10 Tips For Starting Landscape Photography

Here are my 10 tips for anyone starting out in landscape photography. There are of course lots more tips that I could have included. If you follow all of these tips you should end up with a better photographic experience when you are out shooting amazing landscapes. enjoy.  

Learn Your Camera

Learn your camera inside-out, this one is a no-brainer but it really does help to know how to control your camera. You should become familiar with the different mode’s and settings. This will help you when you’re in the field ready to snap that perfect shot. If you know how to adjust the exposure, change your aperture or set a time delay on the fly. You will be paying less playing with your camera rather than capturing that perfect shot.

camera landscape photography tips
Planning a trip

Plan Your Trips

Planning ahead can save you so much time. Look on Google maps to for a quick reference of the area you’re going to shoot. See if there are any features that standard out and could make for a good subject or foreground in your image. Check the weather forecast before you go so you know how to dress. See what time sunset or sunrise is at as you may want to shoot at this time of day.

Get Out & Explore

So you’ve planned trip now it’s time to get out and explore. This might seem simple but you have to get out there to take the shots. And once you are out there take your time there is no rush.

walk
Lightning storm landscape photography tips

Weather

Watch the weather forecast. As a landscape photographer you should always have one eye on the weather. A simple location can dramatically change depending on what type of weather is occurring. This could be from storm clouds to snow from the high cirrus clouds to low stratus clouds. It’s a good idea to have one eye on the weather as it could make your next shoot.

Learn Your Surrounding Area

The great thing about photography is that you can practice it anywhere. So wherever you live, you should go out and shoot as much as you can. This will help you to find unique compositions that not so many people will have shot before. This also helps you to build up your skills a photographer and get the creative juices flowing.

Park
zermatt

Focal Range

A lot of landscape photography is shot wide open, with a wide angle lens. Don’t let this be the only type of photography that you do. Take out your zoom lens and capture more Intimate shots. Personally I am always trying to find simple clean shots.

Composition

Composition is one of the things that I am always thinking about even when I don’t have my camera at hand. But when I go to take a photograph i’m trying to create a balanced image. You should be checking the foreground mid ground and background of your photos. Make sure there are no distractions. You can use the grid layout on your camera help you compose image with the rule of thirds.

Fermanagh
tripod camera photography tips

Tripods

You’ll want to get a tripod especially for the sunset and sunrise shots where you may have to use a slow shutter speed. If you want a sharp image you’ll defiantly need a tripod. It’s also advisable to shoot with the built in timer on your camera. Or pick up a shutter release to stop the camera shake from pressing that shutter release. I currently use a vanguard tripod, its light, sturdy and portable.     

Shoot In Raw

If you have editing software like photoshop of Lightroom, then you should be shooting in Raw. Raw files hold a lot more data than jepg. You can recover more detail in the shadows as well as the highlights of your photos and push them a lot further in the editing. As well as having a higher quality image

edit1
have fun

Have Fun & Enjoy The Moment 

The most important thing about photography is that you’r enjoying your self doing it. Getting out into nature and explore your soundings, experiment with different techniques, go to places that you wouldn’t normally go to. I am always using my camera as an excuse to get out into nature. Even if I don’t get a good image, I’ve never regretted going out to go shoot some photos.            

colm-kelly.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.co.uk