77 tips for better landscapes
1 Map out locations
You should never head out on landscape shoots in new locations without a good map; we like the Ordnance Survey Landranger series. Before you leave home, use your map to do a recce of the area you are planning to photograph.
Ordnance Survey and similar maps are invaluable, because they enable you to plan your route in advance, working out elevations and exactly where the mountain peaks, lakes and scenic spots are, which road or trail you’ll need to reach them, and the best positions to photograph them from. This means that once you get to your location, the only thing you really need to think about is taking brilliant pictures.
2 Get in position
Think about the scenes you want to capture, then find out where you should shoot from to make the most of them – and when. Working out where the sun will rise and set, and the sun’s position in relation to you and your landscape, will ensure that you’re in the right place at the right time.
“Before you start taking landscapes, stop and survey the lie of the land”
3 Read the landscape
Before you start taking landscapes, stop and survey the lie of the land. Make sure you’re in the best spot in relation to the position of the sun. Also, look for an ‘anchor’ – a focal point that leads the eye into the image, whether it’s a farmhouse, a line of trees or foreground interest.
4 Don’t be lazy!
When newcomers to photography shoot landscapes, they often pull up at a viewpoint car park, get out of the car and take a few handheld snaps of the scene, before driving off again. To improve your shots, use your feet and walk around.
Get down to the lakeside or the base of the mountain, or walk up to a higher viewpoint, so you’re involved in the scene rather than just a passing viewer. Even just doing this will really improve your compositions.
5 The golden hours
Sunrise (and the hour or so afterwards) and sunset (and the hour or so just before) are the best times of day for capturing beautiful landscape shots with spectacularly colourful skies. Watch the weather forecast beforehand and try to avoid overcast or cloudy days – clear skies with only a smattering of clouds usually create the most colourful skylines.
Whether you set an early alarm or plan to stay out late, you’ll be on location ready to capture moody, vibrant skies just as the sun rises or sets.
6 Shoot in raw
Some photographers are more comfortable shooting JPEGs. However, it’s always best to shoot landscapes using your camera’s raw image format, because the resulting images will contain much more ‘information’. This allows you more scope to increase or decrease the exposure or enhance the tones and colours in Adobe Camera Raw or similar raw processing software afterwards, without compromising quality.
7 Use a tripod
You’ll often find yourself shooting landscapes in low light, with shutter speeds too slow to shoot handheld without risking camera shake (1/10 sec to 10 sec, for example). So a tripod is essential for the best results.
8 Follow the light
Landscape photography is all about making the most of the light. You need to shoot not only at the right time of day, but also at the right time of year. Early-morning sunrises and late-evening sunsets are best, as they produce softer, more colourful light, with longer shadows that will give your landscape shots extra depth and dimension.
9 Mirror movement
Even the mirror moving inside your DSLR can create enough vibration during long exposures to cause unwanted camera shake. Enable the Mirror Lock-up setting available on your DSLR (usually hidden in its custom functions menu) to make sure your shots are sharp.
10 Pre-visualise
Before you set up, visualise the photo you’re trying to capture. Take sample shots by shooting handheld, moving around, getting up high and kneeling down really low. Take several photos until you’re sure you’re in the best spot for a balanced composition of foreground and background elements. Once you’ve found the best position, keep your camera in the exact spot and reach for your tripod before you shoot.
“Landscape photography is all about the light. You need to shoot at the right time of day, but also at the right time of year”
11 Get perfect colour using white balance
You’ll generally find that your camera’s Auto White Balance setting is fine for shooting landscapes, because it’s so good on modern DSLRs. 99 times out of 100, it will set the best temperature colours for the scene. However, if your shots don’t do justice to the scene you saw, don’t panic – you can warm up or cool down the scene back home by shooting in raw and using the Temperature slider in Adobe’s Camera Raw editor.
Below 4,000K cools a shot down and makes it bluer; above 6,000K warms up the colours and makes the whole image more orangey.
