How to Create Minimalist Long Exposure Seascape Photos

Minimalist long exposures of moving water are a highly popular look for landscape photographers, but they also take careful consideration of your composition to avoid crossing the line between minimalist and simplistic. This great video tutorial follows a landscape photographer as he shoots minimalist seascapes and discusses his process and some helpful tips for getting the best photos. 

Coming to you from Michael Shainblum, this awesome video tutorial will show you his process of shooting minimalist long exposure landscape photos and offer some great tips along the way. Of course, to shoot these, you will need a decently strong ND filter to lengthen your shutter speed. The mistake beginners often make is not considering the composition post-ND filter application. When the water is moving or turbulent, the frame can be quite interesting, but in applying the ND filter, you remove all that motion and significantly affect the composition. Thus, it is crucial to consider how the frame will look without that element when you are conceiving the shot. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Shainblum.

And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out "Photographing The World 1: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing 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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Perfect timing, I just in arrived in Maine for a month, and definitely want to try some long exposure seascapes.