Landscape photography tips are often designed for beginners trying to get the hang of things. They’re great in different ways, but pro photographers have a problem—there’s nothing new to learn. But landscape photography is highly complex, and there’s always something to remember. Many experts talk about only technical aspects, so let’s not discuss that aspect anymore. Here, I will share 5 advanced landscape photography tips regarding creativity.
Table of Contents:
- Make Time for Recce
- Capture Emotions
- Wait for Patterns
- Try Something New
- Create a Vision
- Conclusion
1. Make Time for Recce
A popular method of capturing a good landscape photo is doing recce. It is essential for a landscape photographer. And you must give enough credit to it. Until recently, I was the same way too- I never used to recce beforehand. Maybe after seeing a good photo on Instagram, I just showed up at a location. My photos turned out well but didn’t carry that much appeal to me. I never felt that it was missing something. But if you dedicate enough time to recce, your photo will have a more personal feel.
So, what does recce help? In landscape photography, it’s about visiting a location beforehand and thinking about your shot, even before fixing your lens to your camera. It’s like a game plan you must form to get the most out of the scene. Sometimes, it allows you to rethink and reframe your shot, which might give you a unique opportunity for a life-altering photo.
Recce will also give you enough time to evaluate your composition and get the most from available light. A scene is always different throughout the day and night. The same scene can have different views- morning might have a better view than afternoon, and night might have a different view from a harsh midday. Recce will give you enough resources to evaluate your frame.
Recce must be done in person. You may leave your camera behind while exploring, but you must visualize the composition. Take a mental note of your composition and use of natural light. This will help you to get as accurate a shot as you desire.
2. Capture Emotions
The photographer’s main motive is to visualize emotions for viewers. When a person is looking at one of your photos, they will always feel an emotional connection. They might have visited the exact locations or experienced similar situations. And your photo reminds them of a good memory. Maybe your composition technique or the use of light impressed them. And if they don’t feel that connection, then their emotional response will be negative. Whatever the result is -they will always have one. Try to utilize this in your favor.
When you are taking a landscape photo, try to capture emotions. It might be that long-tail boat in the seashore or some beautiful flowers beneath the hill. Try to convey the emotional response that you feel through your photos. Get rid of the elements distracting your photos and bar the emotional connection with viewers. When your photo has a perfect emotional message, your viewers will get a clear emotional message.
3. Wait for Patterns
Nature loves patterns. As nature is the main element in landscape photography, following patterns is essential here. Remember, anything that moves has a good chance of repeating itself. Everything in nature is built on cycles and patterns. Waves after waves and clouds after clouds are the best examples of this.
You may not capture your desired shot at the first chance, but you will always have a second opportunity. The primary key here is patience. You should be patient enough to capture your desired shot. It’s like playing a sniper role, where you need to wait patiently for your target to appear in your sight. Just the difference is that you are carrying a camera and love instead of guns and violence. You will not know how long it will take before repeating a move; it might be days or only a few minutes. Be patient and wait for your shot. Who knows, you may capture something worthy of a lifetime.
Everything in landscape photography has to have a pattern. Birds’ movement, the sun, the moon on the river, waves crashing on the shore—everything has a pattern to repeat. They are remarkably consistent in their patterns. If you ever miss a shot, don’t give up. Just wait around for the pattern to repeat itself.
4. Try Something New
Creative block is a very common phenomenon among photographers. There is a time when you do not feel like getting up early to capture that shot you planned earlier, or days pass when your camera is locked away in a safe. And this is not new for a pro photographer, either. If you treat landscape photography as a daily chore rather than having fun, then you will not always enjoy taking good photos.
Either way, it is true: ‘Trying something new is always fun and inspiring.’
If you want to keep the excitement for photography or enjoy it even more, try to do it in a new and fun way. If you always visit a particular location at the same time, try to see it at a different time and capture some photos at an unusual time. Switch your lens to capture the same scene- who knows you may capture something no one could have imagined. You need not do something bizarre. Try different photography genres, do studio photography, or learn new lightroom skills. Do something that you have never done before. No matter what, you will not regret trying something new.
5. Create a Vision
This is different from scouting or trying something new. Creating a vision is more fundamental than that. It’s about deciding what you want your photo to say and forming a plan to achieve that. It may show the harshness of nature, like a storm, or the melody of nature, like a butterfly flying over the garden. Whatever your goal is, your every decision must be based on your ultimate vision.
All decisions must be made from home with your vision in mind. Whether you take a 35mm or 135mm lens, whether your composition will be balanced or not, whether your image will have a happy and bright mood or a dark and harsh mood, every decision depends upon your vision. It’s only you who can decide which ones prioritize your vision. It’s about the choice that best serves you to achieve your vision. You need to ask yourself whether your choices serve your purpose or not.
Say you want to capture the dark and foggy forest with a mysterious vibe. How will you proceed? You have to make a decision based on your vision here—black and white versus color, wide angle versus telephoto, balanced composition versus imbalanced composition, high versus low contrast, soft versus harsh light, dark versus bright mood, small versus wide aperture, realism versus impressionism. And the list goes on.
Creating a vision helps tremendously to make all these decisions conciously. Many of these factors will cross your mind by instinct but try to slow down and make every step as intentional as possible. Then, only your photo will have a story to tell. It will make your photo powerful and a worthy shot, carrying a perfect message as you wanted.
Conclusion
Many of you are following these tips intentionally or unintentionally. But knowing again and following those consciously will help you grow and become a successful landscape photographer. The most important thing is to always keep an open mind, look around to observe and learn and try to understand nature. If you have an urge to improve, you will improve, no matter what. Happy shooting!
