograph vegetation. You can't find beautiful deciduous plants here, but all kinds of cacti and thorns are equivalent. These are perennial plants. Because of their unique water-holding ability, they can survive successfully in desert areas and hot climates. Cactus has extraordinary spikes and a variety of colors and shapes, making it an excellent choice for shooting subjects. After a long enough rainfall, a lifeless desert can really "grow" colorful wildflowers. Yes, such annual plants don't live long. In any case, plants growing in the desert always look strange and unusual, so it is interesting to shoot them.

In desert photos, you can create a feeling of extreme heat and incredible extreme heat. For this reason, it is best to shoot the sunset in the desert-the warm color of the sky helps to create this atmosphere. In addition, you can use a red filter to make the sky warmer. Shooting in the desert, you can also try to use the wonderful lines of sand dunes and sand dunes to create abstract compositions, which is a wonderful play of light and shadow. Finally, you can try to use HDR mode to get color photos with extended dynamic range. The main purpose here is not to overdo it, so as to make the finished photo image as close as possible to what we can see with the naked eye.

Not all photographers can appreciate the beauty of the desert for the first time. It looks so lifeless. Sometimes, you can drive across the desert for several kilometers, but you can't find any interesting shooting projects. However, any professional photographer who has to shoot the desert will tell you that the creative possibilities of shooting in this area are almost unlimited. You just need to learn how to pay attention to every detail and carefully examine the surrounding desert landscape, and you can find beautiful and amazing photos. Of course, protect yourself and your camera from high temperature and sand.