PhotographyTalk

When I started out in photography many years ago, I rocked my kit lens (an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6) for quite some time.

I especially enjoy landscapes, and that lens did fine - it was certainly nothing spectacular. However, using the lens that came with my camera was a lot cheaper than buying a new lens!

These days, though, you can get some solid lenses without spending a giant pile of cash. That’s especially true if you buy a quality, pre-owned lens.

So that got me thinking - what’s the best lens for landscape photography money can buy?

What Focal Length is Best for Landscapes?

Image Credit: edb3_16 via iStock

When thinking about the best focal length for landscapes, my assumption is that you probably think of wide-angle lenses first.

And that makes sense…

After all, when you’re presented with a wide vista of gorgeous mountains, trees, rivers, beaches, and so forth, you want to capture as much of it in the frame as possible.

That’s why wide-angle lenses are the most popular choice for landscape photography - their wide field of view allows you to capture more of the scene.

But what about ultra-wide-angle lenses like the Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM shown above?

At that focal length, you can incorporate even more scenery into the shot from right to left and top to bottom.

That means more beautiful sky, more detailed foreground, more peaks in a mountain range, and more sand in a desert scene.

When you see the difference between shooting at 18mm on a normal kit lens and at 10mm on a lens like this one, it’s actually quite surprising.

The field of view is so much wider!

Image Credit: ronniechua via iStock

I’ll get into the specifics of the Canon landscape lens in a moment, but for now, I want to point out that shooting ultra-wide landscapes isn’t for everyone.

So, while I think this is one of the best lenses for landscapes, some photographers swear by other lenses and focal lengths, like 24mm, 35mm, 24-70mm, or telephoto options, too.

When you consider the best lens for landscape photography, the answer is going to be different for many people. It just depends on what kind of photos you want to take.

If you’re in the “wider is better” camp, then I’ve got a lens for you!

Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM: Features, Pros, & Cons

Built specifically for Canon’s APS-C format cameras, this lens is lightweight with a small form factor that makes it a great companion for hiking through the wilderness or hopping from one beauty spot to the next in a national park.

It can easily be left mounted to your camera and still allow you to put the kit inside a camera bag.

What’s more, given that it’s so lightweight, you can carry your camera and lens around all day without feeling like you’re carrying a bag of bricks over your shoulder.

The zoom range on this lens isn’t very wide - just 10mm to 18mm. However, when the point is to get as wide a shot as possible, it’s tough to beat the wider reaches of this lens.

The aperture range is also not overly impressive, and with a maximum aperture of f/4.5, you won’t be shooting a lot of shots at dusk or night given that the lens cannot collect all that much light.

That being said, when shooting landscapes in normal lighting conditions, you don’t need a massive aperture like f/1.2 or f/1.4. Besides, having a less robust maximum aperture helps keep the price of this lens to a minimum.

This lens supports autofocus, which is handy if you’re not especially confident in your manual focusing abilities.

It also has image stabilization - a great feature for a lens this inexpensive - which gives you a couple of extra stops of stability when shooting handheld.

Though you should opt for using a tripod or a monopod for stability when shooting landscapes, it’s nice to know that this lens will help you get sharper images when you need to shoot handheld.

But the best feature of this lens is undoubtedly its price.

You can get a pre-owned version in like-new condition for barely over $200, which, for the ability to shoot in ultra-wide-angle is a great bargain.

Again, this isn’t the best lens for shooting in low-light, nor is it the sharpest lens Canon has ever made.

But as far as budget landscape photography lenses go, it’s an excellent option, and certainly an upgrade to using your kit lens for landscape photography.

For a complete review of this lens and to see sample images, check out the video above by Christopher Frost Photography.

This article about the topic “This the Best Budget Landscape Photography Lens Money Can Buy” was first published on our website here https://www.photographytalk.com/landscape-photography/8772-this-the-best-budget-landscape-photography-lens-money-can-buy

from PhotographyTalk https://photographytalkcom.blogspot.com/2021/02/this-best-budget-landscape-photography.html

When you’re a beginning landscape photographer, it can be easy to get discouraged.

After all, I know when I started out that I’d see a fantastic scene and be so excited about photographing it, only to get home and see that the vibrant beauty of the landscape is not what my photos showed.

But taking your landscape photos to the next level doesn’t have to be something that’s overly difficult to do.

In fact, these four landscape photography tips are extremely easy to implement, and the results you get can be quite amazing.

Use Filters

Though programs like Photoshop and Lightroom offer you wondrous possibilities for enhancing your photos, the effects you can get by using filters on your camera lens cannot be matched.

That’s especially true for landscape photography, which can benefit from any number of filters:

• Polarizing filter helps cut down on glare off surfaces like water (as seen above), reduce atmospheric haze, and increase contrast in the sky. The result is a photo that has much more visual appeal.
• Graduated neutral density filters help even out the brightness of the sky and the darkness of the landscape for a more even exposure throughout.
• Neutral density filters allow you to extend the shutter speed you use during the daytime, which opens up the world of long exposure photography.

There are other filters out there as well, but these three represent the first camera accessories you need to buy.

Editor’s Tip: When buying filters, don’t buy cheap ones. High-quality filters like those from Formatt-Hitech offer improved performance with better colors and contrast, and less aberrations and vignetting. If you want to maximize the quality of your landscape photos, get set up with filters today.

Use a Tripod

One of the ways that your landscape photos can go wrong is if they’re blurry.

Blurry photos result from a number of things - camera shake, using a shutter speed that’s too slow to hold the camera, and having the focus off, among them.

A tripod helps eliminate the first two. If the camera is on a stable tripod, it’s more capable of getting tack-sharp shots than if you hold the camera. That’s true even at fast shutter speeds. Learn more about the best camera for outdoor photography on our website PhotographyTalk.com.

If you’re trying to blur the movement of water or clouds, though, and you’ve got a slow shutter speed to do so, a tripod is an absolute essential.

Buyer beware, though - not all tripods are made alike. Opt for something that’s well-built, lightweight, and has features like quick-lock legs for quick setup, an integrated bubble level for getting the horizon straight, and rubber feet with metal spikes to help in the stability department.

Golden Hour is Where It’s At

The best light of the day occurs right before sunset and right after sunrise, a period called Golden Hour.

It’s called that because the light has a gold tone to it that bathes the landscape in warm light.

It’s also very soft light, as it has to travel through more of the Earth’s atmosphere. That means that the contrast is lower, giving your camera an easier time with capturing the shadows and highlights in the scene.

If you can’t get out to shoot at sunrise or sunset, opt for a cloudy day. The clouds diffuse the light, softening it, and spreading out nice, even lighting across the landscape.

Editor’s Tip: Shooting during the daytime hours on a sunny day is least preferable because the light is so harsh, which results in very bright highlights and very dark shadows. When shooting in these conditions, consider converting your photos to black and white, because black and white shots tend to benefit from strong contrast.

Play With the Positioning of the Horizon

A common mistake that beginner landscape photographers make is to place the horizon line in the middle of the shot.

Though this can be an effective composition in some situations (i.e., when there’s a reflection in the shot, as shown above, to enhance the symmetry of the shot), usually, you’ll want to adjust the horizon to the upper third or lower third of the frame.

In this shot, for example, the horizon is shifted to the extreme top of the frame.

This is effective because it allowed the photographer to highlight the interaction between the rays of the setting sun and the landscape.

Shifting the horizon upward also allows the viewer to get a better view of the road, which acts as a leading line, pulling the eye out of the canyon below and into the midground and background of the shot.

In other words, if the most interesting aspect of the landscape is in the foreground, shift that horizon upward!

On the other hand, if you’re presented with a situation in which it’s the background that’s more interesting, shift the horizon downward, that way you dedicate as much of the frame as you can to the background of the shot.

In the image above, you can see how this concept works well.

The depth of the forest and the height of the trees call for a low horizon. By framing the shot in this manner, the photographer highlights the verticality of the scene, as though the trees are reaching skyward through the fog.

Just imagine if this photo had been framed with the horizon in the middle - it wouldn’t be nearly as impressive, would it?

Bringing It Together

There are probably a million more landscape photography tips that you can learn about and implement into your workflow.

But if you’re just getting started and you want a few sure-fire ways to improve the quality of your images, these four tips will do the trick!

Try each technique individually at first, then as you master each one, try using them together to see what sort of results you get. You might find that your photos begin to look more like those from the pros!

The blog post about the topic “4 Easy Landscape Photography Tips for Beginners” was first published on our website here https://www.photographytalk.com/landscape-photography-tips-for-beginners

from PhotographyTalk https://photographytalkcom.blogspot.com/2021/02/4-easy-landscape-photography-tips-for.html

The great thing about landscape photography is that it’s just so darn accessible.

I mean, I can walk out of my house and snag some nice landscape photos. If I hop in my car and take a short drive, there’s even more beautiful landscapes just ready for me to photograph.

When I started in photography, though, my biggest concern wasn’t whether I could find pretty things to photograph. Rather, I was worried about the expense.

If you’ve looked at prices for new gear - especially high-end gear - you probably felt the same worry I did all those years ago.

But just because a lot of photography gear is expensive doesn’t mean you can’t get a solid landscape photography kit on a budget.

I’ve done a little investigating and found a few cameras, lenses, and other accessories that you can use to build your landscape photography kit without breaking the bank.

Let’s get to it!

SONY A6000

If I was a new photographer today, I’d go with a mirrorless camera.

They have a lot to offer, not the least of which is the power of a DSLR in a compact body.

When you’re hiking around for hours to get the shots you want, shedding even a few ounces can make a huge difference in how you feel.

For me, you can’t get a better mirrorless camera for a budget price than the Sony a6000 pictured above.

It’s got a 24-megapixel sensor, a 179-point autofocus system, an ISO range of 100-25600, and a shutter speed range of 30 seconds to 1/4000 seconds.

In other words, it’s got more than enough resolution to get you sharp, detailed images, a great autofocus system if you fancy photographing some wildlife, and the ISO and shutter speed capabilities to allow you to freeze or blur motion in stills and long exposures.

All that comes in a small, lightweight (400 grams) package that also shoots full HD video.

Better still, because there are newer models out, you can pick up the Sony a6000 for a great deal, especially if you buy used!

Companion Lens

You can often find a used Sony a6000 with a 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS kit lens. And don’t let the “kit lens” moniker scare you - the 16-50mm is a solid lens that will give you many different opportunities for framing wide-angle shots as well as some short telephoto shots too.

However, if you can’t find that combination, the a6000 and the Sony E 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS is a good bet.

Again, this kit lens gives you good performance with images that are sharp and have minimal aberration. It’s light too - so you won’t be adding a ton of weight to your kit.

Better still, you can often find these lenses for rock-bottom prices - well under $100. Talk about budget friendly!

NIKON D3300

If you’re looking for a DSLR, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better value than the Nikon D3300 shown above, especially if you can snag a good used body.

Like the Sony a6000, the Nikon D3300 is small, lightweight, and easy to carry.

With the Nikon, you get a 24.2-megapixel sensor, an ISO range of 100-12800, and a shutter speed range of 30 seconds to 1/4000 seconds.

The sensor gives you plenty of resolution for making larger prints, and without an anti-aliasing filter, the images it produces are excellently sharp.

And though the ISO range isn’t as large as the Sony a6000, you can still do some pretty good low-light work with the D3300.

The LCD could use an upgrade, but the incredible sensor more than makes up for it.

Companion Lens

Because the Nikon D3300 body by itself is so inexpensively priced, you can opt to spend a little more on a lens.

For a great deal of range from shooting wide-angle to short telephoto landscapes, you can pair the D3300 with the Nikon AF-S 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED VR.

Where a typical Nikon kit lens offers a focal range of around 18-55mm, this lens extends up to 85mm, making it an excellent choice for trying your hand at telephoto landscape photography.

Considering the D3300 has a crop factor of 1.5x, the 24-85mm lens has an effective focal length of about 36mm-128mm, you can get in close on mountain peaks, animals, and other landscape subjects for more intimate shots.

It’ll also be a solid lens for other pursuits, like portraiture, so you get even more bang for your buck.

Canon EOS Rebel SL1

Another small, lightweight DSLR option is the Canon EOS Rebel SL1.

In fact, this camera is the smallest, lightest DSLR you can buy, making it an ideal companion for a landscape photographer.

The SL1 doesn’t have as good of a sensor as the Nikon D3300 or the Sony a6000, but at 18-megapixels, it still offers enough resolution to get some nice prints of your photos.

On the ISO and shutter speed fronts, the SL1 matches the Sony with an ISO range of 100-25600 and a shutter speed range of 30 seconds to 1/4000 seconds. Again, this gives you some leeway in terms of the lighting conditions under which you shoot and whether you want to freeze or blur motion.

One area where the Canon outperforms the Nikon is in the LCD. The SL1 has a touchscreen interface that makes navigating through menus and changing camera settings much easier. It also has a higher resolution than the Nikon, which makes it nice for viewing.

Companion Lens

As I recommended with the Nikon earlier, since the Canon SL1 camera body is quite inexpensive, I’d spring for a better lens like the Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM.

With the same effective focal length as the Nikon lens I recommended earlier, the Canon allows you to do all the same things - wide-angle shots of large landscapes to intimate telephoto images.

Also like the Nikon lens, the Canon won’t blow you away with low-light performance with a maximum aperture of f/3.5-4.5, but it will certainly do well in normal lighting conditions, and if you bump up the ISO, you can get decent dusk and nighttime shots as well.

With an ultrasonic motor, you won’t draw attention to yourself as the autofocus works its magic, and it’s a relatively small lens too, so you won’t be carrying a ton of weight, either.

Must-Have Landscape Photography Accessories

Of course, a camera and a lens are just the beginning for your landscape photography kit. Here’s a few must-have accessories to add to your list.

Camera Backpack

I’m embarrassed to say it, but when I first started in photography, I just loaded my camera gear into a regular backpack. Needless to say, that wasn’t a smart plan for carrying my gear in a way that protected it from damage.

For landscape photographers on a budget, I suggest the MPB Pro L Series Backpack shown above.

The Pro L backpack is well-designed, sturdy, and gives you excellent support for carrying heavy loads. There’s tons of storage space, which is neatly organized so you can more easily and quickly get what you need.

It even has an internal rain cover for those days out in the field during which the weather doesn’t cooperate, and it has all sorts of pockets, compartments, and attachment options that allow you to carry everything from a monopod to your car keys, all safe and secure. The interior spaces are padded and customizable to fit whatever gear you need to carry, too.

Better still, the Pro L series is only $60.00!

Tripod

For long exposures, time-lapses, or even regular still shots, a tripod is a must-have.

With landscape photography, you want something good and sturdy, but that doesn’t weigh a ton, either.

Enter the MPB Kite Tripod System…

For less than $100, you get a light, durable aluminum tripod that also converts into a full-size monopod. It’s like getting a two-for-one!

With enough stability to support mirrorless cameras, DSLRs, and even video cameras, the Kite Tripod System is versatile too. It’s easy to setup and simple to operate, so you can spend more time actually taking landscape photos and less time trying to get your gear squared away.

It folds up nice and small, too, making it an ideal landscape photography tripod.

Memory Card

With all the gear you need for a landscape photography outing, you can’t forget to get something to store all the great photos you take.

The MPB 32GB Class 10 SDHC Card fits the bill perfectly, with tons of storage space and fast read/write speeds that won’t slow you down, even when taking rapid-fire shots.

Putting It All Together

As you build your landscape photography kit, you’ll find that there are other accessories that come in handy, but with a camera and lens, a backpack, a tripod, and a memory card, you’ve got the basic essentials to start your landscape photography adventures.

As I noted in the introduction, photography is an expensive hobby, so finding ways to stretch your budget is a very smart move.

Buying high-quality used gear is the best way to do that - you get much more bang for your buck, and that allows you to add more accessories (or higher end gear) to your kit for much less than buying new.

With that, it’s time to get yourself outfitted and start shooting!

This post about the topic “An Ideal Budget-Friendly Landscape Photography Kit” was first published on our website here https://www.photographytalk.com/landscape-photography/7541-an-ideal-budget-friendly-landscape-photography-kit

from PhotographyTalk https://photographytalkcom.blogspot.com/2021/02/an-ideal-budget-friendly-landscape.html

When we look out at a landscape with our own two eyes, we perceive it on the horizontal axis.

So it makes sense that when we photograph those same landscapes that we automatically default to shooting them horizontally.

And while that horizontal view is just fine, there are times when turning our cameras to the vertical axis results in a much better photo.

That being the case, here are a few essential landscape photography tips that will teach you how to take vertical landscape photos.

Landscape Photography Tip: Divide the Shot Into Zones

To get the strongest composition, it’s a good idea to divide your photo into zones - foreground, midground, and background.

Then, ensure that you’ve got something of interest in each of the three zones.

Not only does this help you create a well-balanced image, but it also helps you to help move the viewer’s eye from one part of the image to the next.

For example, notice how there are distinct zones in the shot above - the golden foreground grasses, the dark green trees in the midground, and the bright swath of light in the background.

Each area is distinct, yet the are also interconnected to create a compelling visual experience.

How to Take Vertical Landscape Photos: It’s All About the Angle

One of the greatest benefits of shooting in vertical aspect is that it allows you to include more foreground in the shot.

And since the foreground is what helps draw the viewer’s eyes deeper into the image and toward the main subject, including a foreground rife with detail will only do your landscape photos a favor.

To make a real statement with the foreground, get down low and close to a foreground element. Learn more about outdoor photography guide on our website PhotographyTalk.com.

In the image above, taking a low shooting position looking upward makes this waterfall seem larger and more powerful.

What’s more, the closeness of the boulder in the foreground highlights its size, shape, and color, as well as the texture of the plants growing on it.

Landscape Photography Technique: Embrace Negative Space

One of the great things about shooting vertical aspect photos is that it allows you to emphasize the height of the landscape.

And a technique that you can use to highlight that verticality is to incorporate negative space at the top of the shot.

In the image above, you can see this concept at work.

By placing the horizon very low in the frame, the photographer is able to highlight the size and scope of the sunset above.

Though there are times when it behooves you to get up close and take a shot that fills the frame, as you can see, doing the opposite can result in a fine photo as well.

Landscape Photography Gear Tip: Use Lens Filters

I’m all for using the likes of Lightroom and Photoshop to enhance my photos, but if you ask me, there’s nothing better than using filters to get the look you want in your images.

Besides, as powerful as post-processing photos have become, they still can’t match the quality that good filters, like those from Formatt-Hitech, can give your photos.

In fact, every photographer (yes, even beginners!) need a set of filters that will help them enhance their photos. These include:

• A circular polarizing filter that helps cut down on glare, reduce atmospheric haze, and increase the contrast of the sky and clouds.
• A graduated neutral density filter that helps even out the exposure between a dark landscape and a bright sky.
• A set of solid neutral density filters that allows you to slow down the shutter during the daytime to blur the movement of clouds, water, and so forth.

In other words, having high-quality filters enables you to get better shots, and more creative ones as well.

I utilize Formatt-Hitech filters because they are precision-crafted to give me images that have excellent contrast, color fidelity, and sharpness, without all the ghosting, flare, and other aberrations that you get with lower-quality filters.

When you’re shooting vertical landscape photo (and horizontal ones, too!), do yourself a favor and increase your chances of a great shot by using Formatt-Hitech filters.

This article about the topic “How to Take Vertical Landscape Photos?” was first published on our website here https://www.photographytalk.com/landscape-photography/8508-how-to-take-vertical-landscape-photos

from PhotographyTalk https://photographytalkcom.blogspot.com/2021/02/how-to-take-vertical-landscape-photos.html

Here’s the deal…

When you think of landscape photography, I’m betting that you think of using a wide-angle lens.

Who wouldn’t?

After all, wide-angle lenses are ideal for capturing the vastness and beauty of landscapes from the seaside to the desert and everything in between.

But wide-angle lenses aren’t the only lenses for landscape photography.

Wide-Angle Lenses are the Easy Way Out

Don’t get me wrong - I love using a wide-angle lens for landscape photography.

But if I’m honest, it’s a bit of an easy way out.

That’s because with a wide-angle lens, you just stand there and you can capture most of the scene before you.

Again, those large, sweeping views are great and can make for a gorgeous photo, but sometimes, you need to challenge yourself to take your landscape photography a little further. You can do that with a longer lens.

Long Lenses Help You Explore the Landscape

The great thing about using a longer length lens for landscape photography is that it encourages you to get out there and actually experience what you’re photographing.

Unlike with a wide-angle lens, a longer focal length helps you find the small details in a larger landscape that make for more unique and interesting landscape photos.

That is, with a short telephoto lens, for example, or even a long telephoto lens, you can pick pieces and parts out of the landscape to highlight as the subject of your photos.

It might be a rock or a tree, a flower or even just a shadow, but the point here is that a longer lens will reveal things about the landscape that might otherwise get lost in a wide-angle shot.

Therein is an important point - with a wide-angle lens, you really get just one type of photo.

But with a longer lens - especially if it’s a zoom like a 24-70mm or a 70-200mm, you can get wide shots, telephoto shots, and standard shots in between.

Long Lenses Help You Develop Your Creative Eye

Another benefit of shooting landscapes with a long lens is that they challenge you in ways that a wide-angle lens typically doesn’t.

By that, I mean that a long lens forces you to find the most interesting aspects of a landscape and find ways to turn them into a jaw-dropping shot.

For example, if you’re photographing the Grand Tetons, a wide-angle shot like the one above is certainly a showstopper (and a photo you should definitely take).

But the beauty of that part of the world doesn’t just exist on the macro level.

Instead, you can use a long lens to find creative ways to portray the rugged beauty of the area in a smaller vignette.

Above, you can see how a longer focal length helps bring the mountains closer to the barn by compressing the distance between the two.

What’s more, there’s a restricted view from left to right, which forces us to inspect what we can see in greater detail.

The result is a dramatic and impactful shot that zeroes in on the detail of the barn set against the peaks of the Tetons.

A Long Lens for Landscape Photography Helps You Avoid Distractions

 

Yet another benefit of shooting landscapes with a longer lens is the fact that you can more easily avoid distractions in the landscape for a more fine-tuned and focused shot.

That is, how many times have you been in a national park and found that there’s a trash can or a sidewalk in view when you take a wide-angle shot?

It happens all the time when I’m out shooting, which is why I always have a longer lens handy.

Again, by providing the viewer with a narrower shot of the scene, you can more easily avoid those unsightly distractions and focus their attention on what should be the star of the shot - the gorgeous elements of the landscape before you.

There are plenty of other virtues of landscape photography with a long lens, too.

In the video above, Thomas Heaton outlines some of the same benefits I’ve discussed here, as well as a few more he’s learned over the course of his career.

Beware When Using a Long Lens, Though…

 

One of the nice things about a wide-angle lens is that you can often shoot handheld with them without much worry of camera shake to diminish the sharpness of the photo.

But with a longer lens, it’s much more difficult to hold the lens steady. That means you need to take measures to keep your images as sharp as possible.

That, of course, also means that you need a tripod to provide your camera and lens with the stability they need.

For many years, I refused to shoot with a tripod in most situations because I thought they were too heavy, too bulky, and too complicated to setup. I was afraid I would miss shots while I was fiddling around with the tripod.

But then I got a Sirui W-2204 tripod, and it completely changed my outlook on using a tripod for landscape photography.

Not only is this rig easy to setup with twist leg locks, but one of the legs also converts to a monopod when I want to stabilize my camera but don’t need the full tripod.

Additionally, this tripod is waterproof, which means I can plunk it down in the rising tide or a stream and not be concerned about the legs filling up with water and dirt.

And since it’s made of carbon fiber, it’s not only strong but super lightweight, too.

I’ve had various tripods over the years, but this one is among my favorites, and I think it’s obvious why.

It’s easy to use, rock solid, and totally versatile.

If you’re ready to jump on the telephoto landscape photography bandwagon, I can’t think of a better tripod to help you get the sharpest possible photos.

This blog post about the topic “Throw Away Your Wide-Angle Lens” was first published on our website here https://www.photographytalk.com/landscape-photography/8483-throw-away-your-wide-angle-lens

from PhotographyTalk https://photographytalkcom.blogspot.com/2021/02/throw-away-your-wide-angle-lens.html

We all want to create breathtaking landscape photos, right?

But the trick is figuring out how to improve on the photos we take to get them to that breathtaking level…

Fortunately, you don’t have to be an expert or a professional photographer to greatly improve your images. In fact, for some photographers, it’s a dead simple process that really only requires a bit of time and patience.

That being the case, here’s a few simple landscape photography tips that you can use to vastly improve the quality of your photos.

Image Credit: Kevin Vandivier 

When I was in high school, we had the chance to take immersion-based language courses. That meant having a block class that was 90-minutes long every day for a semester.

I took French, and learned the language far faster than my friends that took the traditional 45-minute daily course for a year.

That kind of immersion learning is beneficial for all sorts of things - photography included - which is why immersing yourself in learning new techniques and skills in a workshop format is such a great way to improve your photography.

Image Credit: Kevin Vandivier 

I’m an especially big proponent of taking part in on-location photography workshops.

Companies like National Photographic Adventures, for example, put you in a gorgeous location like Monument Valley, the Grand Tetons, Iceland, or Glacier National Park where you get to develop your photography skills in the midst of some of the most beautiful landscapes on earth.

Image Credit: Kevin Vandivier 

Better still, on-location workshops like these put you elbow-to-elbow with a professional teacher that can give you one-on-one learning time because group sizes are limited.

You also benefit from getting to know other photography enthusiasts, sharing your work with one another, and getting quality feedback on your photos.

So, beautiful scenery? Check. In-depth learning opportunities? Check. Making connections with other photographers? Check!

Sounds like a great way to improve your photography to me.

Shoot in Aperture Priority Mode

Image Credit: Bhanupong Asatamongkolchai via iStock 

If you’re not quite to the point where you feel comfortable shooting in manual mode, but you want to escape the clutches of shooting in full auto mode, aperture priority mode is a great compromise.

Using aperture priority mode (A or Av on your camera’s dial) allows you to retain control over the aperture for landscape and ISO settings while the camera controls the shutter speed.

Without having to remember all three camera settings, instead, you can focus on just two. And, really, you can set the ISO in most situations and worry only about the aperture.

With less brain power devoted to trying to figure out all the exposure settings, you can instead concentrate on other aspects of getting a great shot like framing, composition, and lighting.

Use That Histogram

When you start out in photography, you often get into the habit of checking the exposure of the images you take by looking at them on the camera’s LCD.

The problem with doing so is that the LCD is not a good representation of the exposure levels of an image.

Not only is the LCD difficult to see in some situations (like bright sunlight) but it’s also not intended to be a means of inspecting shadows and highlights.

Instead, to improve your landscape photography, get into the habit of using your camera’s histogram.

As you can see in the chart above, the histogram is a graphical representation of the brightness of pixels in a photo.

That means that there’s no mistaking if a photo is overexposed, underexposed, or just right, and that, in turn, means that you’ll have better-exposed photos because you can take action based on the histogram’s data to rectify exposure problems.

Simplify Your Photos

Image Credit: musicphone1 via iStock 

The last piece of advice I’d like to give is to simplify your photos.

Though this sounds easy to do, in landscape photography - in which there is so much detail everywhere you look - it can actually be quite difficult to create a simplified image.

But the simpler a composition is, often, the more powerful that composition is as well.

A key practice for simplifying your landscape compositions is to consider what it is about the scene that you like most, and make it the focal point of the shot.

Is it an interesting mountain peak? The color of the rocks under the surface of the water in a river? The way the light filters through the trees?

Whatever it is about the landscape that draws your attention the most, make it the subject of your shot, work to cut everything else out of the image, and you’ll likely end up with a much stronger composition that has more visual appeal.

This blog post about the topic “Simple Landscape Photography Tips With Huge Benefits for Your Photos” was first published on our website here https://www.photographytalk.com/landscape-photography/8819-simple-landscape-photography-tips-with-huge-benefits-for-your-photos

from PhotographyTalk https://photographytalkcom.blogspot.com/2021/01/simple-landscape-photography-tips-with.html

By and large, the landscape images you see in magazines and online are taken with a wide-angle lens. It’s the go-to focal length for landscapes for a variety of reasons, not the least of which that the angle of view allows you to capture more of the scene before you. For that reason, a wide-angle lens is a crucial part of a landscape photography kit.

Where a normal focal length lens (50mm on a full frame camera or 35mm on a crop sensor) captures a landscape much like we see it with our own eyes, a wide-angle lens creates an image with a wider angle of view. From sweeping vistas to close-up shots of individual landscape elements, wide-angle lenses (which is generally anything wider than the lenses listed above) produce results that are pleasing to the eye.

Let’s explore a few tips and tricks that will help you get the most compelling shots with your wide-angle lens.

Highlight the Broad View

Going with a wide-angle lens means you can capture more of the landscape before you in a single frame. That’s advantageous for a couple of reasons. First, wide-angle lenses allow you to show off the grand scale of a landscape. If vastness of space is an important aspect of the scene, a wide-angle lens will help you capture that.

Second, a wide-angle lens gives you an opportunity to highlight a single, strong subject by placing it in a position of importance in the frame while simultaneously allowing you to show the relationship of that subject with the larger landscape. That, in turn, assists you in telling a stronger story about the subject and its place in the immediate environment.

This trick in action: Using a wide-angle lens allowed the photographer of the image above to highlight the tree in the foreground while still giving us a view of the surrounding landscape. Without a wide-angle lens, getting so close to that three would obscure the surrounding environment. What’s more, by going wide-angle, we get a better feel for how distant the mountains are in the background. In that regard, the wide-angle lens helps tell a more compelling story about how desolate the landscape is and how isolated the tree is within that space.

Play Up the Foreground

One of the best assets of a wide-angle lens is that you can get up close to an element of foreground interest in order to make it more important in the scene. That is, a wide-angle lens alters the perceived size of elements in the frame - elements that are closer seem larger than they are while elements in the background seem smaller.

This trick in action: Perhaps the best way to take advantage of this feature of a wide-angle lens is to use a low shooting angle to place a foreground element on full display. Using the image above as an example, note how the lower-than-normal shooting angle helps bring the foreground boulders into full view. Note as well how their size is emphasized in the frame, while the mountains in the background seem much smaller.

And, because wide-angle lenses offer a greater depth of field, you can get even closer to foreground elements and still manage to have a decent depth of sharpness in the photo. Try getting a foot or even closer to a foreground element and see how much of the scene you can still get in focus.

Go Vertical

When using a wide-angle lens, it’s most common to shoot in horizontal format. However, don’t be afraid to tilt your camera on its side and take some vertical format wide-angle shots as well. Doing so gives you the power to put the height of a landscape element, like a tree, mountain or waterfall, on full display because you can capture its entire length in the shot, even from relatively close up. What’s more, a vertical wide-angle shot gives you a unique result in which the viewer can see the scene from the extreme foreground to very high in the sky. Learn more about scenery photography on our website PhotographyTalk.com.

This trick in action: In the image above, note how the vertical format offers a pleasing view of the landscape. We’re afforded a view of the rocks in the immediate foreground, which adds some texture and shape to the image. But we’re also given a full view of the sky extending above the mountain peaks in the background. Note as well how there are no lines in the shot to be distorted. That’s an important consideration if you want to create a more life-like image (more on distortion below).

Beware of Too Many Elements

Though the broad angle of view a wide-angle lens provides is often a blessing, it can also be a curse. By incorporating so much of the landscape into a single image, it’s easy to get too much visual interest, leading to a photo that seems chaotic and distracting. In other words, just because you have the ability to photograph everything in the scene doesn’t mean that you should.

In fact, using a wide-angle lens requires you to pay greater attention to the objects in the landscape that provide the most visual interest. Everything in the shot should be there for a reason - to add texture or color, to help frame the primary subject, or to help you tell a better story about the landscape. Check your composition for any distractions - elements in the foreground or background that take interest away from the primary subject - and work to frame them out of the shot as best you can.

This trick in action: Look at the image above and notice how there are branches sticking up in the bottom left corner. These branches are in the frame because of the wide-angle view, and they are precisely the type of thing you must be vigilant of when composing your shots. Had the photographer noticed the branches, they could have taken a few steps forward, excluded them from the shot, and it would be easier for the viewer to focus on the subject - the gorgeous waterfall. In short, seek to simplify your compositions and they will be much stronger.

Show Off the Sky

If you happen upon a landscape scene that’s got a dramatic sky, a wide-angle lens is an ideal choice. Just like a wide-angle helps you convey the space of a landscape, it helps indicate the volume of space too. And, because of the wide-angle of view means you can incorporate the landscape and the sky, it gives you opportunities to create a single image with a dramatic foreground and a dramatic sky at the same time.

This trick in action: In the image of the iceberg above, you can see how the foreground and background work together to create a more dynamic composition. The glistening ice is on full display, but with the backdrop of the dramatic sky behind it, the image becomes far more compelling. Notice as well how the photographer sought to include only what was important - they are close enough to the ice to frame out any other foreground elements, but the wide-angle view still gives us clues as to the relationship between each element in the shot.

Watch Your Angles

Because wide-angle lenses often create distortion around the edges of the frame, straight lines can appear to converge inward. Though this can be used as an artistic tool, keeping the camera level with the horizon will help minimize these distortions.

This trick in action: In the image above, note how the tree trunks all appear to be straight. This is because the camera was kept level to the ground. The resulting image looks normal, as though we are viewing it with our own eyes. This can make a landscape image seem more familiar and help the viewer connect with it on a deeper level.

Then again, angling the camera upwards will distort straight lines, as seen in the image above. Compared to the previous image, you can see just how much the straight lines of the trees converge as they extend toward the top of the frame.

This trick in action: Note as well that angling the camera upwards allows you to frame the foreground out of the shot. This might be advantageous if the foreground is distracting or if there are elements that just don’t fit the scene. If there is a compelling sky, angling the camera upwards can also be advantageous.

Get In Tight Spaces

Some landscapes aren’t wide open vistas, but are instead tiny spaces by comparison that pose a significant challenge to photographers. In these situations, a wide-angle lens is an ideal choice because, again, the wider angle of view allows you to capture more of the scene, even though you’re in tight quarters.

This trick in action: In the image of Antelope Canyon, you can see how the wide-angle lens is beneficial. Both sides of the canyon are in full view, giving us insight into the textures of the canyon walls. It also gives us an indication of just how narrow the canyon actually is, while also allowing the photographer to incorporate some of the sky to indicate how deep the canyon is as well.

With that, you’ve got seven solid tips that will help you make the most out of your wide-angle lens. Next time you venture out to photograph a landscape, test one or two of these tricks to see how they can improve your images. Keep practicing each one, and with time, they will become second nature.

This article about the topic “7 Tips and Tricks for Photographing Landscapes With a Wide-Angle Lens” was first published on our website here https://www.photographytalk.com/landscape-photography/7163-7-tips-and-tricks-for-photographing-landscapes-with-a-wide-angle-lens

from PhotographyTalk https://photographytalkcom.blogspot.com/2021/01/7-tips-and-tricks-for-photographing.html

I enjoy shooting landscapes, so many of the tips I’m sharing with you here cross over from what I use with my Nikon D850 when I’m out looking for that next amazing shot…

At the time of this writing, my smartphone - an iPhone X - has 19,189 photos on it.

As you can see, I take a lot of photos!

Over the years I’ve taken many, many more photos than that, a good portion of which were taken with my smartphone.

Here’s a few tips I’ve learned along the way that will help you get all the juice you can out of your phone to take better landscape photos.

Landscapes Are All About Going Wide

Out of the box, my iPhone X isn’t bad in the camera and lens departments.

But, let’s face it, it does have its limitations.

The challenge, then, is to find the right lenses to use with your iPhone.

I’ve tested a number of iPhone lenses over the years, and most of them have had poor optics, required huge cases to attach to the phone, or both.

Recently, though, I got my hands on a set of iPhone lenses from Sandmarc, and, well, they’ve certainly won me over!

A couple of things right out of the gate really impressed me.

First, the build quality of these lenses is second-to-none. The lens is constructed from premium multi-coated optics so you get clear, sharp images with minimal flare, ghosting, and other aberrations.

The wide-angle lens gives you 2x the field of view, too, so you can incorporate more of those gorgeous landscapes into a single shot. You can see the difference between the field of view with the iPhone X’s native lens (above) and with the Sandmarc wide-angle iPhone lens (below), which has an effective focal length of 16mm.

Second, the lens has a low-profile case, so you don’t feel like you’re carrying around a brick phone with a bulky and clumsy case that gets in your way.

In fact, not only is the case the world’s thinnest lens case mount, but you can also simply clip the lens onto your phone if you already have a case or don’t need a case at all.

The only bummer is that the case was a bear to remove from my phone.

But after speaking with the fine folks at Sandmarc, I’ve been assured that in a couple weeks, a new case will be released that specifically addresses that problem.

Just as an aside, I know that the sun is blown out in the previous two images, but in my defense, I was just taking a couple of quick snaps to show the difference in the angle of view while I set up my gear for a long exposure later that evening.

You can see that shot above, which, lucky for me, happened to include a guy skim boarding in the foreground!

You Need the Right Apps

Having the right apps on your phone can make the difference between your photo being a success or a flop.

And I don’t just mean post-processing apps, either…

These days, there really is an app for just about everything. Here’s a few of my favorites.

My Sunset

As I noted earlier, I went to the beach to snag a long exposure shot of the sunset, and to ensure I was there at the right time, I used the MySunset app (available for iOS and Android devices).

This app gives you a five-day forecast for the sunrise and sunset, including an analysis of how good the sunset will be.

In other words, the lower the number displayed on the app (i.e., 58%, as shown in the green box in the upper-left part of the screenshot above), the less colorful the sunset will be.

Conversely, the higher the number, the greater the likelihood that you’ll have a color-filled sky to serve as a backdrop for your landscape photos. 

My Tide Times

My Tide Times is another app that I use a lot so I’m sure to plan my photo-taking adventures just right.

With a detailed forecast of the tides, My Tide Times allows you to pinpoint a location and get accurate times for the tide coming in and going out.

It’ll even tell you how high (or low) the tide will be so you can plan your shoot safely.

It’s available for iOS and Android devices.

VSCO

One of the best photo-editing apps out there is VSCO.

And if you recognize the name, its because VSCO has been around forever, but back in the day, it was film they produced.

Their experience with film photography led to the development of a suite of filters you can apply to your landscapes that give them all sorts of looks, from bright, clean, and simple to dark and gritty.

The app includes camera controls as well, which let you make manual adjustments to exposure settings, shoot in RAW or HDR, and much more.

Download VSCO here.

Use a Polarizer

I know it might sound crazy to use a polarizer with an iPhone, but trust me, it can be done!

As it turns out, Sandmarc not only makes lenses for iPhones but they also make a polarized filter.

I tested their polarizer out, and it worked like a charm.

I noticed an increase in the contrast of the sky and clouds, less glare off the ocean surface, and less atmospheric haze, too.

The build quality of this filter is top-notch as well.

It’s easy to snap on and off, so using it is a breeze.

My only complaint is that the filter isn’t compatible with the Sandmarc wide-angle lens, so to use it, I had to remove my wide-angle lens and go with the iPhone’s native lens.

But, if you ask me, that’s a small price to pay for getting better landscape photos with this handy polarizer!

Find Ways to Add Depth

One of the troubles that you encounter as a landscape photographer is conveying the depth you see with your eyes in the photos you take.

But there are several tricks you can use to give your landscapes that needed depth, including leading lines.

As you can see in the photo above, the lines created by the roadway help move your eye from the foreground to the midground to the background.

That movement allows you to inspect each “layer” of the shot, thereby giving it the impression of being three-dimensional.

Another popular trick you can use to create depth is to frame the primary subject in some way.

As shown in the photo above, by composing the shot such that the landscape is viewed through the rock formation, we get a sense of the spatial relationship of the elements in the shot. In other words, we have a better understanding of how far away the background elements might be from those in the foreground.

Using a frame within a frame is also a handy trick when you want to create a more intimate look at the landscape, or even if you want to crop unwanted elements out of the shot.

Find Shadows

If you shoot during Golden Hour, you’ll find beautifully long shadows cast by the low sun.

These shadows not only give your smartphone photos improved dynamic range, but they also help create more visual interest in the photo.

There’s different ways to incorporate shadows into your shots, too.

As seen above, you can simply use shadows to highlight a texture or pattern, as you see in the sand dunes.

But you can also use shadows to create a little mystery with silhouetted figures, as the photo above demonstrates.

This gives you a little more creative freedom for making gorgeous photos, and in the case of this shot, it also allows you to include a person in the image.

People and landscapes are great complementary subject matter, so whenever you have a chance to include a person in your shots, do it!

This blog post about the topic “iPhone Photography Tips: 5 Tricks to Master Landscapes With Your iPhone” was first published on our website here https://www.photographytalk.com/landscape-photography/8244-iphone-photography-tips-5-tricks-to-master-landscapes-with-your-iphone

from PhotographyTalk https://photographytalkcom.blogspot.com/2021/01/iphone-photography-tips-5-tricks-to.html

If you ask me, lightning is one of the ultimate of nature’s wonders to capture in a photograph.

Of course, the difficulty with photographing lightning is getting the timing just right so that you can take spectacular photos like the one you see above.

There are a million tutorials out there on how to photograph lightning.

But what I want to discuss in this article is the one piece of photography gear that will help you get better quality photos of lightning more often - a lightning activated shutter release (LASR).

In this LASR buying guide, you’ll learn all about the must-have features you need to get the best shots.

It’s All About Detectability

When you observe lightning with the naked eye, even though it might seem quite close, it might actually be many, many miles away. You even might see a brightly lit summer thunderstorm with dark clouds and brilliant ground flashes that you wish you could capture in pixels. 

That can cause problems for low-grade LASRs (even high-priced ones), which can’t detect lightning in the bright daytime, nor detect lightning flashes at a distance.

Investing in a good, quality LASR means that you get the ultimate in sensitivity for unsurpassed performance.

In fact, some LASRs can detect lightning flashes up to 25 miles away during the day and a whopping 40 miles away at night.

Now that’s going to help you get some awesome shots!

LASRs Should Have Fast Response Times

The whole point of using a LASR is to enable your camera to snap a photo of lightning as it occurs.

Yet, some devices don’t do a very good job of the very thing they were built to do!

For the best results, you want a LASR that’s lightning fast - pardon the pun.

The best LASRs money can buy are the Lightning TriggerⓇ LT-3 and LT-IV by Stepping Stone Products, LLC.

In fact, these triggers are up to seven times faster than other devices due to their patented stepped leader-ground flash detection.

Not only do these triggers have fast response times, but they’re accurate too - single and multi-pulse modes reduce intracloud and out-of-field-of-view responses.

With that accuracy, that means you have a much better chance of getting those high-quality lightning photos that you’re after. 

Look for Something That Offers Compatibility

Sure, you might shoot primarily with a Sony a7R II at the moment, but in a couple of years, you might upgrade to whatever the big, bad Sony camera is (or you might even switch to Canon, Nikon, or another brand).

The point is that you don’t want to invest in a LASR that is only compatible with your current camera.

Instead, do your research and buy a LASR that’s future-proof and that will work with whatever rig you use.

In many cases, all you have to do is buy the release cable for your specific camera and you’re ready to go!

Automatic Settings are a Plus

Sometimes you’ll be out during the daytime to photograph lightning, other times you’ll be out at night.

What you don’t want is to have to make manual adjustments to your LASR.

Instead, opt for a LASR with automatic gain control, which allows the trigger to sense the light level at any time of day automatically.

What’s more, devices that allow automatic metering will help activate the system to maintain the correct exposure as ambient light is changing with minimal shutter lag time.

That’s a combination of automatic camera settings that will help you take your lightning photography to the next level!

You Want Quality

Obviously, when buying a LASR you don’t want to spend your money on something that’s going to fall apart after a few uses…

Some companies offer 1-year warranties on their rigs; others offer 5-year warranties.

But Lightning TriggerⓇ bests that by a longshot with a full 15-year warranty on their LT-3 and LT-IV triggers.

That’s the kind of peace of mind you want when you’re out in the rain, wind, and hail with your gear!

Better still, Lightning TriggerⓇ has a long-standing reputation for having one of the best technical support teams in the business. Just let them know what problems you’re having, and they’ll work with you to find a resolution!

So, don’t buy the first LASR you come upon. Instead, do some research and invest lightning photography gear that’s intelligently designed, easy to use, durable, and affordable!

This blog post about the topic “How to Photograph Lightning: Lightning Activated Shutter Release Buying Guide” was first published on our website here https://www.photographytalk.com/landscape-photography/8591-how-to-photograph-lightning-lightning-activated-shutter-release-buying-guide

from PhotographyTalk https://photographytalkcom.blogspot.com/2021/01/how-to-photograph-lightning-lightning.html

My biggest passion in photography is photographing landscapes.

There’s a lot of reasons for this, but chief among them is that there are simply so many types of landscapes that can be used to create beautiful landscape photos. In many cases, landscapes have lots of features - mountains, trees, water, plants, rocks, beaches, rolling hills - you name it.

But sometimes, crafting a minimalist landscape image is a fun challenge.

I say it’s a challenge because finding wide open spaces with little detail can be difficult in and of itself.

But beyond that, using negative space in photography and doing it well requires a good photography eye and a great attention to detail.

In the video above, Thomas Heaton documents his journey with negative space photography.

Below, I’ve outlined a few landscape photography tips Thomas discusses.

Editor’s Tip: Improve the quality of your landscape photography by utilizing filters. Find the right filters for you.

In Negative Space Photography, You Still Need a Strong Subject

Just because you’re looking for a landscape that’s got a lot of open space doesn’t mean that you don’t still need a strong subject.

But when working with negative space, you don’t necessarily need a big, hulking subject in your photo.

Since there’s nothing in the negative space to draw the attention of the viewer, the subject can be something small, even delicate.

A stone or a rock, textures left in the sand by crashing waves, a single flower, and so forth can all be used as a strong subject that draws the viewer’s eyes into the photo.

Get Outfitted With Proper Gear

One thing you’ll find when shooting positive and negative space is that a great way to ramp up the interest in the shot is to extend the shutter speed.

Even by using a shutter speed of just a few seconds, you can begin to see beautiful blur in clouds and water that make your photos - regardless of the subject - more compelling.

Of course, using a long shutter speed requires that you have a solid tripod to support your camera while the shutter is open. A camera remote is also a handy tool to have so you can trigger the shutter without actually touching the camera.

Another must-have piece of gear you need for landscape photography is a good set of filters.

I never leave the house without a polarizing filter, a couple of graduated neutral density filters, and a few solid neutral density filters as well.

That’s because filters give you so much more visual impact in your photos, not to mention making post-processing a simpler task because you have fewer things to fix and tweak.

Here’s what these filters can do for your landscape photos:

• Polarizer - Reduces glare, reduces atmospheric haze, boosts contrast in the sky
• Graduated ND - Reduces the dynamic range, specifically, darkens the sky so that you can get a well-exposed image throughout
• Solid ND - Reduces light entering the lens so you can extend the shutter speed for daytime long exposures.

This is a very quick and basic explanation of these filters.

Editor’s Tip: A high-quality lens filter can make all the difference in how your landscape photos turn out. Get outfitted with landscape photography filters.

Good Light is a Must

YouTube Screenshot/Thomas Heaton

Obviously, you need good light to get a good photo.

But beyond light’s role in the exposure of the image, in negative space photography, light can provide something else that can benefit your photos - color.

If you shoot at sunrise or sunset, for example, the brilliant rays of the sun can add warmth to the shot. Learn more about camera settings for sunrise on our website PhotographyTalk.com.

What’s more, you can use that light to help draw people deeper into the shot.

In Thomas’ photo above, you can see how the textures of the sand invite you in, and then your eyes are pulled toward the background by the warm tones of the sunset.

Again, you don’t need a ton of detail in negative space photography - just enough to pique the viewer’s interest.

Wrapping It Up

Taking gorgeous negative space photos (well, any type of photo) is a process.

You have to plan ahead, have the right gear and tools to get the job done, develop an eye for details, and, of course, practice.

Using negative space might seem a little scary, simply because it’s so different from what we normally see in landscape photography.

But if you can master the steps outlined above, you will be well on your way to mastering negative space in photography.

This post about the topic “How to Use Negative Space in Landscape Photography” was first published on our website here https://www.photographytalk.com/landscape-photography/8419-how-to-use-negative-space-in-landscape-photography

from PhotographyTalk https://photographytalkcom.blogspot.com/2021/01/how-to-use-negative-space-in-landscape.html