Tips For Taking Great Landscape Shots
Have you ever had a fantastic view and taken a picture of it only to discover that its not as impressive as it is in real life? We've all had disappointing photos like that. It can be quite frustrating, but you're in luck!This is why I'm going to give you guys some tips so that your landscape photos come out just as well as the real view or better!
Focus on the Foreground
One of the biggest mistakes people make when taking landscape photos is that they focus only on distant subjects like mountains or trees. This is normal because when we're in the moment its those large majestic subjects that impress us. However, when it comes to landscape photography, its important to have a foreground subject. This way the viewer can get a sense of scale as well as adding character to your image. Take the image above as in example. The rolling mountains of Asturias are impressive but the subjects in the foreground place the viewer in the scene and make it more compelling.
Shoot Horizontally
Composition is absolutely crucial when it comes to photography. Landscape photography is no exception. This might be a no-brainer for some people but I can't count how many times I've seen people shoot a landscape subject vertically. Shooting horizontally allows you to get more land in the frame and allows you to balance the image. It is also a more natural framing for landscapes and allows the eye to analyze the image with ease.
Use High Dynamic Range (HDR)
HDR is a really neat feature that comes standard on many smart phones. When you use HDR your camera takes several photos at different exposures and then combines them to create one highly detailed image. This is great for landscape photography because it ensures that there is plenty of detail in the shadows and highlights of your image. I suggest turning on "save original" in your iPhone camera. That way you will have the HDR image and the normal image to choose from when you go back to edit it.
Use Long Exposures
Some of the coolest landscape photos feature water, and whenever there is moving water there is the great opportunity for shooting beautiful long exposure shots. Notice how smooth and silky the water appears to be in the image of the waterfall above? That is because when you shoot with long exposure the shutter stays open for longer, which naturally blurs the water as it flows. To do this you will need an application that allows you to choose your shutter speed. Start at 1/30 of a second and experiment with longer intervals as you go. It is also important to have a tripod or stable surface to keep the shot steady or you will get more than just blurry water.