There’s nothing quite like viewing a photograph of a landscape that’s been beautifully captured in a single photo frame. However, it is also one of the toughest industries in photography to be successful at. Conditions can often be difficult, uncomfortable, and uncooperative. Below are some tips that I have put together through my own experiences as a Landscape Photographer on how to capture that perfect moment in time.
It’s All About – Location, Location, Location
Landscape photography is as much about planning as it is about the actual process of taking the photo. Spending a little time at the start to research your location can go along way towards helping you capture that perfect photograph. By having an idea at the start of your exact location, you will be able to maximise your time to best of advantage for, sunset and sunrise photos especially.
Be Patient
It’s amazing the number of times that the weather will conspire to ruin a perfectly composed photograph. Landscape photography requires a lot of patience. The key is to always allow yourself enough time at a location so that you are able to wait to see if the weather will turn to your favour. Forward planning can also help you greatly as well. It pays to check the weather forecasts before leaving, thus maximising your opportunity to capture then kind of photograph that you want.
Also generally, the first location you find will sometimes not turn out to be the best. Instead of just settling for the easiest place to shoot from, take some time looking around the immediate area for some more interesting foregrounds. Also, consider where you are shooting from. Will the shot look better lower to the ground, or is there a vantage point nearby that will get you up higher? Investigate, try different positions and experiment with what you use in the foreground and background.
While there are multiple aspects about your photo that can be improved and fixed with photo shopping, if your photograph is not well composed there is nothing you can do to fix it later on. This is why taking your time to frame your shot before you press the shutter release button is absolutely vital when it comes to landscape photography.
Use the Best Light
Light is one of the most important factors in any photo shoot, even more so in landscape photography. It really doesn’t matter how great the location is or how you frame your photo – if the light doesn’t do the scene justice, then the image will fail. The best light for landscape photography is early in the morning or late afternoon, with the midday sun offering the harshest light.
But part of the challenge of landscape photography is about being able to adapt and cope with different lighting conditions; for example, great landscape photos can be captured even on stormy or cloudy days. The key is to use the best light as much as possible, and be able to influence the look and feel of your photos with it.
The time of day that you shoot will also have a large impact. Shooting just after sunrise and just before sunset will give you best light, more warmer, golden colours. But keep in mind that this can also increase difficulty if shooting directly into the sun.
Also shooting during the middle of the day, that produces brighter light, will give more natural tones to everything in your photo. This can be good for bringing out the greens of foliage, or the blues of water.
Depending on what you’re after, shooting at different times of day will both change the mood and tones of your photograph, so take this into consideration before shooting.
Maximise the depth of field
Depth of field is an important part of taking stunning landscapes photos. Landscape photography usually requires the majority of your photos to be sharp (the foreground and background). But a shallower depth of field can also be a powerful creative tool if used correctly, as it can isolate the subject by keeping it sharp, while the rest of the image is blurred. As a starting point, if you are looking to keep the majority of the photo sharp, set your camera to Aperture Priority (A or Av) mode so you can take control of the aperture. Start at around f/8 and work up (f/11 or higher) until you get the desired effect.
Think About Your Frame
You should always aim to get your frame right when taking the photo. If the photo doesn’t look right when you look at it through your viewfinder, then it won’t look good in the final result. There are several techniques that you can use to help your composition, but ultimately you need to train yourself to be able to see a photo, and visualise it in your mind. With practice this will become second nature, but the important thing is to take your time.
Experiment Above All Else
As in everything, there is always room to experiment. Digital photography means that taking a photo doesn’t cost money, so there is ample opportunity to practice and keep on practicing. Even if the majority of the time, you don’t first succeed, for instance the image doesn’t look great, every now and again, you will capture something unexpected. With practice, hard work, and patience you can capture stunning landscape photos that will look great in your portfolio.
