Mastering Landscape Photography - How to Take Good Pictures
- By Autumn Lockwood
- Published 03/9/2010
- Arts and Crafts
- Unrated
If you're like most camera owners and have a digital compact, this is your camera's time to shine. For most photographers, an SLR or DSLR is the obvious camera of choice, but when it comes to landscapes, compact cameras work wonders because they have a much better depth of field. All you need to do to get some great landscape photos is to set your compact to landscape mode and follow these tips.
Remember one of the most important keys to taking good pictures is the quality of light.
* For lighting that is soft with a touch of warmth, take your landscape photos during the "Golden Hours" which is the hour after dawn and the last hour before sunset.
* For intensified colors and subdued highlights, shoot under an overcast sky. Overcast skies or heavily cloudy days will give you a beautiful filtered light for your photos.
* For dramatic shadows, shoot under a cloudy sky.
* You can add drama and interest to your landscape scene by adding contrast. For example, you could have red and gold autumn leaves against a brilliant blue sky. Look for these extreme contrast of colors as they're especially easy to find during seasons changes like the leaves falling off trees in fall or the first burst of spring.
* To get a very soft light, shoot on a foggy day.
The next most important element is composition. Here are some composition tips for perfect landscape photos.
* Always compose your landscape photos so that the horizon looks straight. Creative, fun angles have their place in photography, but not when you're taking a horizon.
* Fill two-thirds of your frame with the subject of most interest, whether it be a dramatic sky or an interesting foreground.
* Look for distinct lines. Lines could be anything from the obvious river or road to a shadow running along the sand dunes. If your image has lines, try framing your shot so that the major lines lead the eye toward the main point of interest, for example, a road winding its way to the mountains that are the subject of your photograph.
* Frame the composition with a point of interest in the foreground. This focal point could be a road or other line as mentioned above, a tree, person, animal, house, etc. Although the focal point won't be the main subject, it adds depth and draws the viewer into the picture so they'll look at the picture longer. In short, a focal point makes your landscape photo more interesting and more enjoyable to view.
* Watch out for clutter. In a landscape photo, clutter could be a power line or a branch in the way or garbage on the ground. If you can't get the picture you want without the clutter, you can always use photo editing software like Photoshop to remove it.
Hopefully this article has proved useful in your quest to taking spectacular landscape photos. There's always more to learn with photography, but just by following the tips above you can start taking great pictures of your favorite landscapes.
Remember one of the most important keys to taking good pictures is the quality of light.
* For lighting that is soft with a touch of warmth, take your landscape photos during the "Golden Hours" which is the hour after dawn and the last hour before sunset.
* For intensified colors and subdued highlights, shoot under an overcast sky. Overcast skies or heavily cloudy days will give you a beautiful filtered light for your photos.
* For dramatic shadows, shoot under a cloudy sky.
* You can add drama and interest to your landscape scene by adding contrast. For example, you could have red and gold autumn leaves against a brilliant blue sky. Look for these extreme contrast of colors as they're especially easy to find during seasons changes like the leaves falling off trees in fall or the first burst of spring.
* To get a very soft light, shoot on a foggy day.
The next most important element is composition. Here are some composition tips for perfect landscape photos.
* Fill two-thirds of your frame with the subject of most interest, whether it be a dramatic sky or an interesting foreground.
* Look for distinct lines. Lines could be anything from the obvious river or road to a shadow running along the sand dunes. If your image has lines, try framing your shot so that the major lines lead the eye toward the main point of interest, for example, a road winding its way to the mountains that are the subject of your photograph.
* Frame the composition with a point of interest in the foreground. This focal point could be a road or other line as mentioned above, a tree, person, animal, house, etc. Although the focal point won't be the main subject, it adds depth and draws the viewer into the picture so they'll look at the picture longer. In short, a focal point makes your landscape photo more interesting and more enjoyable to view.
* Watch out for clutter. In a landscape photo, clutter could be a power line or a branch in the way or garbage on the ground. If you can't get the picture you want without the clutter, you can always use photo editing software like Photoshop to remove it.
Hopefully this article has proved useful in your quest to taking spectacular landscape photos. There's always more to learn with photography, but just by following the tips above you can start taking great pictures of your favorite landscapes.
Autumn Lockwood
Autumn Lockwood is a writer for Your Picture Frames and loves taking photos. Your Picture Frames offers a wide selection of photo frames so you'll always find the perfect frame. Visit our website and see our wood gallery picture frames and unique panoramic photo frames.
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