10 Photography Tips You Need for Your Alaska Vacation

Photography Tips

Alaska offers countless opportunities for you to capture a remarkable photograph. Whether if you're a wildlife, cultural, scenery photographer, you can find everything that you seek in this distant, but wonderful land.

From all species of whales, bears, birds, and stunning scenery to native Alaskan people, the Inupiat, and Yipik, that live in harshest environments: you won't return home empty handed if you decide to embark on this adventurous journey.

​If you own a drone, you could make spectacular photographs since drone travel photography is on the rise. ​

Alaska can also be rather ruthless sometimes with its sharp climate and remoteness, so be sure that you've prepared yourself well before you book a trip.

​You will find out all the information you need to capture striking images and return home with a plentiful of material in the next few lines of text.
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Protect Yourself and Your Equipment From The Weather

Weather can be extremely unforgiving and inconsistent. Make sure that you dress in layers so that you can quickly adapt to the changing weather. High-quality trekking boots are a must. Always have a raincoat at hand since rain can often catch you by a surprise.

​Don't forget to shield your camera and lenses well too so that you can focus on the photography more rather than on the weather conditions. 
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Take Suitable Camera Equipment

If you're going to trek for long distances, then you shouldn't carry heavy lenses and tripods with you. When hiking long distances through unpredictable terrain every pound matters. Carbon fiber tripods, light lenses, and a comfortable bag can go a long way when you have a day of walking ahead of you.

​ Also, for drone travel photography, bring a light but durable quadcopter with you if you want to take aerial photographs. 
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Prepare Yourself Physically

If you're in a bad shape, then you should do some exercise in advance to prepare your body for the challenge that awaits you. It doesn't need to be an Ironman Triathlon, but just enough so that you can endure a few days of hiking without having pain and fatigue after. 
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Research

Get the needed information about the places you're going to visit. Decide on ways to travel the country: e.g. traveling by train could be an excellent way of capturing the scenery since the track spans hundreds of miles across the Alaskan frontier.

​Get to know the rules of photographing wild animals since some actions can startle them which can get dangerous. If you want to take drone photos of Alaska and its wildlife, invest in a device with silent rotors that won't make much noise. 
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Mind the Light

Weather and land formations can all cause bad lighting environment since the sun shines at a very low angle. Because light is essential for a good quality photograph, you always need to monitor the way light shifts, so that you capture an extraordinary picture. 
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Perspective is Vital

Sometimes you will just have to get dirty a bit and lay down for that perfect shot. You've come a long way for this so don't hesitate to have some struggle to land a great photograph. If this involves climbing a tree, never mind, be creative. 
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Be Hasty

Just like the weather in Alaska, wildlife is dynamic too. If you take too long to adjust your equipment and find a good angle, your could lose precious moments to capture a photograph of a lifetime. So bring enough films with you and don't spare that shutter. ​
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Experiment

Now is the time to put that long-focus telephoto frame to the test. In this manner, you can film animals in their natural habitat with zero disturbance. If you'd like to have unique, aerial photos of the terrain and the rich scenery, you can also bring out your drone and take a few photographs with it. 
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Perseverance is the Key

Be ready to spend quite a lot of time before you get your eyes on that perfect shot. This can depend on the animals, the weather conditions, so exercise your mind for waiting. 
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Adjust Your Sleeping Schedule

As a day in Alaska in the season lasts up to 20 hours in the central regions, and it never sets in the north: you will need to change your sleeping rhythm.

​To get the best lighting, you will need to be awake at a particular time of the day, which means you will have to completely revise your sleeping program.