The one simple trick to make your landscape photos stand out (most people don’t do this)
Silhouette of my fiancée in front of the Mont Blanc. I encountered this composition through sheer luck while hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc.
Due to social media, landscape photography is rapidly gaining in popularity. Increasingly however, the collective lexicon of great landscape photos seems to be limited to a handful of hyper popular hotspots. Over and over, aspiring and talented photographers from all over the world fall over themselves to simply repeat what has been done a million times before. And even though there’s nothing wrong with trying your hand at a classic composition, there should be more to landscape photography than that.
Before I was a landscape photographer, I was an avid long distance hiker (I still am, to be honest). Over the years I’ve hiked many of Europe’s most beautiful trails. From the mediterranean heat of Corsica to the windswept cold of Arctic Sweden, I’ve seen it all. The one thing that stuck with me the most is that there’s so much hidden beauty waiting to be discovered. Oftentimes, the trails I hiked led through wild nature reserves with breathtaking views. Even now, many of my favourite photos are taken from viewpoints that I discovered while hiking.
Putting on your hiking boots and leaving the beaten tracks can help lift your photography beyond the mundane and make you stand out in a crowd of thousands. When most people are sticking to the famous hotspots, you can find new and fresh compositions simply by bringing your camera on a hike. Practically, hiking brings three enormous benefits to your landscape photography.
Serendipity
Tree root view at the Würzjoch. I actually stumbled over this famous photo spot twice. Once when I did part of the Alta Via II and once while hiking from Munich to Venice. It was only years later when I was getting more serious about landscape photogrpahy that I remembered this spot.
Serendipity is finding something by accident, while you were actually looking for something else. For me, hiking has traditionally worked that way. I discovered many of my favourite photo spots while hiking. And even though sometimes I didn’t have the time to take photos or the light wasn’t right, a quick mental note would often pay off years later when I had time to revisit my steps. There’s even occasions where I discovered amazing photo spots while actually on my way to another photo spot.
Of course, serendipity is unreliable. One hike you may stumble on many amazing photo spots, the other hike might bring you nothing. Still, if you frequently venture out in the wild, you’ll soon discover a plethora of unique photo spots which you’ll have all to yourself.
Reach remote places
Views down to the Lájtávrre delta from the top of Skierffe in Swedish Laponia. This viewpoint is so remote that it will take a multi day effort to reach it from the nearest trailhead. Just when I arrived, the clouds broke open, rewarding me with beautiful dappled light on the delta below.
Many of the popular photo spots are popular because they’re easy to reach. A quick gondola ride or convenient car park can turn any mediocre photo spot into a world famous highlight. Conversely: many amazing photo spots are not well known simply because they require a hard hike to get there. A great example is the hidden valley in the Dolomites. While this valley offers breathtaking views and a great amount of beautiful compositions it is still unknown to the general public. When I visited last year, I had the valley all to myself. Hiking helps you to beat the crowds and allows you to take your camera to wilder, more remote places that most people couldn’t even dream of.
🌄 Join Me on a Photo Tour in the Alps
If these photos inspire you, why not take the next step and experience the Alps through your own lens?
On my all-inclusive photo tours, I’ll take you to my favourite hidden gems and classic viewpoints, all while teaching you everything I know about landscape photography. Thanks to my local knowledge and years of experience, you'll be in the right place at the right time—with the right composition.
🏞️ What to Expect:
✅ Stay in epic hotels and remote mountain huts, just steps away from stunning photo opportunities
✅ Discover underrated and off-the-map locations for truly unique compositions
✅ Learn how to master composition, lens selection, and light in real-world conditions
Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned shooter, these tours are designed to take your photography to the next level while enjoying unforgettable views and alpine adventures.
Playing the odds
Schlatenkees glacier in East-Tyrol. The warm afternoon light on the foreground formed a beautiful color contrast to blue of the glacier in the background. The backlighting helps to seperate the hiker from the landscape. This was a lucky shot where I found myself in the right place at the right time after a long day of hiking.
Sometimes landscape photography is a numbers game. Incredible light can be a rare thing and when it occurs, ideally you want to be outside, shooting. If you’re an avid hiker, you’ll spend a lot more time outdoors so the odds are much bigger that you’ll encounter amazing light than the average highlight hopping city dweller. So many of my favourite shots were chance encounters where through sheer luck I found the light and location were just right. Sometimes landscape photography is a lottery and the first prize usually goes to the one who plays the most.
In conclusion
In my opinion, hiking is an overlooked aspect of landscape photography that allows you to discover unique photo spots, visit remote locations and greatly increases your chances of a lucky encounter. So the next time you’re planning a photo-centric holiday, pack light and bring your hiking boots. Because what is the chance that the best view lies a hundred meters removed from the nearest gondola or car park?
Happy trails!
