Landscape Photography Tips Posted: 02 Apr 2012 05:13 PM PDT

"Dead Vlei Namibia" captured by David Hobcote (Click Image to See More From David Hobcote)

Best light during dawn or dusk

The best light is during dawn and dusk. That’s when the light is warm, the sun is in the frame and

the mood is just beautiful. However, depending on what you want to do with your landscape

shots you can shoot any time you want. I’ve read time after time again that the only time to shoot

landscape shots is during dawn or dusk. I shoot mine when I see the moment. But it all depends

on your style really and what you want to convey. It’s better you capture the image than not just

because you were busy waiting for the perfect light.

I love an incredible light however. I can go excited, nearly ecstatic, from an amazing light, but the

moment will always go first. If I only have the crappiest camera with the shittiest light I’ll still

make the frame.

Use a tripod

You will not be able to hold the camera steady during low light circumstances without a tripod.

Invest in a stable one and use the timer shutter, or invest in a remote shutter control, to shoot the

image. This way it doesn’t get influenced by the motion of you pressing down on the shutter

button. I do have a remote shutter control but I still prefer the timer because it’s with me at all

times without using up space in my luggage. And with a Canon 5D Mark II I can set the timer to

merely two seconds which makes the it very convenient. Perfect for the shake to settle down and

it’s a short enough time to wait for the shutter to trigger. Ten seconds can be bothersome but two

is nothing. A stable tripod costs a lot though, but in many ways it will be worth it because just a

little wind can knock your tripod down and wreck anything it holds. This can cost you the image,

but it can also cost you the camera.

Divide the image for depth

Divide the image into foreground (for instance the ground or the beach), the middle ground (for

instance the water) and the background (for instance the sky). This creates a sense of depth and

will make a huge difference to your landscape photography.

Set the aperture value high

Around 22 should give you a nice sharp overall image. Many lenses are the sharpest around 8 but

that’s a whole other level of sharpness. Go with as high value as you can get and use a tripod.

Unless you are going for effects like freezing the flow of water. Since the shutter speed will be

quite slow while shooting landscapes you should set the ISO to around 50 or 100 which will cause

low amounts of noise in the picture.

"Waterfall at Sunset" captured by Ævar Guðmundsson (Click Image to See More From Ævar

Guðmundsson)

Focus in the middle

If you are looking for overall sharpness then always place the focus in the middle of the

landscape. If there’s a focal point you want to emphasize – place the focus straight onto that one.

Focal point

Is there any elements you can use in the picture as a focal point? For instance a road that swirls

into the image, three rocks in the water or maybe a tree? If you create a focal point in the

photograph it will be so much stronger than without one. Without it will simply just be flat.

Always look for light, lines, symmetry and elements that stand out. An easy way to do this is to

look at the landscape – what exactly captures your attention? Make that your focal point.

Get an interesting sky

A clear blue sky is awesome, but it’s also just a blue boring sky. If you want drama with your

picture, wait for the charismatic clouds to sweep in. As always it depends on what you are going

for but a busy sky always creates more of an emotional effect.

Never place the horizon in the middle

Okay, this is a little bit of a lie because sometimes placing the horizon in the absolute middle of

the photograph can be amazing, but most of the time look at what’s interesting – the ground or

the sky? Then compose the image so that the most interesting part uses up more space. If you

have a clear blue sky it will just fill you image with blue. If so composite the image so that the

most of it is filled with an interesting ground. If you have an incredible texture of clouds before

you and the ground is just boring rocks – shoot the sky. In short, choose what’s more interesting

– the ground or the sky – and let the most interesting element be the dominant part of the image.

Photo capture by Anthony Smith (Click Image to See More From Anthony Smith)

Think detail

Make sure the highlights don’t go to bright and cram in as much detail you can. This goes for

every photograph though – detail captivates but when it comes to landscape photography the

details are a massive part of the image. You can even use bracketing to create an HDR image with

incredible amounts of detail. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and in short it’s a way to

blend several exposures into one with details in even the brightest and the darkest areas.

About the Author:

Examples of photography related to this article and a portfolio by the author is available

here: www.mikaelcedergren.com.