How Do You Make Unique Photos at Popular Locations?

There are some timeless, popular landscape photography locations that countless photographers visit every year. And while those places are certainly popular for a reason, the downside is that it can be quite difficult to create unique images that stand out from the thousands of others from the same spot. So, how do you go about rising above the crowd? This excellent video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer discussing the issue. 

Coming to you from Gary Gough, this awesome video tutorial discusses how to shoot interesting photos at popular locations. As you will see, a lot of this is simply learning to work against the most obvious approaches to the location. This could mean embracing the less prominent elements of the areas (such as smaller waterfalls), coming back to the location at nontraditional times, or embracing more unusual techniques and post-processing approaches. That being said, it will always be difficult to stand out at such locations, so it is good to balance them with other places, but these ideas can certainly help. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Gough. 

And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out our latest tutorial, "Photographing the World: Japan With Elia Locardi!" 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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This is the Duck Pond at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It's a very popular spot for photographers. I placed an IR filter on my lens and took this shot. I believe it was 67 seconds and this is in the summer time. The IR filter makes the scene look like it's winter. Even the water has the illusion that it's frozen.