10 tips for great landscape photographs are very useful but they are not of the absolute laws. In some cases, you may disobey specially to get better result. If, so far we have photographed landscapes at random, then we can try to apply these tips: the percentage of good photos in return, you will get, will certainly increase. If you try to Google search for the words landscape photography, you will get many results from professional photographers specializing in landscape photos. It is, in fact a photographic genre that is really widespread.
10 Tips for Great Landscape Photographs : Basics
Even a non professional may have a lot of satisfaction in this field. Some of the aspects that make a great photo of landscape area, even for the amateurs are:
- The landscapes are always available with posing models, it is not necessary to involve other people and hope that you are able to pose in the best way,
- It is possible to obtain egregious results without resorting to additional equipment in addition to the camera
- Beautiful landscapes to photograph are found in every region without straying too far from home.
In this article, we will give some basic tips to remember when you want to photograph a landscape. Also, you can read Common Landscape Photography Mistakes to improve more.
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10 Tips for Great Landscape Photographs
Maximum depth of field
If you want to take pictures using the automatic shooting modes, of course, set the landscape mode. The camera will choose the best settings. Otherwise, a good solution is to use the aperture priority mode. This will allow us to control the depth of field by changing the aperture value. When we photograph a landscape we want to framed all the objects in focus : the foreground, the scene and the background. So, we will use a very small aperture or a very high f value : f 16 to 22 goes well.
Stop that Noise
Suppose, you want to photograph the landscape during the day, it is plausible to think that we will not need to use a high ISO value, since the available light will be more than ample. So, to avoid introducing noise in the picture, we will set the ISO to the lowest value possible, probably 100 (depending on camera model).
Remember the rule of thirds
Rule of thirds is also used in landscape photographs. In particular, it applies primarily two factors: to make the picture less boring – it should be aligned to the upper third or lower third, it is good that the photograph contains a point of interest, a house, a tree, this point of interest takes on a greater weight if it is placed in obedience to the rule of thirds.
Short Focal length
Traditionally, for obvious reasons; the focal lengths most suitable for landscapes are the short ones. Fortunately, both the compact digital SLR that bridge camera have that, starting from the basic models,. A great value of the focal length can be 18 mm, but also the other focal lengths around that length is suitable for the purpose. The main reason for preferring these focal lengths is that they have a field of view much higher than human and then allow to include in the frame spaces much wider. In addition, to amplify the perspective effect by increasing the perception of being drawn in the photograph.
Pay attention to the whole scene
A photo of landscape includes many elements in the scene. It is important to keep in mind that all elements contribute to the success of the photograph. Therefore carefully evaluate what is in the foreground. In addition, using a shorter focal length, we risk to include the elements close to us that we do not see with the naked eye. So be careful about the hanging branches or shrubs that can ruin the final result.
Zoom with your feet
On old websites about photography, this is a concept that is often found. Always be ready to move in search of the right shot. In the case of landscape photography, this applies mainly in two ways: wanting to use a very short focal length we can not zoom in to get the shot we want, but we eventually get closer if the initial frame contains objects that we do not want to include in the picture (for this zoom with your feet) it often happens that a little thing distancing from the comfortable road we are traveling, or raising the eyes a bit or by turning a little about ourselves, we can drastically improve the shot or find the best points of view.
Choose Light
With accumulating experience in photography, we realize how much weight has the quality of light in our photographs has. The exact same subject, framed by the exact same position, can lead to a great photo or a photo better to forget, simply based on the quality of the light that strikes.Try to come back at another time of day, maybe near sunset or sunrise.
Keep that horizon straight
I do not know how many times we do not realize that a picture has distorted the horizon when we are shooting. Indeed, since we know that the horizon should be straight, if we see a picture with crooked horizon, instinctively you will notice something is bothering you. So, we try to keep straight the horizon as much as possible, when we shoot landscape. Luckily, a really crooked horizon is easily editable using any photo editing program.
Tripod can be useful
We have already stressed the importance of the tripod in the article concerning the blurred photos. Indeed, even in landscape photographs tripod can be useful. In fact, it helps for keeping the ISO low and maintaining very low opening, for example, if the sky is cloudy or the photo shoot at sunset or just after sunrise, the light is not enough to ensure a sufficient time for short exposure. In this case, to ensure the sharpest picture possible, it is best to use a tripod. Fortunately, a landscape, in the vast majority of cases, it is a still subject, then we will have time to open the tripod, staring at the camera and calmly set the frame.
Think about Subject
Often we bring home the pictures of landscapes that do not convey the emotion that we had received as humabn, which are “inconclusive.” This is likely to happen in our photos because if a real person or item that is of interest has been lost. To solve this problem we try to include an object, a person who can actually act as a protagonist of the photo, straight lines which highlight the effect of perspective heading toward a vanishing point, curved lines that draw the eyes in the photo,
color combinations that catch your eyes.
