Mastering Landscape Photography – How to Take Good Pictures
Posted on February 15, 2010
Filed Under Camera Problems, Canon Problems | Leave a Comment
If you’re ike 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 camers work wonders because they have a much better depth of field. If you want to take some great landscape photos, all you need to do is 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 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.
- If you want dramatic shadows, take pictures 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.
- 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 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 to have the major lines lead the eye toward the subject of the image. For example, a road winding its way up the mountains and the mountains are the subject of your photo.
- Frame the composition with a point of interest in the foreground. This could be anything like a tree, person, animal or house. The focal point won’t be the main subject (the landscape is),but it adds depth, draws the viewer into the image and gives the eyes a place to rest, thus engaging the viewer longer with your photograph. 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 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.
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