Walk Topic: How to improve your landscapes
Technique Tips:
1. Use a tripod to frame your composition, set your horizon and minimize camera shake.
2. Use a Remote Shutter Release to minimize camera shake.
3. Use a Spirit Level to level your camera both front to back and horizontally.
4. Use a wide angle lens to fill the frame.
5. Set your aperture to insure proper depth of field. The smaller your aperture (larger the number), the greater your depth of field.
6. Manual focus or focus on foreground to ensure maximum in-focus depth.
7. For DSLR users, set your lens to manual focus and Hyperfocus using your f/stop to maximize your depth of field.
8. Use a Polarizing filter to remove unwanted reflections or increase the dramatic effect of clouds and sky.
9. Use Graduated Neutral Density (GND) filter(s) to correct exposure when the brightness in the top or bottom area of your image is out of proportion to the rest of the area in the frame.
Composition Hints:
1. Keep People out of the scene unless they contribute to the composition.
2. Try to have one dominant subject or object of principal interest in your scene.
3. Keep the sun to the side or slightly behind you. If the sun is directly behind you shadows will be lost leaving you with a flat appearing photograph.
4. Plan the time of day. Early morning, late afternoon and early evening can provide warmer tones adding mood to your photograph.
5. Use the Rule of Thirds when composing. One third sky and two thirds land or one third land and two thirds sky. For example, when photographing a sunset determine your mood interest. Often too much dark foreground will detract from the mood you are trying to photograph.
6. Add foreground to your composition to give dimension to your photograph.