Landscape photography I have always felt to be something very intuitive and a natural thing to grasp. For example, being on a holiday and seeing a great natural vista, it’s obvious what should be photographed, and most of the time I feel the beauty of the scenery has done all the work for me. Ansel Adams said once that there are no rules for good photographs; and this encompasses the intuitive nature of taking (landscape) photography.
However it is certainly beneficial to learn the tips and tricks before you choose to disregard them if you choose to. Learning techniques of composition can be extremely beneficial when deciding how to take a photo.
First of all, landscape photography utilises the scenery as the subject; few animals or people will feature in the shot, unless perhaps they are used for scale, or are in the distance. Landscape photographs are not merely confined to that of the sea coast of mountains but there are urban landscapes you can take pictures of too.
I’ve read about different of styles of landscape photography, and the most common is representational ¬– whereby you are showing what you can really see.
The other interesting style is abstract landscapes whereby ‘shape and form take priority’ and the result is patterns unrecognisable as a conventional landscape. I managed to find this photographer called Steve Friedman who has managed to take some great landscape shots that have a feel of an impressionist painting. See them here http://tiny.cc/vmr89
So, onwards to the top tips of taking landscapes, and one of the most important should surely be the composition of the scene that you are taking. Now as with many opportunities to take a good photo, the likelihood is that someone else has taken the shot before you. What’s more is that anyone can take a snap at something, but the longer you spend composing a picture, then it is likely the outcome will be far better.
The ‘Rule of Thirds’ is the most well known idea people use in their composition. It might seem a little complicated to explain, but I assure you, once you start taking photos with this in mind, you will see better and results, and what is more I find that using this and any other technique of composition becomes second nature. The theory behind it is that you split your scene in the thirds (and therefore into 9 squares.) If you use this grid as a basis for your photograph, you can then place interesting objects over the intersecting lines.
The reason why you do this is because the centre of the picture is the weakest part of the picture that the eye is drawn to. If you place the interesting object just off to the side, then the viewer’s eyes will naturally fall onto this, and in turn make the picture more aesthetically pleasing. It helps make your photos be more natural and balance. It’s quite tricky to explain this in writing so I direct you to a video that can explain it further: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiYHT-JvoqI
Leading lines can also be a useful compositional idea, and one that will draw your viewer to look at your photograph in a certain way. Leading lines, whether curved or straight, can control your viewer’s eyes to a certain focal point in the picture. They can be natural – for example shorelines, streams or fallen branches or they can also be man-made – like railway lines or
roads.Having depth in landscape photography doesn’t just mean having everything in focus (by using a deeper depth of field.) It also means adding perspective to a photo. This is generally achieved by adding foreground interest to the photo. If you were taking a photo of some mountains, having a flower, or rock in the foreground can help give the viewer a sense of magnitude to the whole scene; a tiny flower & a gigantic mountain. It is things like this add perspective to a photo.
‘A good photograph is knowing where to stand.’ This is apparently another quote by the great Ansel Adams, and this sums up the start of composing a photo. It is amazing the results you can get if you can take a photo from a different spot or even a different height. When composing your shot.
Using light to your advantage is really beneficial with landscapes. What is great is that you don’t even have to have good whether to shoot in this style. Generally the best time to use the light is during the ‘Golden hours’ – during sunrise and sunset. The sun during these times can turn the sky quite magical. On the other hand if it is bad weather, this too can help you get very atmospheric shots. Longer exposures can allow you to shoot the flowing of clouds, or the crashing of waves in a storm.
In terms of equipment, a tripod makes a great companion for taking landscapes. It may help you think more about what you’re trying to compose but more importantly it allows you take longer exposures. This means you can then capture the long flowing water in a stream or the swirling clouds above, which can really make the difference in a photo. Along with a tripod, a remote shutter release wouldn’t go amiss either. Zoom lenses make composing a shot very easy, but the lens which can produce fantastic results is the wide-angle. This is because they are able to fit more into the photo. The next step from this of course is to shoot panoramic photos. One of the ways of greatly improving your landscape photos is to shoot during the ‘golden hours’ – i.e. at dusk or dawn where you have some sort of ‘ magic light’ to shoot under. Read more about this here http://tiny.cc/r1409
I’ve read about the clichés of landscapes, please feel free to ignore this photographic snobbery. http://tiny.cc/r1409 Take it with a little pinch of salt but I think the main message is with landscapes is, don’t jump for the most obvious thing you can see, but take some time and try taking something that will be different and stand apart from many other landscape photographs.
More Links and videos here
http://digital-photography-school.com/11-surefire-tips-for-improving-your-landscape-photography
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ4nmxMlsg0
http://landscape-photography.suite101.com/article.cfm/using_lines_in_landscape_composition
http://www.smashandpeas.com/10-landscape-photography-tips/
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