What is the best place to start when it’s time to learn landscape photography? It’s not a hobby that involves 4am starts, lone hikes, and weather windows of 20 seconds. Wrong! It’s partially true. Don’t worry if you’ve never shot a landscape before. We can help you get started. We can help you, too, if landscapes are your thing. Here are some of our top landscape photography tips to make your scenic photography journey a little easier.
Check out the Photography For Beginners Page for more information. It contains links to our many tutorials.
Beginner’s tips on landscape photography
01 You do not need a wide angle lens
Landscape photos can be taken with any lens – whether it is a wide angle, standard, or telephoto.
While an ultra-wide angle lens will allow you to fit more in your picture, the composition can be difficult and everything could look small. With an ultra-wide lens, the trick is to zoom in on details that are in the foreground. However, if you get too close to them, they may start to appear distorted.
Standard lenses produce a distortion-free picture, but you will need to put in more effort to create a more interesting image. Try shooting a panoramic. While specialist tripod heads make it easier, software such as Photoshop Photomerge can create stunning panoramas using photos taken with everyday equipment.
The key is to ensure that you have enough overlap between each frame. You can also position the camera vertically, which will allow you to take a larger panorama and crop the photo if needed.
Telephoto lenses allow you to see finer details of the landscape. These lenses can also be used to add drama to landscape photos by using the compression effect. Landscape photographers use this technique to make the foreground appear closer than it is in reality. This makes hills, mountains, and forests seem to extend into the distance.
The time of day is important
The ‘golden hour’ is often mentioned in landscape photography tips, and for good reason. Warm light at dawn or dusk gives pictures a lovely quality. Low sun can also help reveal textures in landscapes.
Do not pack up your bags when the sun is below the horizon. Landscapes can be enhanced by the soft colors of twilight, and the inky blue sky of the early evening is better suited for landscapes with low light than pitch black at night.
Use the Aperture Priority Mode
Landscape mode may be available on your camera’s dial, but it is an automatic setting that should only be used for quick snaps. Although you may not like the camera’s selection of aperture, or how it enhances saturation and sharpness, these settings cannot be changed manually.
Aperture Priority can be a good choice for landscape photography. In this semi-automatic setting, you can change the aperture and the camera will adjust the shutter speed to ensure a consistent exposure. You can also adjust the colour, sharpening and ISO settings.
Aperture Priority Mode will not make your picture brighter or darken. You’ll have to use the Exposure Compensation feature on your camera.
What is the best aperture to use for landscapes?
A small aperture is needed to get sharp images from the foreground all the way up to the horizon.
Smaller apertures increase the depth of field, or how sharp a picture is from front to back. However, very small apertures can actually result in softer photos due to the effects of “diffraction”.
Landscape photographers prefer apertures between f/8 and f/16.
Try manually focusing about a third into the scene to maximize depth of field. Playback and magnify the scene to make sure the main features are clear. Adjust the focus and take the photo again if necessary.
Use a tripod that is sturdy
It may sound like a cliché, but this is one of the most useful landscape photography tips. A sturdy tripod can be a great investment for outdoor and scenic photography.
Long exposure times are produced by the combination of soft lighting, small apertures, and low ISO settings. Even with an image stabilized lens or camera, it’s difficult to take a sharp photo handheld in these conditions.
The tripod will also slow you down, allowing you to take your time and consider the composition of the shot before you set up the camera.