Landscape photography is the art of capturing pictures of nature and the outdoors in a way that brings your viewer into the scene. From grand landscapes to intimate details, the best photos demonstrate the photographer’s own connection to nature and capture the essence of the world around them. Below, you’ll find all the landscape photography articles we have written over the past decade, including our highly approachable tutorials and techniques. If you want to learn everything there is to know about taking beautiful landscape pictures, this is the place to start.
Camera Equipment
There are many things that can help you achieve that brilliant landscape shot. Camera, wide-angle lenses, tripods, polarising filters, and other accessories are particularly important.
Here we will show you the best equipment to assist your landscape photography adventures.
How to Choose the Perfect Camera for Landscape Photography
Landscape photography requires different things from your camera than street or sports photography.
Your camera needs to capture as much detail as possible and perform at a high resolution. At the same time, you need to be able to use the dynamic range and know how to take advantage of your DSLR camera’s sensor.
All these play a part in getting the best from your landscape photos.
The Best Lenses for Landscape Shooting
The cost of lenses can range from $200 to $2000 and you might think that the higher the cost, the better the lens. This is true most of the time. But there are also other factors you need to take into account.
All types of lenses follow different requirements. Some focus on light, others on chromatic aberrations and other unwanted effects.
For landscape photography, we’re usually looking for a specific lens. One with a wide-angle and great level of sharpness at narrow apertures.
Most expensive does not always mean best. Sometimes the cheapest lens can, in fact, be amazing. The article above will give you the tools you need to choose the best one for yourself.
A Complete Guide to Tripods
Nothing screams landscape photographer more than a tripod. It is a very necessary piece of equipment for capturing those highly detailed shots.
Three keywords you should keep in mind when choosing a tripod are sturdy, solid and lightweight.
Sturdy because it will need to deal with elements such as dirt and rain while being knocked around.
Solid so that it keeps your camera still while capturing that shot. And lightweight because you don’t want any extra weight holding you down.
For me, a tripod needs to be as versatile as the camera. It should allow me to either change the head or at least be able to shoot both portrait and landscape.
It should also be easy to set up and use so that you do not miss any quick changes in the surrounding areas.
Important Accessories for Landscape Photography
Stunning landscape photography isn’t only about focusing on your photographic kit. It’s also about getting to the best place to take photographs.
Your apparel choice is very important to help you work in harsh environments. You shouldn’t forget to grab some gloves and thermal shirts to keep you warm. Hiking boots and a rain jacket will help keep you dry.
There are other helpful things you could bring along. A good, ergonomic bag (your back will thank you) or a head torch. The article above will go through them all for you.
Filters: Uv, Polarized, Graduated, ND, and More
Lens filters are very beneficial for landscape photography when used correctly. And the best part is that there’s a filter for everything!
The UV (ultraviolet) filter is the most known. Its purpose has changed over the years from a necessity (film) to useless (digital)
The ND (neutral density) filter decreases shutter speeds for those long exposure shots
The GND (graduated neutral density) filter helps average out the huge difference between sky and landscape
And Polarized filters help to cut out glare and reflections
How to Use a Graduated ND Filter for Landscape Photography
A neutral density filter pulls overly-abundant light out of the scene you want to capture. This helps you correctly expose long exposures.
A graduated neutral density filter is similar to an ND filter. It is an ND filter on one end, ranging from transparent to full-filter in a gradient. These are specifically for darkening one area of your scene.
The sky is the most basic reasons why you would want to use one of these filters. You will find that the sky is much lighter than the landscape or cityscape that you want to photograph.
A graduated ND filter will pull out the light, adding detail to that brighter area. This creates a more correctly exposed scene. This is instead of having an area one or two stops lighter than the others.
Camera Settings for Landscape Photography
JPEG Versus Raw
Shooting in JPEG and Raw uses the same number of pixels but the file size of the Raw is about 5 times bigger than JPEG.
That extra file size comes from the image data that the Raw file keeps and JPEG discards. This extra data allows you to get so much more range from exposure, color and white balance in post-production.
Shooting in Raw isn’t as fast as JPEG. You’ll also need special software to make the most of the Raw images. But the end result is definitely worth it.
Understanding How Your Histogram Works
Histograms are a step closer to becoming more professional in your workflow. They’re a mathematical review of how even your exposure is.
Using the LCD screen to determine how your highlights and shadows look can be misleading. This will depend on the available ambient light. The histogram is a clear indicator of under or overexposure, so it is helpful to use.
Shooting Modes
You’ve seen it on almost every camera made in the last 50 years. A small icon of a person in a frame indicates a portrait and an icon of a mountain for landscape.
Fortunately, we have moved forward into a more refined age. These modes have turned into something useful. Av/A (Aperture Priority) and Tv/S (Shutter Priority).
Your Landscape photography can be immensely helped by Av/A mode. It lets you concentrate on exposure time and depth of field while keeping a correct exposure value.
Creating the Perfect Exposure
Now that you have all the equipment to get around in the great outdoors, you can move on to capturing the image.
Your aperture, shutter, and ISO all work together to give you that perfect exposure. This means not overexposing the highlights and underexposing the shadowy areas.
The in-camera metering modes are there to help you get as close as possible to the correct exposure. The shooting and focus modes help you highlight what the most important part of the image is. It then helps to keep it in the best possible light.
How to Capture Breathtaking Panoramas
Panoramas are a great way to show one spectacular view from a very wide angle. These are perfect from high altitudes, where you want to show everything from the same perspective.
Especially if you can’t make up your mind over which angle to shoot from!
You can capture a panorama shot from any lens and a tripod. With a little help from post-processing, you can then create an iconic, memorable image. This article will show you how.
How to Shoot Stunning Landscapes
So you are out in the great outdoors. No doubt trying to replicate those beautiful landscape photographs you’ve seen before.
It might not be going as well as you’d hoped. Maybe you just need a little boost.
Here are 12 tips to help you get the best from your photography. Best used when you have the landscape in front of you and want to capture it in the best possible light.
Types of Landscape Photography
Sunrise Photography
There is nothing better than being outdoors when you see the sun is setting. The sky lights up with colors you never even thought existed.
You grab your camera, aim, and shoot but it doesn’t quite come out how you envisioned it.
Here there are some great tips on why it is worth getting up early. This article will help to make sure you’re never unprepared for sunrise photography.
Sunset Photography
The sunset provides the golden hour at the end of the day. This is great as you don’t need to get up early, and you can see when the sun will fall much easier.
Our article has five great tips on how to photograph the sunset perfectly. Like most landscape images, planning is paramount. This can be easily done with smartphone apps. Or even scouting the area beforehand.
Be patient. Practice as much as you can. You’ll soon find that all of the ideas fit together to help you create something stunning.
Coastline and Seascape Photography
Photographs along the coastline and seascapes ARE landscapes. But they have their own specific techniques.
You’ll more than likely be including the water in these shots. Here are some very handy ways to make your coastline photography captivating, dramatic and unique!
15 Tips on Better Seascape Photography
Any area of photography can be easily improved with research. The research you should look at about the sea is mainly about the tide and swell of the water.
The weather forecast is essential in this field. It will let you know when the tide is in or out. Some landscape areas will only work when the tide is out, revealing more of the landscape. This could turn a good image into a great one.
Forest Photography
You will always find that no matter where you are, there are general landscape photography rules that apply. Things such as composition, perspective, and framing are all key.
Photographing in a forest has its own extra set of challenges. You have to deal with the topographic element the forest offers. You’ll find less available light and a possibly changing landscape.
you’ll need patience, practice, and our tips. Then you’ll be able to quickly improve your forest photography.
Black and White Landscape Photography
Creating black and white landscapes is a beautiful way to show the scenery. We look at black and white images very differently than those in color.
The monochromatic style lets us focus on the texture, shape, and contrast of a scene. Colour can distract from the scene. Strong greens and blues can take importance away from the scene.
An image where the colors are not pleasing can be easily converted into black and white. They might help to create a more interesting landscape.
Photographing the Desert
The desert is a great place to start with landscape photography. This is a landscape that rarely changes, so you can keep the same settings for long periods. This is good for practicing.
Here, you can concentrate on shapes and forms of the area. Textures and shapes are also great things to look for as us, the viewers will find them interesting. Filling the frame will help make the scene seem gargantuan.
This is because the viewers’ perspective is limited to what you show them. Get out there already!
Long Exposure Landscape Photography
There are a few reasons why you would want to use a long exposure. If you want to achieve the correct light exposure where there is an abundance of light. Or if you wish to remove unwanted clutter from images.
It is also a great way to show movement when a still image is not enough.
Long exposure can be effective day or night. You can capture light trails of cars, experiment with light writing or capture lightning striking the Earth.
Night Landscape Photography
Night photography means incorporating the starry skies alongside the scenery. And it comes with its own set of challenges.
Nighttime landscape photography might mean using different techniques. Keep moving objects, like the stars, still in relation to the scenery is only one you can use.
Light is the biggest challenge to overcome. So you should focus on dealing with low light conditions. Fast apertures, tripods, and trial-and-error capturing are your best friends.
Our ultimate guide to nighttime photography will give you more tips. they aim to help you nail that perfect nighttime scenery.
Important Landscape Tips and Techniques
How Dramatic Weather Will Transform your Landscape Photography
Any scene can be a landscape. The seaside, rolling hills – even photographing in the street can be a landscape photograph. It all depends on the focus.
Harsh weather conditions (think stormy clouds, not force 12 winds), can bring atmosphere. A sense of drama is welcome in an otherwise dull image.
The weather has the capacity of completely changing the mood of the landscape. It can provide a completely different experience for those viewing the final landscape photograph.
Our article will show you how to transform your landscapes by taking advantage of dramatic weather conditions.
Location Scouting
You’ve heard it in so many different places: location, location, location. There is a reason it is so ingrained in us photographers. It actually matters where you set yourself up to photograph.
Some photographers don’t share their list of locations when it comes to their landscapes. Others share geotags through platforms like Flickr and Shot Hot Spot. Locations can also be found with a little research.
There are even apps that help you visualize what the location will look like at a particular time of day. Judging sunlight and moon positions, these can give you all the information you need to find that great scene.
10 Tips for Taking Minimalist Landscape Photography
Not all landscapes are going to be huge, impressive expanses of forms and flows. You’ll definitely come across areas that will be more minimal in their design. Capturing these situations can make some very impressive and interesting images.
This is also an area of landscape photography that you can create yourself. Simply changing your perspective can be enough to capture the scene in a ‘less is more’ manner. We have 10 of the best tips on how to capture minimal landscape photography.
Seasonal Landscape Photography Tips
As a landscape photographer, you should go out at different times of the day. Before sunrise, before sunset, during nighttime, and during all weather conditions.
The seasons are no different. That lake might be boring during the Summer. But during the winter months, it turns into a frozen wonderland.
All those bare trees bloom during Spring and the sun becomes stronger. Each season has different benefits for photography. Here’s what you have to look forward to during each.
Shooting During the Spring
Winter is over. Things are growing again, and the sun starts to strengthen. Exploiting this newfound sun gives you shadows and a fresh look at recovering vegetation.
You can use these to focus your viewer’s attention on particular areas of your photo.
The weather conditions are also working in your favor. Fog and dew can help you to make better, more hemispherical images. Not being able to see the entire landscape scene will add mystery.
Spring photography can even lead to some mystical, dreamy photos!
Shooting During the Summer
You would think that summertime photography is the easiest and most enjoyable. The sun is shining all day, everything’s in bloom and there’s not a cloud in the sky.
That might work for some pictures, but not all. It becomes tricky if you want any definition and detail from clouds. Or don’t want to stay out until 10 pm waiting for the sun to finally dim a little.
Here you’ll find some tips on how to avoid the pitfalls of summer landscape photography. Instead, you’ll make great, memorable photos.
How to Take Your Fall Photography to a New Level
You’ve photographed everything green. And then photographed it again. But now it’s fall! The season of color. You can take advantage of all the beautiful scenery to create some stunning pictures.
Isolating colors and using backlight on the foliage to make the colors pop. Or utilizing low angles to extend scenes and shapes are just a few ways to experiment with this season.
Shooting During the Winter
One of the trickiest things in photography is trying to get the correct light exposure. This is even worse in the winter. Snow acts like a big reflector. Trying to photograph a white winter wonderland can quickly become nightmarish.
Using manual mode might give you a little more help than Av (Aperture Priority) or Tv (Shutter Priority).
Filters can also give you a little more room in moving closer to that perfect light reading.
This article will teach you how to master the winter season’s extreme differences between highlights and the mid-tones. And how to make that blinding white snow work for you instead of against you.
Composition
The Rule of Thirds
One of the most basic ideas of composition is the rule of thirds. It says that not everything interesting should be centrally located in the photograph.
If you drew imaginary lines one third and two thirds down and within the viewfinder, four intersections are created. These areas are ideal for making the photograph and the subject more interesting.
Our article goes into more detail about how you can use the rule of thirds to improve your photography.
How to Use Balance in Photography Composition
Balancing an unbalanced scene or vice-versa can add tremendous composition value to an image. You as a photographer can sort out the chaos or add atmosphere to an otherwise boring image.
Balancing images looks at two parts of the frame. Be it top/bottom, left/right or foreground/background and the content of both.
Maybe they work together to strengthen an idea. Or they work against each other to create something exaggerated.
How to use Triangles to Improve Your Composition
Triangles have played a big part in the composition of photographs since the early years. We use them everywhere, whether with people or landscape photography.
They could be lines, paths or buildings where the bottom is wider than the top. The important part is that all the lines converge to a point at the top.
Our eyes automatically find their way there, as the triangle shape guides our focus and attention.
How Using Horizontal Lines will Strengthen Your Composition
We see horizons all the time, so much so that they sometimes disappear from our attention. Nonetheless, horizons are part of a photo’s composition and something you should not overlook.
There are rules to follow to make that image stand out more. Especially when dealing with sea and sky, sky and land or with sea and land. A simple yet effective idea.
How to Add Depth to a Photo
Depth in photography is an interesting concept. You take a 3D setting, you photograph it and it turns into something closer to 2D. It loses its depth in the process.
But there are ways to get it back and turn it into a more realistic image. Simple composition rules can help, such as the rule of thirds, leading lines, frames, etc.
Even your choice of lens (wide angle vs. telephoto) has an effect on the relationship between the objects in your frame.
This post will show you how to create depth in your photos so your vision is what your camera captures.
How to Use Leading Lines to Improve Your Photography Composition
Leading lines are just that – lines that lead your eyes into the frame. Sometimes they lead your eyes out again. This will depend on the intention of the photographer.
They can take your viewer to what you want them to focus on. On top of that, they can guide them through the flow of a scene or setting. Or they can vanish into the distant horizon.
As a photographer, you have the choice.
How to Make Money With Landscape Photography
So you want to be a full-time landscape photographer, huh? Well, the simple way to ensure you can do this full-time is to find out how to make money from it. There are many ways to do so, so everyone can find something of value here.
One option to make money from landscape photography is to sell the pictures you take. This could be through prints of your landscapes to people who are looking for wall art. Perhaps using a stock photography website can be of use too.
Find out here how to sell your work and stay outdoors for as long as you wish.
Post-Processing Landscape Photography
10 Post-Processing Landscape Tips
Photography doesn’t end with the press of the shutter button. One of the most important parts of being a photographer is what you do after. With traditional film, we had dodging and burning.
Now we have countless programs and apps that make post-processing seamless and useful.
Here is how you can help change your landscape from a great shot into an amazing photograph.
How to Remove Lens Flare With this Clever Trick
You hiked for two hours, you climbed that mountain, and you’re finally setting up your shot. Everything is going swimmingly. Until you take a look at your photos and that dreaded lens flare is taking up more space than the landscape.
You forgot your lens hood – yes, the one you looked at when you took the lens out of the box and then forgot about.
What do you do? Go home? Follow our trick here and you’ll never have to deal with that pesky flare again.
7 Tips for Using Lightroom’s Graduated Filter Tool for Landscape Photography
Sometimes you find yourself reading about graduated filters online AFTER you have already taken the photograph. You might need to fix the overexposure in the sky from that latest, impromptu beach shoot.
Or maybe you want to get rid of atmospheric haze in your latest city landscape.
Whatever it is you’re after, Adobe Lightroom has you covered. Here’s how to use graduated filters to save all those spontaneous photos!
30 Best Free Lightroom Presets for Landscape Photography
Presets are the staple of any good Light room edit. Some come from Adobe. Enthusiasts also create some and share them with other photographers. Here are a few presets to fit into your Adobe Light room.
These will help you make the best of your photos!
How to Use the Orton Effect in Landscape Photography
Post-processing images through local adjustments can only get you so far. Sometimes, you need to add a ‘heavier hand’ to create the images you want. The Orton effect is useful in separating your landscape photography from the chaff.
For this, you’ll need Adobe Photoshop as you’ll need to create and duplicate layers. Once you have it, you’ll find its a quite easy process. But, it can take a while to master it in the way you want, without applying an ‘overcooked’ feel.
What Is Chromatic Aberration and How To Correct It
Have you ever looked closely at your images and found parts of the subject to have a fringe? They might be purple, red, blue, cyan, or green.
These are Chromatic Aberrations and they are not your fault. It is the action of light passing through your lens and leaving part of itself behind.
In this article, you will learn how to deal with these fringes in-camera during post-processing.
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