Photography tips: shooting sand

Taking pictures in the desert can be difficult. The light must be right, composition needs to be balanced and the sheer scale of the landscape should be reflected – all while you’re being blasted with dust and seared by extreme heat. But choose the right time and get the right angle and you could capture some incredible shots.

Photos of deserts are made or broken by the light, more so than in any other type of landscape. This is not down to the climate or whether the sun is shining, but due to the time of day, and the quality and direction of the light.

In reality, apart from the first and last 90 minutes of the day, the sun will be less than ideal. And if you want to get the typical shot of sand dunes glowing red or orange, then you will have to take your pictures just as the sun is rising or setting. This is when the light has the most red wavelengths.

If you shoot in the harsh midday hours, then don’t try to take standard landscapes: use the bad light to your advantage. Shoot with the longest lens you have and try to introduce heat haze or even photograph a mirage. These shots are as emblematic of deserts as sand dunes glowing red at sunset.

Like most dramatic landscapes, it is often difficult to do deserts justice. The temptation is to shoot with a wide-angle lens and include everything, but this often ends up as an empty and disappointing photo. Even the highest sand dunes in the world, such as those at Sossusvlei in Namibia, can end up looking like uninteresting bumps.

Often you can create more striking pictures by using a telephoto lens and focusing on a detail. This makes your subject loom larger in the frame – giving it greater presence; the effect is enhanced by the compressed perspective that is inherent in telephoto lenses. Another useful technique is to shoot in vertical orientation, allowing you to zoom in closer to taller objects.