Learn the tricks to improve your landscape pictures from our experts. We give you seven tips to help you take pictures with a breath of fresh air.
1. Light:
Mesmerizing landscape photos are majorly defined by the amount and quality of light they were shot in. If you observe, most photographers prefer to shoot early morning or later afternoons where the light from the sun in low. The low lights add subtle moody hues to the frame and also offer lots of colours to play with. The photographers term these as “Magic Hours”.
2. Composition:
Using the ‘rule of thirds’ is the easy way to understand composition for landscape photography. The principle suggests you divide your frame using imaginary lines to divide into sections. These sections are on the vertical and horizontal axis. Now place your element of interest at the intersecting points. This rule is one of the key tricks used by critically acclaimed photographers.
3. Focal Point:
It is not just portraits; landscapes too need a focal point. A landscape photograph without a focal point usually looks dull and empty. A striking building, silhouette, tree, structure, boulder or rock formations, could all work as focal points. Use the rule of thirds to place the focal point in your frame.
4. Sky:
One of the key elements of a landscape picture, sky, as it makes for the most dominant foreground. The cloud formations or the lines in the sky can add drama to the pictures. In a boring frame, you could also consider enhancing the sky post production or by using polarizing filters. These filters help add colours and contracts to the frame. You could make the skyline shine by placing the horizon lower.
5. Leading lines:
Leading lines by definition leads the eye of those viewing towards the focal points of the shot. Mostly the leading lines are used in the foreground. However, you could use these lines as you please to enhance the picture too. There have been many famous shots comprising only of leading lines that create a pattern. Take your pick but stick to the concept of leading lines.
These lines add depth to the image and also scale the quality of the shot.
6. Capturing movement:
Landscape photography is rarely still photography. The usual mindset believes it to be passive, calm and serene. By capturing the movement of nature, you would be able to create a point of interest with drama and mood. For this, your shutter speed be longer (at times, a few seconds). Now because of this, you would also have to go for a smaller aperture as well as use a filter.
7. Tripod:
Tripods are used to capture images without moving the camera. It is difficult for you to hold a camera all day without moving. When you move, the camera moves too. this is one of the key reasons for images being blurred. It is impossible to hold a camera with wide lenses. Tripods can also be used to increase the height from where the image is being shot.
