Mastering the art of beautiful scenery photography comes with practice and patience. Having a keen eye helps with your success, especially if you are looking to capture unique compositions of stunning natural landscapes.
About Landscape Photography
Landscape photography is a genre that has captured the hearts of hobby and professional shutterbugs the world over. The allure of wielding a camera in the great outdoors is palpable as seen in the images captured by nature photographers. There's something magical about beautiful scenery photography that you can't get from shooting action shots, portraits or high fashion pictures.
The main focus of landscape photography is getting out in nature, capturing breathtaking scenes and sharing that serenity with others. Ironically, documenting awe-inspiring natural scenes with a camera is often easier than locating a wonderland of beauty, especially if you live in an urban jungle. However, once you find a stunning mountain range, gorgeous lake setting or field of flowers, you'll want to know how to make the most of your good fortune.
Beautiful Scenery Photography Tips
Preserving the true essence of striking natural scenes is not without challenges. However, by following these simple tips you'll be one step closer to mastering beautiful scenery photography.
Find a Focal Point
While it may be tempting to simply point your camera at a random collection of flowers, mountains and trees, to capture truly beautiful nature shots, it's important to find a focal point. Doing so will add a unique perspective to your photograph. Look for an interesting object to stand out in the picture, such as an unusual rock formation, and then place it to the left or right of the larger scene. Likewise, if you are shooting close-up shots of flowers, add a stump or rock to the image to anchor your main subject.
Shoot RAW
If you are shooting with an advanced digital camera, make sure you have it set to record RAW images instead of JPG. While shooting RAW photos will eat up more memory, doing so will also allow greater flexibility in the editing process. RAW images record minute details that JPG doesn't. This provides you with the opportunity to manipulate your images with photo editing software without compromising the integrity of the shot.
Timing Is Key
If you have an entire day to capture beautiful scenery, then use natural lighting to your advantage. You can do this by shooting during the golden hours; those moments that take place at dawn and dusk, when the sun offers subjects the most unique light. When the light is angled just right, your photos will feature vibrant colors and textures that you wouldn't ordinarily enjoy.
Include Movement
Static scenery shots are beautiful, but you can enhance their attractiveness by adding movement to your images. When you are out and about in nature consider looking for subjects that are impacted by movement. For example, a large tree with plenty of leaves is ideal for illustrating wind. You can also capture movement by shooting waves at the beach, ripples in a creek or birds flying across a cloudless, cobalt blue sky.
Experiment with Lenses and Filters
While it is not necessary to break the bank purchasing every camera lens on the market, it wouldn't hurt to add a single wide-angle lens to your photo arsenal. Consider using wide-angle lenses for shooting beautiful scenery because they allow you to include more of the landscape in the frame.
If money is no object, then consider purchasing the following filters to help enhance your landscape shots.
- Polarizing filter: Helps to darken the sky and saturate the other colors in the shot
- Neutral density filter: Used to reduce the contrast between land and sky
- Color correction filter: Comes in handy when you want to warm up or cool down the landscape, or to change the color of subjects in a single image.
Additional Tips
When you are out in nature shooting beautiful scenery, don't be afraid to flex your creative muscle. Be original by kneeling down in a field of wildflowers to capture a unique angle or climb a mountain to document a different vantage point. Finally, learn how to tell a story with your photos by looking for themes or different points of view to enhance your snapshots.
