If you’re ike most camera owners and have a digital compact, this is your camera’s time to shine. For most serious photographers, an SLR or DSLR is the obvious camera choice, but when it comes to landscapes, compact cameras rule because they offer 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. And before you know it you’ll be hanging your landscape pictures in gallery picture frames on the wall for all your friends and family to admire.
Remember that the quality of light is one of the most important elements of photography.
- For lighting that is soft, even and has a touch of warmth, take your landscape photos during the Golden Hours: the first hour after dawn and the last hour before sunset (unless you’re taking sunset pictures).
- For bright colors and subdued highlights, take pictures under an overcast sky.
- For dramatic shadows, shoot under a cloudy sky.
- Enhance the quality of your image and add drama by photographing a landscape scene with contrast; for example, red and gold autumn leafed trees against a strong blue sky.
- To get a very soft light, shoot on a foggy day.
The next most important element is composition. Here are some tips for composing perfect landscape pictures.
- 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 viewfinder with the landscape you want to be the subject of your photo.
- Look for 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. A focal point simply makes your landscape picture more enjoyable and interesting to look at.
- Watch out for clutter. In a landscape photograph, clutter could be something like an airplane or power line overhead or a pile of branches or rubbish can on the ground. If you can’t get the shot you want without the clutter, use a decent photo editor like Photoshop to remove it.
And another tip for mastering landscape photography is to properly frame your picture in a picture frame that complements your image. In most cases, landscape pictures look best in frames with clean lines like simple metal frames or a classic wood picture frame.
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.
