Landscape photography is an art form that allows photographers to express their creativity and vision. It requires patience, perseverance, and a keen eye for detail to capture breathtaking moments in nature.
Landscape photography is more than just about getting out of your comfort zone and shooting pictures of nature. You can achieve great results and become a better photographer with the right knowledge and skills.
These tips can help you achieve your desired result in landscape photography and improve your perspective of finding new angles.
1. Location:
Choosing the location is the first and the most difficult task for a landscape photographer, not every photographer is lucky to have beautiful landscapes in his city or maybe if someone is, they are not going to shoot in the same place every time, there is always something new they are looking for.
While Deciding on a location photographer doesn’t just mean going out and visiting the location, they want to be prepared for the changing environment which can be from weather, food and stay, every time choosing a location means careful planning for travel.
Management of the whole trip and organising your stuff as a photographer is the key part here, you neither want to be unprepared for the location nor you want to lose your expensive stuff like your camera, lens or even a lens filter because of the mismanagement of your stuff.
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To better plan your location, I recommend you visualise the place and see what stuff, travel, clothes, and staying fit is best for you.
If you are kind like any other photographer who carries most of their stuff in a single bag, it is the best time you put AirTag in your bag so to secure your stuff.
2. Camera and lenses choice:
Before you get your hands on expensive cameras and lenses it is important to understand how to use them.
Take lessons in photography, learn from other landscape photographers what camera settings they are using and first improve your knowledge about cameras, lenses and other accessories, after you understand the theory of how to use the camera and lens, now it will be better for you to make the right choice for the camera and lens you buy.
Here is the harsh truth… by any means I am not telling you to go for a cheap camera or lens, yes a full-frame camera is costly but way better than the crop sensor camera.
Yes, a lower aperture lens is costly but the quality of images you get is unbeatable.
If you are serious about photography and want to make your courier in that, I recommend you go for quality products.
There are tons of products related to photography, don’t make the mistake of buying most of them in fact just minimise your purchase by buying just a good camera, a good lens and a good PC to edit your photos.
Landscape photography is not just about using wide-angle lenses, you can even use a 70-200 G master lens for detailed close-up shots and a 16-35 G master lens for wide-angle view, the lenses choice you make depends on the kind of photograph you desire to present.
3. Golden Hour and Twilight Hour:
The Golden Hour, sometimes referred to as the Magic Hour, is a period of time shortly after sunrise or just before sunset. It is characterized by soft, warm, and golden-coloured light that enhances the overall atmosphere of a scene.
The Twilight Hour, also known as the Blue Hour, is the period before sunrise or after sunset when the sky turns deep blue. It occurs when the sun is below the horizon, and indirect sunlight is scattered in the atmosphere, illuminating the sky. The landscape is bathed in cool blue tones during this time, providing a serene and tranquil ambience.
Now that you understand what golden hour and Twilight hour are, let me tell you why these hours are so important for landscape photographers.
Whenever you see a stunning landscape photo there is a very high chance that the photo is captured during a golden hour or twilight hour because these hours create rich contrast and depth in the environment, letting photographers beautifully capture the scene.
In the past, I have made the mistake to avoid focusing on light and just composing the image properly, soon in editing I realised my images are well composed but the subject has harsh light on it which completely ruined the image.
To capture breathtaking landscapes it is important to understand lighting in the environment.
4. Planning your shot:
After you reach the right spot at the right time it is time to plan your shot.
When I talk about planning here is what I mean, what makes you a landscape photographer is not just capturing photos like everyone is capturing, when you visit a good location in a golden hour or twilight hour, you may see other photographers too or other travellers, they also take photos of the landscape but it does not necessarily mean that they are a professional landscape photographer.
If your photo-taking techniques are the same as theirs, you must know that after all the travel and expenses you have made no difference, that your photos are still as common as from a travellers camera, it doesn’t matter that you have an expensive camera, if your techniques are poor your camera is still poor.
If you seriously want to capture breathtaking landscapes focus on composition, the rule of thirds, symmetry, leading lines and using foreground can immediately improve your landscape shots, composition changes your perception of looking at the landscapes, other photographers and travellers are at the same place as you are, still, your shots are going to be more meaningful and more unique form others when you understand composition correctly.
5. Find your inspiration
You may follow all these steps, choosing a location wisely, buying a good camera and lens as per your need, being an early riser to travel to the location, after taking some epic shots, editing them, showcasing them on social media, being appreciated by other photographers and your followers.
You follow the same process again and after two or three times you are now a bit bored with your travel and shooting, you feel sense less to wake up early and now maybe you are thinking that you like photography but don’t enjoy it anymore.
Becoming a landscape photographer is more than the process.
Yes, you need time to take a rest, reflect on your work, bring new ideas to work, and maybe establish a new print shop for your pictures and with all that getting inspired from other photographers is also an important part for you as a photographer.
Inspiration not only allows you to appreciate other photographer’s work but it also unlocks your creative work.
Maybe you can plan your next trip to where your favourite photographer had been there recently or maybe you also want to capture some images like from your favourite photographer.
Follow these practices to be inspired and become one of the best photographers out there:
Social media engagement:
social media is one of the best ways to be inspired by other photographers from your community.
Apps like Instagram allow you to connect with other photographers and view their work.
One of the mistakes I see many photographers make is they follow too many people from Hollywood celebrities to sports stars who cover their whole Instagram page so they rarely see any photographer’s post and because of it they hardly get any inspiration for photography.
My suggestion to you will be that you should follow only those people that inspire you to get out and click some amazing pictures, you can still follow your old friends from school and some of your family members but remember if their post is not supporting your creativity then you can turn off their post form setting while still be connected.
Photography Workshops and Exhibitions:
Attend photography workshops and exhibitions to learn from experienced photographers and gain exposure to new ideas.
These events provide opportunities to engage with fellow photographers, expand your technical knowledge, and draw inspiration from the works on display.
Photography Books and Magazines:
Books and magazines dedicated to landscape photography showcase the works of renowned photographers.
These publications often feature stunning images, technical tips, and insights into the creative process. They can help you discover new perspectives and approaches to photographing landscapes.
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