How to Photograph Landscapes in Creative Photography

Landscape photography needs to communicate depth and space. Otherwise, the print is flat and looks one-dimensional. Imagination, composition and technique help the photographer impress the viewer with creative landscape vision. Although there are guidelines for landscape photography, ultimately the final print is created by the artist's eye and skill.

Instructions

1. 

   Work the foreground. Whether you populate the foreground of your landscape picture with animate or inanimate subjects, these can provide an impression of depth. A magnificent vista to the naked eye can look dull and flat without adequate composition. Foreground trees or people who frame the view give depth and a sense of space to landscape pictures.

2. 

   Use an appropriate filter. A light-reducing filter, such as a polarizing linear/circular filter, reduces glare in a sun-drenched landscape. What might show on a print as blinding, undefined detail can really pop the scene with the right filter (see Resources below).

3. 

   Utilize light and shadow for depth. Use the light of the particular time of day to add contrast and depth to a landscape print. Early morning or late afternoon light casts deep and long shadows. Move around and experiment with angles. If the landscape is a scene with the sun setting and there are rocks, cliffs or trees, shoot from a low position, camera upward, or from one side of the composition. View the convergence of shadows, their lines and the lines of the subject itself. Create geometric interest.

4. 

   Justify on film what your eye perceives, what captured your attention in the first place. You can document landscapes for scientific purposes or simply for interest in the area. Take care to view what initially captivated your naked eye. See that and shoot that.

Resources

• Choosing a Camera Lens Filter