Landscape Photography - Helpful Hints and Techniques
If you yearn to capture the presence of fantastic landscapes and wish to use your camera as a tool to emulate the true beauty of nature, then landscape photography is precisely the field that you should be looking into. Let's face it - perhaps the most fulfilling aspect of being a photographer is getting involved with the world around you, and that's exactly what landscape photographers do on a daily basis.
But what are the significant elements of this particular niche? Better yet - what separates an avid landscape shooter from a mediocre one? A fair question!
Filling in the Frame
No other form of photography puts more stress on the importance of composition than landscape photography - the substance of your frame will easily determine the overall quality of your photo, regardless of your seemingly perfect lens choice or how well you adjust to light. Thus, your composition should be broken down into specific attributes:
Depth of Field: It is absolutely crucial that the entirety of your frame is kept in focus. The foreground should not be out of focus and neither should the background. Naturally, you will want to extend your Depth of Field by using a smaller aperture (larger F-stop), which means that you will have to atone for the lack of light reception by increasing your ISO or decreasing your shutter speed. You may have to do both, depending on the situation.
Longer exposure: Exposure is a huge element in landscape photography and most experts elect to maximize it as much as possible. One of the main advantages of this genre is the fact that you will very rarely capture people or unnatural objects, so longer exposure can only benefit your shot. This is especially useful for when you are taking photos of moving water - longer exposure can amplify the flow of the stream.
The importance of a tripod: Longer exposure and slower shutter speeds mean that you will need to keep your camera completely still. What better way to do that than to use a tripod? Even the most avid landscape photographers elect to use tripods for the majority of their shots - I recommend that you find a heavy one that is sustainable in wet environments so you can get as close as possible to bodies of water.
Seasonal aspects: With landscape comes nature, and with nature comes weather. Not only does the weather impact the lighting you will be dealing with, but it also greatly affects the theme of your shot. It's vital that you have a primary focus on the mood you are trying to capture when doing landscape photography - you could take two separate shots of the exact same mountain, but if one was taken during the summer and the other was taken during the winter, then they would produce two completely different moods. What kind of theme are you aiming for with this project? Are you trying to focus on the elements of a particular season or do you want to elaborate on the transition from one to season to the next?
Having a focal point: Rather than emulating the entirety of a landscape, you should always try to emphasize a specific portion of it. For instance, if you were taking a photo of a raging river, then a suitable focal point for the shot would be a nearby tree or a shoreline of rocks leading up to the river. If you only capture the river itself or you try backing up to fit all kinds of substance into the frame, then the shot may appear overwhelming and uninteresting. A strong focal point will let your viewers know that they're supposed to be looking at something significant, which will give them more incentive to care about the photo.
Transcend your background: While the background of your photo must be in focus, the foreground plays the most important role and should take up the majority of your frame. Going back to the river shot, you would want to emulate the perception of the river leading up to the forest or mountains in the background. You could also use a bed of flowers or the edge of a hill to show what it is like to see the river from a distance.
The Sky Is Not the Limit!
While your foreground, background and weather conditions are extremely important, a few underlying factors play their parts in landscape photography as well. Here some of the other attributes you will want to take note of:
Using lines: The best way to make an aspect of a landscape significant is to use lines that lead up to the main subject of your frame. Any vertical pattern that guides the viewer's eyes to your focal point can be used in this matter, such as white lines on a street or trails or footprints. This can usually be combined with your foreground, which makes it all the more easier to establish your composition.
Movement: It's not terribly uncommon to have moving objects in your photo. While people and animals aren't always the best subjects to capture in landscape photography, natural motion is almost impossible to avoid. Entities such as moving clouds or trees blowing in the wind are always fantastic additions to your frame but you will need to increase your exposure in order to capitalize on them. Of course, longer exposure means more light reception, which means that you will have to decrease your aperture or ISO.
Unexpected changes: It's important that you select a specific time to do your shooting. Your lighting will change with every passing minute of the day, so you must be prepared to adjust your settings accordingly. Keep some spare filters with you and always know what ISO and aperture you will need to use in order to make the best of your environment.
Using the right lens and camera: Depending on what type of landscape you are trying to shoot, you will want to decide between a wide-angle lens or a telephoto lens. In most cases, a wide-angle lens offers the best flexibility in terms of expanding your frame, but a telephoto lens can come in handy if you need to focus on certain portions of a landscape. Either way, an SLR camera is highly recommended over a compact device simply because of the added convenience when switching between different lenses.
Experience Is the Key
In order to discover the best combination of elements for landscape photography, you must be ready to gain as much experience in the genre as possible. After a substantial amount of experimentation, you'll eventually acquire an instinctive process for all of your photo-taking campaigns. Of course, having fun is the most important factor, so don't forget to enjoy yourself!