We are so excited to introduce Niklas to the AOV community. He shared his advice with us along with the new editing tools he created.
My name is Niklas Söderlund, I’m a Swedish photographer living in Iceland. My interest for photography began in the fall of 2016 after an impulsive decision to buy a camera to capture my adventures. Things took off really fast and in less than a year I had sold all of my belongings, traveled to more than 10 countries and moved to the most beautiful country on earth!
What has been your greatest challenge?
The biggest challenge for me is always making myself happy, I set high standards and I try to challenge myself into creating something different and unique. It’s quite tuff but that’s also what I love about photography, the endless possibilities.
What is your favorite recent image, and what went into capturing it?
This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago. Benjamin and I tried to go into the highlands of Iceland, a pretty hostile place this time of year. It didn’t take long before we got stuck in the snow, and as days are short here we didn’t have much time, and at the top there was a storm front rolling in the distance. After an hour of digging we finally managed to get out of there and on the way home we decided to make a stop at this valley, we waited for a couple of hours until the light was absolute perfect. Ben jumped up on his Defender and I took this image of him admiring the sunset.
Do you have any tips and tricks for the AOV community?
First of all, get to know your gear and how/when to use it. It’s important to be prepared when the right moment comes. I think you should do most of the work at the location and with your camera. Make sure to have good light, move around to create the perfect crop and try to figure out what you want to say with the image. Once you’ve nailed the photo you should make an edit that brings focus on your subject, what’s important and what should you hide? Don’t over do it, less is more sometimes!
What gear do you use?
I shoot with: Canon EOS 5D Mark IVLenses:Drone: DJI Mavic Pro
What are the goals of the presets you created?
The goal of the presets are to show you how I edit my photos to get that moody vibe. I learned how to use Lightroom this way myself, by seeing how others do it and then experiment myself.
What do we get with your preset pack?
There are 5 premium presets:Ancient Tribes – This one is all about the melancholy of winter, monochrome and moody.Crazy Diamonds – Inspired by the skate and surf movement of the 70’s, warm and fuzzy.Kashmir – Gives a cinematic look to your sunrise and sunset photos.Ragged Wood – With a touch of camp fire, whiskey and pine tree.Valhalla – Bring out your inner norseman and make your images to come life with Valhalla.