How To Master Fog Photography

Hey there!

If you’re into nature photography, you should definitely try photographing in foggy conditions.

This is a fantastic way of creating unique images that stand out from the rest.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll share with you all the tips you need to capture photos like these:

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The Ideal Conditions

In order to capture fog photos, you first need to be out when it’s foggy.

These are the 3 most important factors to look for on the weather forecast when planning your shoots:

• High air humidity

→ When the air humidity is between 97-100%, fog is more likely to occur. To determine the air humidity, use a reliable weather app of your choice.

→ To verify if the air humidity really is high, you can check skylights, car windows or other plain surfaces around your house. When it’s humid, they usually get wet.

• Little-to-no wind

→ Unless you live in a humid area or in a mountainous area where low clouds can cause a foggy atmosphere, you do not want any wind at all when shooting fog. Wind speeds between 0-1 m/s are ideal.

→ Since weather forecasts can be unpredictable, make sure to use treetops and flagpoles as wind indicators to make sure there’s no wind before heading out.

• Clear skies

→ When capturing fog, you ideally want clear skies with the sun out. The heat of the sun usually intensifies the fog, while the sunlight helps create more depth in the frame.

When & Where To Photograph

If you live in the northern hemisphere, sunrises during the summer and autumn seasons are the best for photographing fog.

This might mean that you’ll have to wake up very early. While this at times can be very challenging, it’s 100% worth it.

When the conditions are perfect, fog can occur almost anywhere. However, if you really want to catch it as often as possible, there are two types of places that you should visit.

• Water sources

→ Lakes, rivers and damp areas are perfect as they in general have more humid masses of air.

• Areas protected from wind

→ Areas that are sheltered from the wind allow the fog to last longer, even after the sun has risen.

If you have a water source that’s protected from the wind, you’ll almost be guaranteed to find fog.

👉️Pro tip: Use the topographical map on Google Maps when location scouting; this makes it way easier to predict where the fog will last longer.

Gear

While prime-lenses offer the best image quality, I’d recommend getting good quality zoom-lenses as they are more flexible, especially for capturing light rays.

Here are the three pieces of equipment that I use the most:

• Nikon Z6 II → My camera body.

  
  

• Nikkor 24-120/4 → This versatile zoom-lens is perfect for all kinds of fog photos. The f/4 aperture makes the lens okay for low-light situations as well.

  
  

• Sigma 150-600/5-6.3 C → I use a tele-zoom lens whenever I want to enhance certain details in a landscape, for example light rays or layers of mist.

  
  

  

  
  

Composition Techniques

• Rule of thirds + 45° angle

The rule of thirds, which means that the main subject is placed one third into the frame, is a versatile composition technique that can be used in many situations.

When photographing fog, distinct light rays are quite common to encounter.

A great way of creating more depth in your photos is by using the rule of thirds while photographing with a 45° angle towards the sun.

Here’s an image to better illustrate it:

Shooting with a 45° angle towards the sun to create more depth.

• Leading lines

On days when the fog is thick, using leading lines to your advantage is a smart way of creating more depth in your photos. Forests, alleys or piers are some examples of subjects that suit these types of photos.

• Framing

If you’ve got a cool light-phenomenon going on, make sure to frame the subject with something in the foreground before capturing the photo. This is one way of making your photos more interesting to view.

Drones

If you have a drone, you should definitely use it to capture even more unique angles. Worth keeping in mind is that the fog usually needs to be quite thick and high up in the air to be seen from above.

I highly recommend experimenting with different angles to achieve the best results. Remember that high altitude doesn’t always equal better photos. Instead, try flying just a little over the treetops and create depth using creative angles towards the sun and fog.

Whether you’re an experienced fog photographer or new to the topic, I hope this newsletter has inspired you to chase more beautiful moments out in nature.

Keep creating my friends!

All the best,

Kevin