90% of landscape photography in just 20 minutes

What do you really need to know to take landscape photography?

Landscape photography is a process. Many might even say a process of self-discovery. In my last video, I try to cover 90% of the landscape photography (think of it as the “vast majority”) that you need to know to do landscape photography. This is the framework in which landscape photographers work. I put it in the 90/10 method, where you can accomplish 90% of the project with just 10% of the effort, while you have to put in 90% of the effort to reach that last 10% and become a very great and renowned landscape photographer.

In the section below, I’ll try to cover the video, but be sure to watch it for the nuances, more explanation, and to watch a lot of my new photos.

The camera

The video is primarily intended for beginners, but advanced or experienced photographers can hopefully get a few tips or reminders. First and foremost, you need a camera, and despite the sheer amount of equipment information, it doesn’t matter what brand and type of camera you choose to start with. no one can see the difference in the final photo anyway. Ultimately, a camera is just a tool for capturing light, and you need experience to learn what handy features you value in a camera.

The settings

Many beginners struggle with the settings for landscape photography, but for the most part it’s actually quite easy. Keep the ISO as low as possible, use an aperture that allows the entire photo to be in focus, and the shutter speed to anything that gets optimal exposure without overexposing highlights or underexposing shadows . There are, of course, a lot of situations where you need to prioritize shutter speed, like on windy days, and if you’re shooting a river or a waterfall, but it’s all about getting the balance. optimal between ISO, aperture and shutter speed. If you need to see me explain this in more detail, be sure to see the video.

Filters

If you need to further manipulate your settings, you can use filters. The main filter to use is the neutral density (ND) filter. ND filters come in many shapes and sizes, and they basically work like sunglasses for your camera, helping you increase your shutter speed length and get those long exposures at the water. The other main filter is the polarizing filter, which cuts the polarized light in your scene with the effect of making blue skies bluer, greens greener, and eliminating reflections and some atmospheric haze.

Lentils

Lenses are the determining factor in the optical quality of your photos. A good lens on an older camera will likely make better photos than a bad lens on a newer camera (regarding optical quality). In landscape photography, the rule of thumb is to cover the 16mm to 200mm focal range (full frame), while keeping the optical quality of your photos acceptable (whatever it is for you). This can usually be done with the “Holy Trinity” lenses: a 16-35mm, a 24-70mm and a 70-200mm. With fewer lenses you compromise optical quality and with more lenses you compromise weight, cost and convenience. If you want more information on lenses, camera systems, and an explanation of focal length etc., be sure to watch the video.

Tripods

Perhaps the most important accessory of the landscape photographer is the tripod. With low ISO and closed aperture, you can often end up with relatively long / slow shutter speeds, meaning the photo can easily become blurry due to camera shake. With a tripod, you eliminate this problem, and it is the main function of the tripod, to keep the camera still while taking the picture. When choosing a tripod, it’s about finding the right balance between robustness and practicality. In my experience, I can get about 98% of my photos with a good quality carbon fiber travel tripod like the Benro Travel Angel line.

What to photograph?

So what to photograph? That’s a good question, and it’s entirely up to you. Some landscape photographers like to shoot epic panoramas, some like to tell conceptual stories, some like to document environmentalism, some like to photograph summaries in nature for the pure sense of aesthetics and feelings. Some photographers appreciate technical perfection, some appreciate the history of the photo, some value exploration, originality and a sense of sacrifice to get the shot, some appreciate the realism and that special moment, while others are more impressionistic about their photos. Some photographers use it for meditation, just like some people like to go fishing, while others try to make a living from it again. There are no right or wrong approaches to landscape photography, and for the most part, most photographers don’t even know what they like when they start out. The truth is, we all probably enjoy all of this to varying degrees, and what you learn that you enjoy depends on your experience and your influences – and those can very well change over time. There is no secret to landscape photography. Just do what you love to do, tell the stories and take the photos you answer.

Composition

When shooting, the best way to enhance your photos is to put some intention behind the way you structure them. How do you place the elements of your scene in the frame, how do you compose it? Composition is all about creating and finding order in your photos. Some important tips are to have a focal point, a subject, something that you are taking a photo of that is not just a pretty sight or a sunset. You should also balance the photo to make sure it doesn’t make one side look heavier than the other. Make sure that the elements of your frame play together, for example by using guidelines or elements that actually direct the viewer’s eye towards the photo rather than outward. Composition is difficult, but I would say you can learn a lot with practice and commentary.

Editing

Last but not least, when doing digital photography, you also need to learn a bit of photo editing. To get the most out of your digital image file, you should shoot in raw format and not in JPEG format. With raw, you have a lot more information. There are many programs for editing your photos, and most of them cover the same basics. No matter if you love or hate this part of landscape photography, it is absolutely essential that you learn how to edit your photos. Whether you allow yourself to do everything in the editing phase, use editing to solve some problems, which are not possible in the camera itself, or want to make a realistic photo, which looks like the way you saw the scene in front of you, editing is required (example below). There are many creative choices to be made in digital photography just as there are in analog photography where your choice of film and darkroom process greatly influence your final photo.

In my experience, this covers the majority of what you need to know to do landscape photography. There are, of course, many little nuances, which you learn on the road during the 90% final effort. Be sure to watch the video above for more details and photos and let me hear below what you consider important to know as well.