If you’re getting into landscape photography and you don’t really know where to start, or if you’re an experienced photographer who is looking for some inspiration and ways to improve your craft, here’s some key information that will help you to find the perfect landscape for your subject matter.
Finding the Right Landscape
First, you’re going to have to find the right landscape to photograph. There are countless options out there. At the end of the day, the world is your oyster. However, there are a number of common sites that make good material for a landscape photoshoot. Some popular options to look into include:
- National Parks – national parks are filled with nature, wildlife and stunning scenery. Just make sure to be careful when shooting, always knowing your way back and being aware of wildlife that could pose a danger.
- Mountain ranges – mountain ranges can make great subject matter from a distance away, or you could head to the range itself and shoot some of the views you can get from higher areas of the mountains. Again, be careful and make sure to only head as far up as you can safely manage. Avoid steep edges and precipices.
- Seaside locations – locations near the sea can include caves, cliffs, sandy coves and all sorts of other options that will stand out as a stunning image.
Getting There Early or Late
Of course, many places with beautiful landscapes are popular tourist attractions or sites where locals will spend a lot of their time. This means that when you get there, you may face the problem of a lot of people walking around and getting in your shots. A good way to combat this problem is getting to your destination particularly early or late. Book some accommodation nearby the location you want to shoot – this could be a hotel, hostel, camping or a field for caravan holidays – and you’ll be able to set an alarm and head out at the crack of dawn when others aren’t yet at the site. Early morning visits can really help you to swerve tourists, who aren’t up and out of bed yet. Alternatively, late evening or night time visits can be ideal, however, you just need to make sure that it’s still light enough to shoot the pictures you had in mind.
Editing
Now, even if you get somewhere early, you may still find that others had the same idea and that there are the occasional people in parts of your images. You could sit all day every day and still find it hard to avoid this. The good news is that there are some simple editing tips and tricks you can try out to remove these people from your images. This is also useful for removing other unwanted elements from your pictures. This could range from trash that you were unable to reach to remove yourself to graffiti in areas of your shots that impacts that final image. Invest in photoshop and take a course in video editing, or use any of the free online videos, guides and other resources that others have made that will show you how to edit your final images to perfection.
Hopefully, some of the above suggestions will help you to find and shoot great locations when it comes to landscape photography! Keep the tips in mind and you should benefit from them.