Money Biz Blog

There are countless breathtaking landscapes. Just visit a local or national park, you won’t even have to leave the United States! Below are tips to help you take awesome landscape photographs. Both beginners and professionals can use these simple tips to take landscape photos.

1. Take into account light quality. Is the light soft or harsh? Are you photographing at sunrise or sunset, or during the bright afternoon? Are there clouds, is it overcast? The best light will be before 10 a.m. and after 2 p.m.

2. Look for interesting lighting. Back-lighting and side-lighting are great for mountains. Side-lighting can be created by turning 90 away from the sun. Back-lighting is very dramatic and creates silhouettes.

3. Compose your photograph. For landscapes, symmetry works. Remember, simplicity is beautiful. Do you have lakes, streams, trees, or mountains? Look at the different shapes formed by the landscape in your frame.

4. Try to include bridges, paths, and roads. Use their shapes to draw the viewer in and lead them around the photo. If you photograph them at an angle, you are able to create that effect. Place the start of a road or path in the corner of the photo.

5. You may want to try infrared photography. If you use infrared film, it is more sensitive to infrared light. This means that your photographs will have a dark sky, and any leaves and vegetation will be light/ bright. It’s amazing!

6. Generally, you will want your entire photo to be in focus, so use a large depth of field (small number, large aperture). Increasing exposure time also increases depth of field.

Try both long and short exposure times, specifically when you have water in your photos (lakes, waterfalls, ocean). So, grab your tripod and have fun with landscape photography.