Photographing Mountains: Experts Share their Top Tips for Beginners
and their Must-Have Victorinox Products

Brought together by a shared love of two things – photography and the beautiful Swiss Alps – a group of twelve young creatives formed The Helvetic Collective in 2015. Although they are based all over Switzerland, the look and feel of their photography is surprisingly uniform. “We formed the Collective because of the strong synergies between our photography styles, although we each have our unique signature” says Tobias Meyer, one of the original members.

Young, social media-savvy and urban, the members of the Collective generate a strong creative energy. It’s no wonder then that between them, they have managed to rack up more than half a million followers on Instagram and that they are consistently listed as being amongst Switzerland’s most influential Instagrammers.

Their photography is truly inspirational, managing to show the stunning landscape of Switzerland but in a fresh, contemporary way. “Every photo is carefully edited and crafted” says Tobias. “We can typically spend several hours on each image, using specific editing techniques in Lightroom and Photoshop to ensure that the look and feel of the Helvetic Collective is upheld”.

In this way, we share much in common with this talented group of photographers – the pride that we have in our Swiss heritage and the commitment to delivering high quality results. So for us it made sense to collaborate with them last summer on a unique project with MySwitzerland, which showcased Victorinox knives against a backdrop of breathtaking Swiss scenery in the epic style of the Collective. Check out some of the images from this partnership below:

David Hubacher

Luan Baruti

Dominik Sartorius

Federico Sette

Josh Kempinaire

Seya Eggler

Patrick Güller

It was during the course of this partnership that the photographers discovered just how useful Victorinox gear can be. “Although not all of us live in the big cities of Switzerland like Zürich, Basel or Bern, we are often there for business meetings or just for creative meet-ups in a coffee shop or bar” says Tobias. “For us it is important to have gear that is sturdy and practical not only when we are shooting outdoors, but that won’t look out of place if we have a partnership meeting with a large brand. Some of the group are still students, so we cannot always afford to buy two bags or two different watches for example”.

The Helvetic Collective’s Top Three Tips for Photographing Mountains

Planning
Planning is key when shooting mountain scenery: you should know the weather forecast, plus the times of sunrise, blue hour and sunset before you even leave your house. Working with maps can help you visualize the pictures you want to shoot. For example, if you want to shoot a sunrise, make sure that no mountains will hide the sun.

Shooting
When on location and waiting for the perfect moment, make sure you take plenty of test shots to make sure that the composition and the settings are correct. In terms of composition, try to be creative – you don’t always have to put the subject in the center of the frame. Make sure you know how aperture, shutter speed and ISO are correlated. Depending on the effect you want to achieve, you’ll have to balance between those three. To begin with, you don’t need the best and most expensive equipment, just a camera that allows you to set everything manually.

Post-production
After shooting it is now time to sort and edit the pictures you have shot. Before editing, sort your pictures so that you have a small and more manageable amount to edit. When editing, try to remember how you actually saw the scenery that you have shot, and how you felt when shooting it. The goal of editing is to recreate this feeling.

The Helvetic Collective Workbag

Alliance Sport Chronograph – many of the daily challenges we face require the right timing, whether its outdoors or at a business meeting. This is why the Alliance Sport Chronograph becomes not only a good-looking accessory but also a highly important and functional tool. essential to always be in the right place at the right time.
Hunter Pro Wood Model – this can be a literal lifesaver when outdoors, but also great for preparing food during lunch and snack breaks from work to weekend.
VX Touring Expandable 2-in-1 Carry On Duffel – having enough space to bring all the things that matter on a journey supports our creative workflow in a very positive way. It’s handy to have a bag that can be a backpack when we are in the mountains, but whose trolley function also allows us to pull heavy equipment when we are on flat ground.
Swiss Army Steel Eau De Toilette – the new 50ml size is extremely convenient for after sport, during work or for a short trip. Great to bring along in every life situation.