Focal Blending for the Landscape Photographer
Focal blending: is this a technique you use, or is it one that you consider cheating?
Focal blending: is this a technique you use, or is it one that you consider cheating?
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.
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.
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?"
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Adobe Lightroom has become more and more powerful over the years, devouring some of its sister software's territory, Photoshop, in the process. This landscape photographer still has to use Photoshop for these six adjustments, however.
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.
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.
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?
Sunrise photography is no easy task and takes some real dedication to pull off. Here's why one landscape photographer loves getting up at 3am to shoot epic sunrises.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Should smart triggers be a part of landscape photographers’ go-to tools?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Landscape photography is one of the most accessible genres in photography. And, because of this, it's a great area to practice your compositional skills.
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.
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.
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.
A telephoto lens can be a fantastic if underused tool for landscape photography. This fantastic video tutorial will give you some great tips for using one to expand your creative palette a bit.
Are you using long exposure with artistic intent?
Landscape photography often requires multiple focal lengths to display a certain variety of output. But does having one lens, a prime lens, enough to shoot landscapes?
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.
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.
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.
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.
A common issue in landscape photography is shrunken backgrounds due to using a wide angle lens. This excellent video tutorial will show you a neat technique for fixing the issue in Photoshop.
Black and white images have been revered in photography since they were the only option and continue to do so today. What makes a great black and white image, however, can often come down to post-production.
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.
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.
The Really Right Stuff PG-01 Compact Pano-Gimbal Head allows you to shoot multi-row panoramas without parallax. I bought one a couple of years ago and it's time to share my findings of this compact solution for panoramas.
Are dull, flat skies ruining your photographs? Learn how to capture real clouds and dramatic skies in camera, no sky replacement or Photoshop needed.
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.