Recent Landscapes Articles

Creating Minimalist Landscape Photos With a Telephoto Lens

For the most part, landscape photographs are shot using a wide angle lens to capture as much of the scene as possible. Of course, however, that is not the only way you have to approach the genre. A telephoto lens can give a novel and interesting view of a scene. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to use a telephoto lens to take minimalist landscape shots.

Helpful Tips and Techniques for Photographing Mountains

Mountains are by far one of the most popular subjects for landscape photography, and they require their own approach and technique to get the best possible results. This excellent video tutorial will show you some helpful tips, techniques, and settings for improving your mountain photos.

Life Lessons Learned in Selling my Photography as Art

Taking something that you love to do and making it a money-making endeavor fundamentally changes your relationship to it and will require way more from you than you think. If that is something you want to do, it’s worthwhile to ask yourself: “am I really ready for that?"

Learn to Photograph Sand Dunes in Death Valley With Michael Shainblum

We have all seen the kind of incredible images that can be captured of sand dunes. In this video, we are given an informative look behind the scenes with renowned landscape photographer Michael Shainblum, as he makes the trek out through the dunes in Death Valley National Park. Don't miss out on this exciting look into his creative process.

How Do You Approach an Unfamiliar Location?

New locations can be challenging for all of us. How you approach them can make the difference between a successful image or a frustrating day. This excellent video tutorial features a photographer discussing his approach to working at a new location.

3 Fresh Tips for Spring Landscape Photography

If winter is the season of monochrome, spring is the season of color. Spring, following a season of coma-like dormancy, reminds us that we inhabit a miraculous living organism. We are reminded that our planet is a colorful one. Absence, indeed, makes the heart grow fonder.

A Five-Step Process to Shooting Moody Landscape Photos

A lot of landscape photos are vibrant, bright, and bursting with color, light, and life, but of course, that is not the only way to create a compelling image. Moody landscapes can be just as eye-catching, and this awesome video tutorial will show you a five-step process to creating them.

10 Helpful Tips for Photographing Trees

Trees can be a fantastic and bountiful subject for landscape photography work, but often, they are far more intimate than the wide views you might normally work with, which can present its own set of challenges. If you are interested in photographing trees, this fantastic video tutorial will give you 10 helpful tips to create better photos.

The Power of Reflexive Photography

It is easy to overthink landscape photography (as I am about to do now). For anybody prone to self-doubt, like myself, the act of landscape photography can be downright paralyzing.

Helpful Techniques for Better Landscape Photo Compositions

Whereas things that can be quantified, like camera settings, can be learned in a relatively straightforward manner, composition is a bit more nebulous and difficult to master. If you have been having trouble with your compositions, this excellent video tutorial will show you some helpful techniques to improve your landscape images.

5 Common Mistakes in Landscape Photography

Landscape photography is a tricky genre to master, but it is highly rewarding when you get things right and you are able to produce a compelling photo. This excellent video discusses five common mistakes landscape photographers make or traps they fall into and how to avoid or remedy them.

5 Reasons for Landscape Photographers to Switch to Mirrorless and 5 Reasons to Keep Your DSLR

There is no arguing that the camera industry is quickly transitioning to mirrorless, but that does not mean every photographer has to immediately jettison all their DSLR gear. In fact, many genres really do not need all the benefits of mirrorless cameras. This excellent video essay features a landscape photographer discussing five reasons why a switch to mirrorless would benefit him and five why he might just hang on to his DSLR a little longer.

The Struggle and Reward of Good Landscape Compositions

Composition is one of the subtlest and trickiest aspects of landscape photography, and it is something we all struggle with at one time or another. If that is something you have trouble with, be sure to watch this great video that follows an experienced photographer as he works through a difficult composition of his own.

Hard Truths Every Landscape Photographer Should Know

Landscape photography is a fairly unique genre, requiring loads of patience and often, a bit of luck. Whether you are new to the genre or a seasoned pro, there are some hard truths we all have to hear from time to time, and this excellent video essay discusses them.

What Do You Get Out of Landscape Photography?

Landscape photography is hardly of any benefit to society, nature, or the world in general. For most people, the commercial value is quite low as well. So why would you do it?

3 Things a Landscape Photographer Wishes He Had Learned Sooner

Landscape photography is a genre that rewards patience and perseverance. If you are just getting started or have been struggling with your work a bit lately, this excellent video essay discusses three important lessons a seasoned professional wishes he had learned earlier in his career.

5 Techniques That Can Improve Your Landscape Photography

The beauty of landscape photography is there are so many ways to shoot the same scene and to express your creativity. If you have been struggling with your landscape photography a bit, check out this fantastic video that discusses five techniques that can improve your work.

We Photograph the Places We Love the Most

Standing at the edge of Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park I didn’t feel an immediate connection with the iconic tableau. It wasn’t that the scene, El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls, and Half Dome, wasn’t spectacular, as it was. It is among the most captivating scenes in the world. In spite of the beauty, my camera remained in its bag. I couldn’t conceive of a shot that felt personally connected to the scene. Instead, I only saw vignettes of Ansel Adams' deep love for the place.

Watch This Breathtaking New Zealand 8K Time-lapse

Professional landscape photographer Michael Shainblum shares this incredible 8K UHD time-lapse featuring amazing light at many of the best locations in New Zealand for landscape photography, including Milford Sound. Be sure to check out the full-size image gallery as well.

A Quick Tutorial on How To Replace a Sky in Photoshop

If you've ever left a shoot a little disappointed with how the weather panned out — and I imagine this is a feeling we're all familiar with — perhaps changing the sky in post-production might salvage your images.

Does Sensor Size Make That Big a Difference in Your Work?

There is a lot of debate back and forth about just how important sensor size is in photography. And with professional-level camera and lens lines available in Micro Four Thirds, APS-C, full frame, and medium format, you might wonder which is right for your work. This great video compares APS-C to medium format for landscape photography, and you might be surprised by just how well the smaller sensor holds up.

Is the Canon EOS R5 Worth the Price for Landscape Photography?

The Canon EOS R5 has turned a lot of heads for its high-powered features, and while those are great to have, not all genres require such advanced capabilities. So, is it worth paying the premium price for the EOS R5 for a genre like landscape photography? This excellent video review compares the EOS R5 to the 50-megapixel 5DS R, which can be bought for about a third of the price, to help you decide.

Capturing Intimate Wave Photography With a Telephoto Lens

The ocean has long been a muse for artists of every sort. For photographers, coastal waves, in particular, provide a pleasant combination of color and motion which presents many creative opportunities. Using a telephoto lens, it is possible to capture incredible detail from a safe (not to mention dry) location.

Tips and Tricks for Shooting the Icelandic Volcano at Night

As the Icelandic volcano continues to erupt in Gelingadalur, Iceland, these two photographers share their very best tips and tricks for photographing a volcanic eruption, and luckily the same techniques can be applied to landscape photography anywhere in the world with an active, erupting volcano.

A Guide To When To Use Focus Stacking and How To Do It

Landscape photography often demands extreme depth of field, where everything from the nearest flowers to the farthest mountains need to be in focus and as sharp as possible. Often, this exceeds the laws of physics for a single shot, meaning you will need to resort to blending multiple images, known as focus stacking. This excellent video tutorial discusses when you should use it and how to do it.

Simple Tips for Creating Better Photographs in Harsh Light

Photographing when the sun is at its highest point in the sky is rarely desirable, but there are certainly times and places where it can make for great images. Here are some tips for that less popular time of day.

A Beginner's Guide to Long Exposure Seascapes

One of the most popular types of landscape shots is the long exposure of moving water. They are a great way to explore your creativity and expand your photographic palette into images that are not possible with more basic equipment. This great video tutorial will show you how to shoot long exposures of seascapes or other moving water.

The Challenge of Photographing Seascapes at Night

Seascapes are a popular choice for a wide range of photographers, but they are normally shot when the sun is still high in the sky or right around sunrise or sunset. Of course, you can shoot them at night, however, and the results can be quite entrancing. This great video follows a photographer as he shoots seascapes in the middle of the night, showing the challenges that arise, how to move past them, and the awesome result.

Helpful Tips and Neat Ideas for Minimalist Photography

We are often used to very lush, intricate, and multi-layered landscape photos with rich, vibrant colors. There is certainly nothing wrong with that, but it is not the only way to create an image. At the other end of the spectrum is minimalist photography, and it comes with its own unique challenges. This excellent video tutorial will give you a wide variety of helpful tips to improve your minimalist photography and give you some ideas to try yourself.

How to Use Content Aware Fill in Photoshop

Photoshop is full of a variety of tools, and there are many different ways to accomplish the same task, some more time-consuming than others. One of the most powerful time-saving tools out there is Content Aware Fill. This excellent video tutorial will show you how the tool works and how to get the most out of it to make better photos.

How Foregrounds Improve Your Landscapes

Landscapes can be tricky to get right, but that's even more the case when you find yourself in a less than magnificent location. One of the biggest issues with flat and uninspiring vistas is composition becomes more difficult and this is where foregrounds play an important role.

The Best Settings To Make Sure Your Landscapes Are Sharp

To ensure your photographs are sharp, there are a lot of considerations. As a beginner, that can be daunting. In this video, however, you will find some advice on making sure your image doesn't lose any precious sharpness.

16 Camera Settings You Should Change for Landscape Photography

Modern cameras come with a huge variety of customizable settings, and it is well worth taking the time to go through yours and set it up to ensure you have the best chances of coming home with the shots you want. This excellent video tutorial discusses 16 settings landscape photographers should consider changing from their defaults to get the best possible images.

5 Reasons Why Being a Landscape Photographer Is Great

Landscape photography is a tough genre, requiring long slogs to find good shots with no guarantee that nature will cooperate once you get there. Still, there are a lot of great things about it, and this fantastic video discusses five of the best parts about being a landscape photographer.

Learn to Embrace Eyesores in Landscape Photography

Humans are a rather invasive species, and it is getting harder and harder to find pristine landscapes that are untouched by manmade structures. So, how do you create good images when you have to deal with all these eyesores? Maybe the answer is to learn to embrace them. This insightful video essay discusses the issue and what we can do about it.

5 Things No One Tells You About Being a Landscape Photographer

Landscape photography is a bit of a different genre: there is not as clear a path to being a pro as in other areas, and there are many different ways to engage with it. If you are wondering about the genre, this interesting video discusses five things no one really tells you about being a landscape photographer and offers some great tips and advice in the process.

How to Create Compelling Minimalistic Landscape Photos

A lot of popular landscape photography is very rich and vibrant, with complex and multilayered compositions. And while you can certainly create compelling images in that style, it is not the only one. At the other end of the spectrum is minimalism, which is quite challenging in its own way. This great video tutorial details some helpful tips for improving your minimalistic landscape images.

Hyperfocal Distance Made Simple: Forget the Charts and Calculators

The majority of landscape photographers tend to prefer keeping the entire scene in focus from back to front, using smaller apertures to maintain greater depth of field. Using this simple technique, any photographer can quickly find the hyperfocal distance, or the focusing distance at which a lens, given any aperture and focal length, will produce the greatest depth of field.