The Importance of Patience in Landscape Photography

Landscape photography can be a fickle thing, particularly since you're very much at the mercy of the light and elements. That's when patience becomes an important virtue from which you'll reap the rewards, as this great video talks about.

Coming to you from Nigel Danson, this video examines why patience is such a crucial thing to landscape photography. Very often, the genre is a game of trying to evaluate if it's worth staying with one composition and waiting for the light to be right or seeking out a better one. I think Danson makes a great point in that sticking with an average composition and trying to make it work often prevents us from finding a better one. I'm certainly guilty of this, and without fail, I'll come home and feel the tinge of disappointment when I examine the images in Lightroom and realize that I should have listened to that little voice in my head. The simple truth is that you can't force the composition and you can't force the light, so knowing when to abandon a location and keep looking for another is crucial to coming home with the images you want, and knowing how to wait for the right light (even if that means returning to a location with a lot of potential) will help you bring home the images you want. 

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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2 Comments

I often describe landscape photography as being just like fishing: you have to put yourself in the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment, and then be patient. Sometimes, just like fishing, it doesn't happen. But I've never known a good fisherman who wasn't also a paragon of patience.

photography is a passion in my opinion, if you have it that means you know what's inside of your heart to follow and implement on it. we should keep up the good work.
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