Landscape can be one of the easiest subjects of photography for nature.
Basically, all you have to do is find a beautiful view in the right lighting, then take the picture, but if you look a little deeper at the landscape photos that interest you, you will often find that there is much more than that, and that there are paintings. The most beautiful photograph your eyes could have captured.
To optimize your landscape shots, you need to find visually compelling locations, and then you need to work on the right time of day, and the right season to visit it. This is for those looking for the absolute best, and once you’ve done all this research and planning, you need the technical skills to achieve Make the most of the scenery.
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All of this, of course, comes from practice, but the question here is: Where do you start? And how can you give yourself the best chance to get some great shots? Instead of simply telling you that you have to set the aperture this amount, and set the focal length of this or that value, we will reveal to you the “ten laws” that will help you plan more effectively, create your own shots, and teach you how to trick or Two that can really help you, you have to improve your success rate in taking the photo by going to the right places at the right times, and you have to know how to get amazing pictures anywhere.
Table of Contents
20 Rules And Advices To Improve Your Photography For Nature Skills
1: Don’t leave your chosen sites vulnerable to chance
Learn everything there is to know about the landscapes of your chosen location before you go there, from different vantage points, to the location of the garden or water. You’re unlikely to find great landscaping spots once you step out into the countryside, it might seem like you need to do a lot of work, but it’s easy for you to check the location, sun setting, weather, and tides before setting off.
The first port to get easy is an online map service, such as Google Maps. The amount of detail available via satellite, along with a Street View service, are all invaluable for getting an insight into the basic features and landscapes of the site.
Check pictures online of the same site, of course we don’t suggest you to copy the same approach and methods used by other photographers; Because most of the images available are those taken by tourists who simply want to record the scene. These shots are perfect for getting a good idea of what to expect from the chosen location, without the risk of your subconscious mind imitating what other photographers have done.
2: You do not have to adhere to the exact same plan
What if there is a sudden rain on the site after you go there? Make sure you have the flexibility to get the most out of your day. Although you should always go with a plan for what you want to portray and how to portray it, this does not mean that it is a sacred plan that cannot be changed.
Nature has a habit of unexpectedly change, so expect the unexpected.
From surprise rain to gusty winds to fog, this atmosphere always spoils the best of plans. Along with the weather, you may also experience unexpected changes in the landscape, such as changes in trees or plants, changes in water levels, and even more dramatic events like landslides, which can change the landscape drastically, or simply prevent you from getting The location you chose at the exact time.
Here you should always move to a backup plan, and also you have to arrive early for the time you want to take your photo, such as sunrise or sunset, so that you have time to adjust. Usually try to get to the site at least 30 minutes in advance, and the bottom line is that no plan is perfect, but your good research makes you set different possibilities for the situation in advance.
3: Don’t always use wide-angle lenses
Be aware that the capabilities of zooming or telephoto lenses can also give you a great photo, and your day will end with more creative photos. Many landscape photographers capture about 80% of the landscape with a wide-angle lens, but it’s still worth using a long-range lens to capture those distant details that are impossible to show clearly in the overall picture.
Therefore, the remaining 20% of the images, can show distinct shots using a focal length setting longer than the standard zoom. Capturing detail from a distance means getting a compact, classic perspective effect, with the foreground and background appearing very closely together.
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4: Don’t use filters on every shot
Sometimes filters or filters can cause problems rather than fixing them, so you should know the tricks that can help you out of these problems. Usually, we recommend that you take the photo with the same normal camera settings; Because it saves time, adjustment effort, then you can manipulate the image at a later time, but we also sometimes use filters to capture details in both the sky and landscapes from sunset or sunrise instead of using manipulation software later, but there are cases where it is better.
Leave the ND grad filter in your bag, and use other photography techniques to balance exposure.
The classic case comes when there are mountains, buildings or trees in the horizon in your shot, and the sun is low in the sky. In these conditions, it’s impossible to preserve detail in both the brightest and darkest areas of the scene, but if you use an ND grad filter, any part of the scene above the horizon will be dark. Hence the photo manipulation is better later.
5: Don’t Only Take Pictures in Good Weather
Try to be a storm hunter, and through this you will be able to take more dramatic pictures, but you must make sure that you are safe, and not in danger of your life at the same time. Although we can see the magnificence of the landscape at a time when the sun is shining, you have to be more excited and excited about having a good storm, or the fluctuation in the weather. This is not an inherent advantage in cold, rain or wind, but because colors and light can change dramatically after or during weather fluctuations; This gives you truly unique shots.
Going out in a storm should not be taken except very seriously; Because there are a lot of potentially dangerous things that can happen to you and the gadgets that come with them. Therefore, you need to ensure that you are not putting yourself in danger, and that you have appropriate clothing if there is rain or wind.
6: Don’t take pictures from one angle
Explore your location thoroughly, you might find another shooting angle that everyone would like to shoot from. After you’ve done your research and looked at the previous site photos, it’s tempting to scroll up and down, left and right in order to take different angles and take pictures. Finding the right spot might be just a matter of spending a few minutes walking around the site, trying to assess all possible angles, and using different elements in the foreground or background, and it might take longer to move around the area extensively, and evaluate several different spots. The most popular approach if you are on a large area such as a mountain or lake, where potential shooting angles are some distance apart.
7: Don’t rely on the rule of thirds
Move away from the strict guidelines, and learn how your landscapes and your creative options can complement each other. The classic rules of composition are the staples for all types of photography. The rule of thirds, which suggests dividing your frame into a 3×3 grid and then positioning your focal point, where the grid lines meet, is the most popular application to landscape photography.
But in the real world, guidelines like this rule are more like helpful suggestions that may or may not be used. The other big problem with the rules is that nature doesn’t always follow them, and the scene in front of you may not want to show it nicely, so the rules don’t apply strictly to it.
8: Don’t Overload the Scene
Remember that the less you shoot, the more loaded the image will be, because you won’t be distracted by scenes with too many crowded details. Creating a strong, natural image often depends on what you’ll leave in the frame. When you encounter a breathtaking landscape, you often have a hard time cutting out a part of the scene, but you have to decide which part of the scene is necessary, and which parts are dispensable. Here you should take advantage of your own perspective, and what you want to focus on and highlight to the viewer.
9: Don’t Just Think of Colors
Try to learn which scenes go well with monochrome. There are two types of weather conditions and lighting that prompt us to think of the black and white image: the first is a heavy cloudy sky, which tends to produce very monochromatic results, and the second when there are thin clouds in the bright blue sky.
These two conditions produce very different results, and also require a different approach to produce the final image. The easiest of course is when there are blue skies and clouds, and landscapes swim in the light. For monochrome, all you need to do is make sure that you have picked up the full range of color tones, then later you will be able to easily convert the photo to black and white.
Use a preset red filter in Photoshop to darken the blue tones and increase the contrast. But when shooting heavy clouds, which is the most difficult, it is best to use an ND grad filter to darken the sky.
10: You are not afraid to visit the same place again
To get the best natural picture, keep coming back to the same site, and use the new knowledge you’ve gained for more creative photos.
The seasons and the weather change, and of course, they are two of the primary aspects of landscape photography. It’s almost impossible to capture so many amazing sights if you only visit a site once. We often return to sites – either near home, or in areas we visit regularly – to learn more about lighting and weather, and to combine them; To give a different look to the landscape.
11 – The tripod and the tripod head.
It is necessary to have a powerful tripod for landscape photography to get a clear picture in detail and a picture with a slow shutter speed and to illuminate the resistance to changes in the atmosphere during photography such as strong winds and some movement of seas or rivers and it is recommended to have a tripod from Gitzo, even if its price is a little expensive, it is the most powerful tripod available Until now, and if your financial capabilities do not allow the acquisition of this tripod, you can buy a tripod from another company such as Manfrotto, which is a good company.
12 – Make sure the horizon line is straight.
You must make sure that the horizon line is straight during photography, so that you do not lose parts of the image when you return to the house, watch your photos, make cropping of the image, and lose a lot of details because cropping affects the image and its quality.
13 – The use of a wide lens.
In natural landscapes, you must acquire a wide lens while photographing, and this does not mean that it is not possible to photograph with a 50 mm lens, but to give the landscape a bigger story and make the viewer feel as if they are in this place during photography (I recommend a lens less than 24 mm).
14 – Crystal filter.
It is the first filter that should be in the camera bag. The benefit of it is that it removes the glare from sunlight on the water of rivers or seas, and any reflection that occurs to rocks during daylight photography, which is useful lighting during filming in foggy times and lighting it reduces exposure to the sky during filming on days when there are no clouds and gives it its natural blue color And it is used for slow motion photography when water flows and clouds are moving.
15 – Rule of Thirds.
A nice base, but don’t make it the main rule in your landscape photography, and there is a way to steer clear of using this rule. When you are photographing while you are photographing, see the landscape and select the most important staff in your view, because the rules are set to break them and the basic rule is the human eye sees everything beautiful and try to illuminate when photographing the experiment of the rule and the experience of breaking the rule and do not photograph for human beings Do photography in order to enjoy first Others enjoy what your eyes see.
16 – ND gradient filters.
These filters are a must-have with nature photographers. Even if you want to spend long periods of time merging photos in Photoshop, it saves you time during processing. It is used to reduce the contrast between heaven and earth. And most cameras do not have this feature, and photographers must use these gradient filters during filming. I recommend two companies, Lee and Singh-Ray, because it does not affect the colors of the image at all.
17 – The golden hour.
99% of the photography for nature at this time is roughly half an hour after sunrise and half an hour before sunset, and this does not mean not photographing at the rest of the times, but to get wonderful colors in the sky, it is preferable to photograph at this time.
18 – Staff introduction.
If you see my photos, most of them are presented in the image because I see that they give a wonderful dimension to the image and strength and this is my style of photography and does not mean restricting this thing, it is up to you to create your development and choose the staff that you deem appropriate for you during filming.
19 – Intensity.
It is one of the most common obstacles and problems encountered by many nature photographers. Imagine that we go on trips of hundreds of kilometers and we photograph a natural scene and see it on the camera screen and we see that it is beautiful, and when we save the images to the computer, we notice that the sharpness of the image is almost non-existent, so we have lost a long trip and lost a natural scene that does not recur. Know the type of lens you have and know the sharpness. The powerful lens of the lens is preferable to photography over the manual mode and the nose shot to take the largest sharpness of the image and with experiments, you will know the sharpness of your photos and the lens that you use during photography.
20 – Have fun and enjoyment last but not least.
Don’t go on a photo trip for fun if you don’t feel like it. Do not photograph to please others, even if you are on a trip with them. If you are in perfect harmony with yourself, be sure to convey this feeling in your photos.
