When it comes to photography, we often spend a lot of time either trying to follow formulaic procedures to create the best images or trying to imitate the work of others. And that can often create perfectly acceptable images, but on the other hand, it is important to remember that sometimes, intuition is the best way to get things done.
These are six of the most common mistakes I see photographers make in their editing regardless of skill level. This part will cover white balance, getting caught up in your histogram, and not spending enough time cropping.
There are few things that can make or break a photograph like composition. If you organize a brilliant composition of a scene, you could turn an average photo into something special. However, conversely, if your composition is poor, it can undo a lot of hard work.
Forests can make for wonderful photographs, but they can be very tricky to create compelling and clean compositions in given the dense and unpredictable, snaking branches. Fog can be a fantastic natural way to alleviate this issue, and it provides dramatic, diffuse light. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to create the best images you can when shooting a foggy forest.
You have checked the weather maps, you have a clear idea of what you could photograph to get a masterpiece, and then, things are different, and you have no idea what to photograph? That’s fantastic, because this is the best starting point to become a better photographer.
These are six of the most common mistakes I see photographers make in their editing regardless of skill level. This part will cover how heavy your edit should be, controlling your saturation, and fixing halos in your images.
What essential tools have you always wanted to mount onto your camera setup?
There are a lot of camera bag addicts in our community and it's easy to see why: they can revolutionize your shooting experience when outdoors. Of all the genres of photography that need the right camera bag, landscape is right up near the top. Here is one landscape photographer's new favorite bag.
DJI’s Mavic 3 is an amazing drone, but DJI’s pricing for their filters isn’t so amazing. Fortunately, companies like PGYTECH have made a range of filters compatible with the Mavic 3’s unique mount and camera setup. Are they worth pairing with the high-performance camera the drone is equipped with? I put PGYTECH’s Mavic 3 filter series to the test in this review.
As landscape photographers, we are used to leaving our warm bed in the early morning, being on location, and also having a composition before the sun starts to rise. But what if we arrive after the sun has come up? Is there still a way to go home with strong photographs?
I have been using a square filter system for many years. It proved to be a flexible system that allows one filter to fit on every lens I own. A magnetic filter system is a great alternative, though. I tried both during my recent travels over Lofoten, Norway and I want to share my experiences.
Even with all the planning, the one thing you can't control is the weather. But if you wait out the storm, you can sometimes get some spectacular light.
When it comes to landscape photography, the wide angle lens is the most common tool of choice. And while they are great for the genre, they come with their own set of challenges that can make it quite tricky to come home with compelling images.
If you hop on Instagram and scroll through any landscape photography page, you will likely see a lot of images with cascading rays of dramatic golden light casting warm glows over their frames. And while that look is popular for a good reason, you can absolutely create equally compelling landscape photos in flat light, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you how.
There are a handful of places in the world that are simultaneously beautiful for photography and incredibly difficult to ever visit, but Antarctica is one of them. In this video, James Popsys takes you behind the scenes of his trip there and the wonders that await.
Is getting criticism necessarily a bad thing? How does it affect who you are as an artist?
This is a brief overview of why you need filters for landscape photography, comparing the different types of systems you may encounter, and breaking down which setup is right for you.
Wanted: Photographers to shoot in exotic, sometimes inaccessible locales. Needed: Photographer to set up shop and work with clients among the icebergs and penguins of Antarctica, the bears and icy tundra of Hudson Bay, the apex predators on the wide-open veldts of the Serengeti or Maasai Mara.
Can this new hack for variable neutral density filters expand their usability in landscape photography and long exposure?
Growing as a photographer means finding new and more creative ways to shoot. The best way to do this is to challenge how you normally do things and mix it up with small changes, such as shooting at a different time of day.
The neat thing about landscape photography is that you can create a wide variety of different photographs of the same frame simply by varying your camera settings.
It is always a good idea to try to get your compositions right in camera, both to keep your eye sharp and to retain as much resolution and as flexible a file as possible, but there is no shame in cropping in post, whether to get a different aspect ratio, get closer than you were able to in person, or simply because you have changed your mind about the composition.
Do you struggle with finding compositions in woodland? Over the years, I have developed a strategy that helped me to succeed. Sometimes, I even see one composition beside the other without even looking.
It’s been a long time coming but Skylum Software has finally released Luminar Neo, their brand new version of the software that incorporates a ton of new features, is faster, and is simpler, but also offers more depth.
Landscape photography is made for manual mode, as you have the time to evaluate exactly how you want to expose the frame, both from a creative and technical standpoint.
Telephoto lenses have a unique charm in landscape photography. How does the new Sony G Master telephoto zoom affect the way you shoot?
Composition is something a lot of newer landscape photographers struggle with, particularly since it cannot be as easily codified as something like the right camera settings. If you are learning landscape photography and you want to improve your compositions, check out this excellent video tutorial that will give you five tips that are sure to set you on the right path.
Landscape photography is a unique genre in that you do not have control over the light and conditions, and even if you do your best to plan for the right scenario, you are not guaranteed to get it. So, how do you accept the conditions you are given and still enjoy the experience even when things are not going your way?
The discussion of expensive versus lower-budget gear is age-old and well-covered. However, it's always worth reminding yourself of just how much you can achieve with your images without buying the latest and greatest cameras. And what better way than to look at images from the same shoot with a cheap and an expensive cared, side-by-side.
Landscape photography brings us to the most beautiful places all over the world and there are so many of them out there, that it is impossible to visit them all in one lifetime. There is no obvious reason to return to places we have visited already, but as a pro landscape photographer with more than 30 years of experience, I do it again and again, returning to places for photography.
Learning photography is a challenging thing, requiring you to bring together various technical skills and creative vision simultaneously to make successful images. As such, when you dial it all in, it can be easy to stay in that routine and never evolve your work. That might be the time to ask yourself if you are taking risks in your work, as this great video discusses.
Wide angle lenses are the standard choice for landscape photography, but they challenge the photographer to compose images in which a huge part of the scene is in the frame. This great video tutorial follows a photographer as he shoots with a super-wide angle lens and shows you how to compose with such a challenging focal length.
Bad light is something every landscape photographer will have to deal with at one time or another, but that does not mean you have to pack up your bag and head back home without any worthwhile images. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer walking you through dealing with poor lighting and still coming home with interesting photos.
Fujifilm's medium format mirrorless cameras have gained popularity for offering superlative image quality and modern features normally reserved for cameras with smaller sensors at significantly more affordable prices than traditional medium format options.
Trying to capture a perfectly balanced shot during blue hour has its challenges. These three tips will have you capturing more successful images for your portfolio.
Wide angle lenses are often the option of choice in landscape photography, but they can present some unique challenges that make them difficult to produce strong photos with. If you are newer to landscape photography, this helpful video tutorial will show you five common mistakes landscape photographers make with wide angle lenses and how to fix them or avoid them entirely.
How many megapixels do we need? What do we have to consider already out on location, that we are able to print big afterward? How do we choose the right printing material, and how can we be sure to get the best possible printing result in the end?
Landscape photography is one of the trickier genres of photography due to the lack of control you have. Although you may have control over aspects such as composition, lighting can in the scene can prove a little challenging. Sometimes, you may end up with a picture lacking depth, and overcoming this issue could drastically improve your photography.
We often preach the importance of planning ahead in landscape photography, but the truth remains that nature does not always cooperate, and even if you expected dramatic, interesting skies, even a slight deviation from the weather forecast can leave you with dull monotony overhead. So, what can you do to avoid going home empty-handed? This helpful video tutorial will show you.
If you look at the sort of landscape photos that tend to dominate the popular pages of Instagram and the like, they are often lit with warm, golden rays, augmented by dramatic skies, rich colors, and dramatic contrasts. And of course, those can be incredible images, but the conditions required to create them are often not present, and they are not the only compelling type of landscape photo.
Have you ever been out for landscape photography and didn’t get weather conditions that would support your compositions? Here are a couple of ideas you can try.
When it comes to landscape photography, a narrow aperture and large depth of field is the norm, as we generally want to get everything from the foreground to infinity sharp. Of course, that is a creative decision, and just like any other such decision, you can do something else. So, is it worth trying landscape photographs with a narrow depth of field?
When we shoot photographs, we may or may not want to increase the appearance of depth in the image. Many more tools than depth of field are available to us. Here are some things we can do to add or decrease perspective.
One of the biggest challenges of landscape photography is that unlike most other genres, you do not get control over the light on a scene. And while you can follow the weather forecast and plan in advance, nature does not always cooperate. That does not mean you should just pack in your bag and head home, though.
Photographing landscapes is easy. After all, landscapes are everywhere. Choosing a good composition is often much more difficult. It can be helpful to take small steps, slowly building up the most attractive composition. Let me show you how I often work for my landscapes.
Some genres of photography allow you to produce a large number of images in a given span of time, while others tend to be more methodical and require a fair amount of patience. Landscape photography tends to fall into the latter camp, but that does not mean there are not things you can do to make yourself more productive on location.
When it comes to landscape photography, sharpness is often one of the top priorities. If that is something you want to improve in your images, check out this excellent video tutorial that details a straightforward process for coming home with sharp photos every time you head out with your camera.
Long exposure photography is a beloved technique, utilized by many genres, as well as forming something of a genre itself. In this video, one photographer walks you through his process and some tips on how to get the best out of your own long exposure images.
In the last decade, drones have created a completely new genre of photography for the average consumer.
In this comparison, you probably can't tell the difference between identical images taken on a medium format and APS-C camera. But that doesn't mean that medium format cameras are a waste of money. As with most questions like this in photography, it really depends on what type of images you make and what you plan to do with them.