Start by positioning the tripod in the center of the scene, then get low and start working the corners. Street View Sample - Leica 18mm Super Elmar M In the above sample it happened to be a dirt road, but this can be any texture, object or line present that might be useful in drawing the viewer’s eye into the scene.Ī safely-isolated road can be a great place to practice, in fact, whether a straight neighborhood avenue, a lead-in to a curvy mountain road or a simple cart path. More often than not, simply taking a lower position and perspective will yield a far more appealing result, even with the most mediocre of subjects.įor example, when presented with an appealing golden-hour sky and limited foreground access, the texture of the ground alone can often add interest and serve as a lower-third anchor for a shot. While framing an overall scene might be the initial goal, a ton of interest can be added by repositioning to incorporate any smaller ground and cloud-level detail, as well as any leading lines that may be present (or created). While an eye-level view can certainly get the job done now and then, the majority of action in a landscape scene is almost always occurring either high or low – and that’s where we need to draw attention. Get LowĪs mentioned above, all great landscape images (generally speaking) have three things in common: a strong foreground, mid-range and background. When shooting landscapes, going wide always goes hand-in-hand with the next step in terms of adding interest to a given image. Wide-angle lens distortion is far more easily contained in post these days, making it safer to rack-out a bit more than normal (if need be) for a wider view and adjust later by way of the Lens Corrections panel in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw. Though capable of reaching out to contain an entire vista, because we can get closer, a wide lens can be equally useful in flattering smaller scenes and objects, as well as easy to maneuver on-camera when working in tighter spaces. Small Scene Sample in Close Quarters - Leica 18mm f/3.8 Super Elmar M These traits can be ideal for emphasizing movement in skies and water as well as allowing for a much closer subject-focusing distance. The wider the field of view, the more elements are available to draw the eye, establish the illusion of depth and make the viewer feel present at the scene.Īs opposed to telephoto lenses, the majority of wide-angle lenses are inherently lacking in depth and prone to varying degrees of distortion at the edge of the frame, depending on the lens’ build quality. While not a hard and fast rule, almost every appealing landscape image typically has three points in common: a strong foreground, a strong mid-range and a strong background (preferably). Nikon shooters, they have you covered as well. Canon full-framers, I would point you in the direction the Full-frame Landscape package, which includes the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L wide-angle zoom along with a circular polarizing filter and a quality mid-weight tripod. Note: If you don’t have a wide-angle lens on-hand, the folks at have landscape packages available for both full-frame and crop-sensor bodies across all manufacturers. I would not necessarily recommend a fish-eye lens (unless that’s what you’re going for) but rather something in the 10-35mm range – such as the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 wide-angle zoom for Canon full-framers, or the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 for crop shooters, for example to get started.Ĭanon 5D3 + 16-35mm f/2.8L (via full-frame landscape package) One of the primary keys to interesting landscape composition is to go with a wide lens. Let’s jump in and explore a few proven tips to adding interest to nearly any landscape scene, starting with the lens we’ll need. The process is simple and becomes so second-nature that, quite frankly it’s become next-to-impossible not to shoot this way. There’s no telling how many rolls of boring, flat shots are stored away in those boxes.Īs it turns out, it’s all about the approach: go as wide as possible and get as close as possible (as safely as possible) without disturbing the local ecosystem.

I was totally unaware of my position – forget about a strong foreground – and with absolutely no sense of framing. In days gone by, when presented with a scenic landscape of any kind, being overwhelmed with the newness of the sight itself, I would likely frame the best overall shot I could get with the 35, 50 or 28-80mm lens I may have had attached at the time. Having grown up in the Blue Ridge mountain region of Southwest Virginia, learning to make better landscape photographs has been a staple in my own learning curve over the years and an ever-present means of practice to this day in terms of shooting and processing. Far and away my favorite subject to photograph for relaxation and practice is in the Landscape venue.

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