Landscapes may be a popular subject among photographers, but it takes a lot of professional skills, endurance, and a particular frame of mind to capture imagery that will really stir the viewers’ emotions and minds.
Do you want to learn the art of taking better landscape photos? Do you wish to take your landscape photography to the next level? If your answer is yes, then you should find this blog helpful.
You can improve your landscape photos with the following tips:
1. Pick one- Sky or Land
Example: Beautiful capture of Sunset.
Keep in mind that use of both land and sky will support each other to generate a highly desirable photo. Prioritize the stronger one. For example, during the sunset, the sky will be more alluring as compared to land.
Always follow the thumb rule, the part which needs to be emphasized can be put in two-thirds of the frame. Art is all about your personal preference and experience.
2. Find a focal point and focus on it
Example: Lighthouse is the focal point.
Focal point the point where the viewer’s eyes to fall when they first see the landscape photograph. It could be any object in the frame.
Focal point is not essentially the point of interest (POI), but POI can be the focal point. Focal point can be an initial point for exploring the POI.
3. Foreground is equally important
Example: Soothing foreground capture.
While many photographers focus on choosing the best background for their landscape photography, they tend to ignore the foreground. It should not be ignored and used as a focal point in several cases. Any object like rocks, trees or a person can be used as the foreground.
4. Use of Tripod
Example: Use of tripod
The main use of Tripod is to prevent the camera from shaking while using it. Most of the professional photographers recommend using it. It can be heavy in carrying, but its function is very important to be left behind.
5. Use of Depth of Field
Example: Perfect Representation of Depth of Field
This is a very important yet complex topic. Even a basic understanding of DOF will help in taking better photographs.
- DOF is represented on most cameras as f/## (digits).
- A smaller DOF (lower aperture numbers) means only the focused area you focus will be sharp.
- A larger DOF (higher aperture numbers) means everything starting from the foreground to the background will be focussed.
For example in the below example if we select first value, then only a particular area will focus whereas selecting the last value will focus on the entire scene.
- f/4 (Only that focal plane will be in focus)
- f/5.6
- f/8
- f/11
- f/13
- f/16
- f/18
- f/20
- f/22 (Entire scene will be in focus and sharp)
Note: Some camera lenses will provide lower and higher DOF options, as well as more granular options. Also, note that DOF results vary from lens to lens.
6. Taking pictures of Nature’s Movement
Example: Waterflow Picture
Many people prefer capturing an image of peaceful, relaxing, and motionless nature in landscape photography. Capturing of nature movements, for example water flow, cloud movement, and swinging leaves adds zeal to the pictures.
7. Lines and Shapes
Example: Representation of Lines in Tea Garden
Lines and shapes add a strong impression to an image. Also, remember to keep the perspective and vanishing point in mind. Both adds a great sense of depth, which can be appealing to the viewer’s eyes.
8. Change Perspective
Example: Beautiful capture by Mitch Johanson
It is very important to change the viewpoint while taking photos. Even exchanging from a high angle to a low angle gives a totally different effect and mood.
9. Details of Landscape
Example: Panoramic Photo
In Landscape, one should experiment with different types of lenses. If you only have a normal lens, then an alternative can be panoramic photos.
10. Use of HDR Techniques
Example: HDR Techniques for Landscape Photo
High Dynamic Range techniques for landscape photography are a great alternative when a camera filter is not available. Take numerous images of the same scene with exposures from different angles and combine them. Adobe Photoshop can be used for manipulation of images.
After reading all the above-mentioned tips, it is time to work on these points and to get a professional experience it’s always advisable to join a professional video editing institute. Remember, just gaining knowledge is of no use till the time it is not applied in the real world. The best thing to improvise your landscape photography skills is to practice.
Take your camera and go out to take photos. Enjoy photography with a new angle!
Presentation on SlideShare:
Professional Photography Fundamentals
Professional Photography Fundamentals from ADMEC Multimedia Institute
