Landscape Photography Tips
Part 1

I hope these landscape photography tips will inspire you to get out of the city, away from the crowds and back into nature.

Landscape Photography Tips 1: Find a Bridge

There is no camera data available for this fabulous shot of the Forth Rail Bridge but clearly the photographer has used a slow shutter speed to give that dreamy look to the water. The evening light and the soft water work perfectly together. Even a small bridge can be the subject of terrific shots if you 'slow' the water down to a standstill. Experiment with slow shutter speeds until you get it right.

Landscape Photography Tips 2: Use the Shadows

During the late afternoon, shadows are long but too often we don't see them properly. It is an interesting experiment to make the shadows the main focus of your shot. The image below was taken with a 70 mm focal length lens which gives a certain amount of compression to the view. The photographer used an f/9 aperture which is sufficiently small to give depth all the way through the picture.

Landscape Photography Tips 3: Harbour Lights

Going on holiday? Near a port? Try out some digital night photography around the harbour area just after the sun has set. Because the harbour area is protected, the water will be quite flat and you can get some beautiful reflections, balanced by the last hint of day-light. Up the ISO to 800. Any higher and you may have too much digital noise.

Take a tripod, even a small one in your pocket will allow you to set up your camera on a wall near the water's edge. Shoot in colour and convert to black and white afterwards. Click the link to read more black and white night photography tips and why you should shoot in color and convert afterwards in Photoshop.

Landscape Photography Tips 4: Winter Landscape Photography

In winter, land shapes are often simplified and the results can be quite beautiful if you get your composition right. There are usually fewer people about to ruin your perfect composition. And if it has been snowing, so much the better as even less detail will be evident. So don't rush, even though it is cold. Try out lots of different angles until it clicks and you feel sure that you have found a balance in the framing. Try to create a picture you will still want to look at in years to come.

Landscape Photography Tips 5: Get on Your Camel

How are your camel riding skills? Personally, camels terrify me but I do love the desert. If you are on holiday near a desert don't pass up the opportunity to take a (guided) tour. When I was in Egypt we went on donkeys but I'm sure camels are adequate to the task! So much light is reflected from the sand, even towards the end of the day, that you will need a fast-ish shutter speed. The image below was shot at 1/320 second. ISO was 64, low enough to bring out the detail of those millions of grains of sand.

Landscape Photography Tips 6: More Desert

The lovely desert shot below was captured with a Canon 20d at f/6.3 which gives sufficient depth-of-field to have most of the scene in focus but the far distance is slightly out creating a greater sensation of distance which is enhanced by the haze towards the horizon. A UV filter will help to keep the amount of haze down.

Follow the link for LANDSCAPE TIPS PART 2 or check out Tim Harris's highly-popular landscape photography book below:

Landscape Photography

Tim Fitzharris

Amazon Rating

A complete course in capturing a landscape's natural beauty.

The National Audubon Society Guide to Landscape Photography is a step-by-step guide which shows you how to:

• recognize and find great scenic shooting sites
• use detailed field techniques for a wide variety of natural settings
• master fine art composition
• record mirror-like reflections in lakes
• shoot postcard-perfect sunrises and sunsets
• create high-quality panorama images

Photographer Tim Fitzharris reveals foolproof techniques he has used through decades of fieldwork in a wide variety of settings. His own outstanding examples are accompanied by detailed information on the equipment, exposure, film, shutter speed and filters used.

Click one of the links to read about the beautiful landscape photography of Ansel Adams or Fay Godwin or click this link to read Part 2 of Landscape Photography Tips.