Contrast is one of the most fundamental properties of a photo, and it offers you many powerful ways to create a mood, make the subject clearer, and more. As such, learning how to leverage it and all the factors that influence contrast in the frame is crucial. This fantastic video tutorial discusses contrast and a variety of different ways to use it in your images.
Coming to you from Mike Smith, this excellent video tutorial discusses contrast and how to use it in your images, particularly in landscape work. If you find contrast to be the most powerful element in a given frame, consider shooting in black and white. Removing the color from the photo places all the emphasis on the luminance, and as such, allows you to emphasize the variations in contrast all the more. While it can be tricky to know when to shoot in color and when to use black and white, one of the best bits of advice I ever heard was: use color when you want to convey information and black and white when you want to convey emotion. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Smith.
And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out "Photographing The World 1: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing with Elia Locardi."
