In some instances landscape photography is easier than portrait photography, where you must deal with people’s expressions, perfect positioning as not to appear posed, and dealing with all those props. All the elements that make up a landscape photographer’s photos are easier such as land, water, and sky. In just about every photo these elements will factor in your images.

Land needs nothing more than itself to create spectacular images. There are many visually compelling characteristics of land from stunning mountain peaks to vast open plains. The land seems to have a personality of its own and to capture that essence one needs to pay attention to time of day and lighting.

That personality is shaped by shadows and light. It adds textures, highlights, and depth. To determine which qualities you want to bring out, it’s best to go to a site you wish to photograph at several different times throughout the day. This way, you will be able to discover when the personality of a landscape is at its peak.

Cool, crisp, refreshing water is the most popular landscape subjects. We are all drawn to the magnificent displays water puts on for us with babbling brooks, rushing rapids, plummeting falls, and crashing waves our senses are aroused and we wish to capture these images.

To capture the magic of water we need to watch for and look for ways that show sparkles, reflections, and translucence. If you want to show motion of water simply select a slower shutter speed. The longer the shutter is opened the more the water will be blurred and the rest of your composition will pop with spectacular color.

The sky captures our attention on a daily basis causing us to gaze up at big white puffy clouds or gawk at dazzling sunsets. Pink, blue, or golden skies make beautiful photographs, but be careful of shooting the sky when there are no clouds or when the clouds are a sunless shapeless mess. Your photos will come out boring and lifeless.

Of course, you will be shooting nature in landscape photography. There are many things in nature that make interesting subjects such as rocks and trees. You can use these things to help tell your story and sometimes these things become your main characters.

Other Articles - images courtesy of www.kdouglasphotography.com

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