10 Essential Tips for Florida Landscape Photography
- Paul Farace Photography
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Florida is a landscape photographer’s paradise.
Between the mist shrouded cypress domes of the Everglades, the mirror like turquoise natural springs, and dramatic Atlantic and Gulf coastlines, the visual rewards are immense.
However, Florida is also an absolute graveyard for camera equipment.
If the extreme humidity doesn't melt your electronics, the saltwater, mud, and relentless insects will break your spirit.
After years of shooting in the Sunshine State, and learning some very expensive lessons along the way, I have put together these tips and items to keep you going and get the shot.
Here are the 10 essential tips and pieces of gear you need, to protect yourself and your kit, and capture breathtaking landscape photography images in Florida’s harsh environment.
10 Essential Tips for Florida Landscape Photography
*Some links on this page are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission if you use any. An easy way to support me for free! Thank you!
1. Heavy Duty Water Shoes (Rocks, Roots and Swamps)
Water Shoes: https://amzn.to/4xJrRbN
Budget Water Shoes: https://amzn.to/4eZc9Sv
If you want the best landscape shots in Florida, you have to get off the dry trail. The real magic happens when you are waist deep in a cypress dome or wading through the Everglades sawgrass.
Standard hiking boots will water log instantly, and going barefoot is a recipe for a hospital visit. Invest in heavy duty water shoes with aggressive tread or thick neoprene chest waders for more adventurous outings. They provide the necessary grip to walk over slippery, submerged limestone and protect your feet from jagged roots and sharp coquina rocks. If you aren't willing to get wet, you’re missing the best compositions Florida has to offer. Pack the water shoes, step off the bank, and get the shot.
2. Thermacell (The Invisible Bug Shield)
Thermacell Mosquito Control: https://amzn.to/4xQK47A
Florida has a well earned reputation for bugs that can completely ruin a photoshoot. When you are standing perfectly still waiting for golden hour, the mosquitoes and noseeums will swarm you.
While standard bug spray helps, a Thermacell is a total game changer for photographers. It creates a 15 foot zone of protection that stops mosquitoes before they ever land on you.
You can set it down right next to your tripod and focus entirely on your composition, rather than constantly slapping bugs away and ruining your long exposures. Don’t let the swarm dictate your shooting schedule.
3. Permethrin Spray (The Tick and Chigger Stopper)
Permethrin for Ticks: https://amzn.to/43Wmzft
While mosquitoes attack from the air, the real monsters wait in the high grass. Ticks and chiggers in the Florida brush can turn a great shoot into a miserable, itchy week.
Spraying standard DEET on your skin isn't enough for these low lying pests. Instead, treat your outdoor clothing, socks, and gaiters with Permethrin spray before you leave the house. It bonds directly to the fabric fibers and kills ticks and chiggers on contact.
This allows you to hike through high brush and marsh edges with confidence, knowing you aren't bringing any unwanted hitchhikers home with you.
4. Carbon Fiber Tripod (The Element Defender)
Budget Carbon Fiber Tripod: https://amzn.to/4fXZP60
Florida’s environment is absolutely brutal on camera support. If you use a standard aluminum tripod in the salty ocean surf or the acidic water of a mangrove swamp, it will corrode and lock up within weeks.
You need a high quality carbon fiber tripod. Carbon fiber won't rust, it handles the saltwater abuse flawlessly, and it is significantly lighter to carry through a humid swamp.
For the ultimate stability, swap out your rubber tripod feet for metal spiked or claw feet. This ensures your setup sinks past the shifting sand and mud down to a solid, unmoving base.
5. Circular Polarizer (The Glare Killer)
Breakthrough X4 CPL Filter: https://amzn.to/44rmVuI
Budget CPL Filter: https://amzn.to/4w7JAIp
Related Article: 5 Best CPL Filters for Beginners Landscape Photography (All Budgets)
The sun in Florida is intense, and the glare bouncing off the ocean, wet sand, and swamp water will instantly wash out the colors in your images. You cannot fix this in Photoshop.
A Circular Polarizing filter (CPL) is mandatory gear. By spinning the CPL on your lens, you can literally cut through the reflection on the water's surface, revealing the beautiful hidden details beneath.
It also deepens the blue in the sky and gives those massive Atlantic or Gulf cloud formations a dramatic, three dimensional pop. Never shoot a Florida landscape without one.
6. Wide & Telephoto Lenses (Ditch the Mid Range)
My wide angle lens: https://amzn.to/3QfoRTf
My Telephoto lens: https://amzn.to/48bU687
Related Article: Viltrox 16mm f1.8 Review (Landscape & Astro) | Paul Farace
Florida is famously flat, which means mid range lenses can often yield boring, empty compositions. Ditch the middle ground and lean into the extremes. Bring an ultra wide angle lens and a heavy telephoto lens.
Use your ultra wide lens to get incredibly close to foreground details, like a piece of weathered driftwood or a coquina rock, to create a powerful sense of depth. Then, switch to a telephoto lens to compress the landscape. and search out sections of light.
A telephoto allows you to isolate a single lone cypress tree in a misty swamp or safely frame an alligator crawling through your scene.
7. Float Bags (Camera Gear Life Insurance)
Sea to Summit Float Bags: https://amzn.to/3SZ0M4n
If you are exploring Florida's waterways by kayak, canoe, or boat, the threat of flipping is very real. After dunking four cameras over the years, the lesson is clear. Standard camera bags won't save you when your gear goes underwater.
You need an airtight, submersible float bag or a hard Pelican style case. These specialized bags trap air inside.
If your kayak capsizes, your entire camera kit will safely float on the surface of the water instead of sinking to the bottom of a murky, alligator filled river.
Think of it as the ultimate insurance policy for your gear.
8. Clean Socks (The Ultimate Morale Booster)
When you are shooting in the heat and mud for hours your feet take a beating. There is one simple, low tech comfort item that will boost your morale more than anything else. A fresh, dry pair of clean socks hidden away in your car or dry bag.
After spending the morning wading through muck and wet sand, peeling off those wet socks and putting on a clean, dry pair feels like absolute luxury.
It completely resets your attitude, reenergizes you, and gives you the boost to keep scouting locations for the afternoon shoot.
9. Lens Pen (The Smudge Destroyer)
Lens Pen Pro Kit: https://amzn.to/4vYqXGO
The air in Florida is thick with salt spray and intense humidity. The second you step outside, your lens and filters will attract a sticky, hazy film that ruins image contrast, sharpness and causes ugly lens flaring.
Microfiber cloths alone often just smear this residue around the glass. Keep a Lens Pen in your pocket.
The carbon cleaning tip safely dissolves the oils and salt smudges without scratching your delicate glass coatings, while the brush side clears away fine sand grains.
It is the fastest, most effective way to keep your optics pristine in a harsh coastal environment.
10. Extra Water (Hydration is Gear)
The Florida heat is no joke, but it's the humidity that catches most visiting photographers off guard.
When the humidity is near 100%, your sweat cannot evaporate to cool you down, causing you to lose bodily fluids at an alarming rate.
You will be sweating constantly, even just standing passively by your tripod. You must carry significantly more water than you think you need
Dehydration leads to rapid fatigue, poor creative decision making, and dangerous heat exhaustion.
Keep your energy up and stay sharp by packing extra water for every single hike.
Final Thoughts
Florida will test your patience, your physical endurance, and your gear. But if you come prepared for the moisture, the bugs, and the unique terrain, you’ll walk away with landscape shots that you simply cannot get anywhere else on Earth.
Pack smart, protect your gear, and enjoy the Sunshine State!
Thanks for reading!
Check this out next!
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Check out my THIS IS FLORIDA! series on YouTube where I am exploring the full length of Florida's A1A in search of the best landscape photography spots.
This Is Florida! Watch The Series Here!
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Some links on this page are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission if you use any. An easy way to support me for free! Thank you!
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My Stuff
100+ Ideas for Landscape Photographers Book: https://amzn.to/4cinISm
How to Extreme Focus Stack Ebook: https://amzn.to/48wEgon
North East Florida Guide: https://www.paulfaracephotography.com/florida-photo-guide
Marineland Seascape Workshop: https://www.paulfaracephotography.com/marineland
My Gear
My cameras: https://amzn.to/4vgrOTL
My wide angle lens: https://amzn.to/3QfoRTf
My mid range lens: https://amzn.to/4sV4U2y
My telephoto lens: https://amzn.to/48bU687
My drone: https://amzn.to/3PVgdt7
My action cam: https://amzn.to/4t2Knck
My microphones: https://amzn.to/4dE4n0a
My ND filter: https://amzn.to/4c2cLWe
My circular polarizer: https://amzn.to/41XllQ0
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