Landscape photography is an exciting passion for many photographers. But it can be much more complex than it initially appears. It just sounds simple: find a beautiful place, take a few shots and return home with a piece of art in your camera. Australian photographer Andrew Goodall has been photographing landscapes for about 20 years, running a gallery focused on the genre, and has heard many similar opinions over the years, but believes landscape photography is worth exploring the process thoroughly.
Taking a good picture of a spectacular landscape is actually a difficult task. A person can see the potential and beauty of a place, but conveying it in a photo as a memorable image is a completely different matter, especially if you work in a place that has already been photographed a thousand times. You will have to find a way and take a shot that will be different from the rest. Andrew Goodall offers four tips for those who want to go a little further on their journey landscape photography.
Don't try to fit everything you have into the frame
Some breathtaking panoramic views are so large that it is simply impossible to fit them into one photo - unless you use a wide-angle lens. However, in this case, the entire picture will be reduced in size, as will the grandeur of the entire landscape being photographed. It is much more effective to use another technique: concentrating the composition around one of the key, interesting points of the landscape. Viewers, on the one hand, will recognize the area and view, and on the other hand, will look at them from a new angle. In this case, you can use a large lens to highlight the features of the landscape, capturing details that a wide-angle lens would inevitably lose.
See the landscape from a different angle
Why do so many photos of amazing architectural monuments look the same? Simply because they are filmed from the same points. It’s easy to get a good photo from the popular observation deck - it was, in fact, set up in the most suitable place for this. The trouble is that it is almost impossible to make a unique image from it. Try to find a new angle. Even if you have to walk around to find an interesting position, do it. We, of course, do not suggest illegally entering a closed area or risking your own neck, but in most cases you can find an alternative to the usual angle without risking the lives of yourself and those around you.
Let your environment work for you
Anyone can take a shot of a mountain ridge, for example - but what about the same ridge or slope, shot through the branches of trees in the foreground or from the side of a winding river skirting a hill? Any landscape can be photographed from different points, and the most obvious one is not always the best. Be a bit of an explorer - look in nature for interesting foregrounds and you can add personality to the image and create something truly unique. Taking a photo worth keeping as a keepsake takes some effort.
Consider the changing environment
Shooting landscape objects in the most suitable or, conversely, rare lighting is a real professional balancing act. First of all, you need to choose the time of day. The ideal light, as a rule, is early in the morning or late in the evening, when it is soft and colorful (the so-called golden hours). The trouble is that almost all photographers know this - how can you beat them? The solution is to call on the weather to help. You can capture something very special as a storm front approaches, beautiful clouds in the sky, or even a rainbow appears. By choosing the right moment, you will get a unique photo.
Knowledge of all the above nuances determines the level of professionalism and involvement of the landscape photographer in the process. The more effort spent, the greater the reward will be. You can spend a lot of time waiting for the right moment, but once you get the truly perfect shot, you'll realize that the wait was not in vain. The best proof of audience recognition is to hear people say, “I was there, but I couldn’t film it like that.”
And lastly: if you want to achieve good results not only in the open air, but also during post-processing of photographs, it is worth paying attention to modern editing tools.
In photography, landscape is not just shooting views and not a protocol-accurate reproduction of this or that corner of nature. No wonder they say that a landscape photographer should be not so much a botanist as a poet! And if we are talking about creating an artistic photograph, we have the right to demand from its author an accurate selection of material, a correct understanding of the material and the meaning of artistic creativity. Truthfulness, poetry, picturesqueness of the photographic image (Ivanov - Alliluyev, 1971).
An artistic landscape created by means of photography should evoke in the viewer the same deep experiences as a landscape created by means of painting. And such works corresponding to these high requirements, there is a lot in photography (Ivanov-Alliluyev, 1971; Levkina, 2013).
Contemporary landscape photography is very diverse. The landscape has been preserved and developed, in which its authors follow the examples of classical paintings. Here, of course, we cannot talk about mindless imitation and simple repetition of techniques and effects found by painters. Photography does not lose its independence, the specific features of modernity. But analogies in plots and visual structures still remain; they are quite obvious. Such landscapes are interesting because they develop artistic taste, demonstrate pictorial skill, and evoke associative ideas in the viewer (Ivanov-Alliluyev, 1971; Levkina, 2013).
Features of landscape photography
It is generally believed that landscapes can be photographed in all weather conditions, from bright sunshine to the flash of thunderstorm lightning, and the most important thing in landscape photography is to get up early to catch the morning light, since the morning sky is the clearest and most transparent (Harman, 2011) .
The most important feature in landscape photography is the lack of science about artistic landscape photography. There is no book in the world of photographic literature called “The Art of Landscape Photography.” The reason is simple: the art of photographic landscape is so multifaceted and complex that this science turns out to be a metascience. As written in the book by L.D. Kursky, Ya.D. Feldman’s “Illustrated Guide to Teaching Photography”: “The main feature of landscape photography is constructive. Unlike a still life, it is impossible to make any adjustments here. It is impossible, for example, to remove a mountainside that interferes with the overall composition; it is impossible to change the location of the whole. Thus, work on the layout of the plot is limited to the only method of choosing a shooting point and choosing a lens with the desired focal length m. There may be many of these points, and each of them has its own peculiarity, its own individuality.” Each landscape has several plans: near, far and middle. Their appearance is associated with a reduction in the scale of objects moving into the depths of space, towards the horizon line. The comparison of the scales of linear forms is the linear perspective of a photograph (Belov, 2012).
An integral part of constructing a photograph is lighting. Light is one of the most determining sources of our sensations. It is considered as the main means of creating an artistic photographic work (Dyko, 1977).
The individuality of a landscape depends mainly on the unity and integrity that a well-chosen lighting effect gives to nature (Belov, 2012; Dyko, 1977; Wade, 1989).
Light makes it possible to see the really existing world. In this case, an important role is played by the originality and attractiveness of the lighting, as it occurs at different times of the day: at dawn, in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, during sunset. Also, the time of year, temperature, and landscape of the area are also important when photographing. As a result, we can conclude that a landscape photographer encounters many unusual and difficult to solve problems (Belov, 2012).
First of all, the following paradox awaits him: finding himself directly at that point in space from which a stunning landscape opens up, a person with a camera experiences the powerful, diverse influence of the surrounding nature. His gaze simultaneously covers 180 degrees of perspective, and if he looks around, then all 360. In photography, perspective, as a rule, is limited to 60 degrees with a focal length of a typical lens of 28 mm (Ilyinsky, Petunina, 1993; Belov, 2012) .
Secondly, the photographer is influenced by visual, auditory and olfactory images. Something is constantly happening around: birds are singing, flowers are smelling, a stream is babbling, the wind is blowing. Tactile sensations also play an important role in general perception: under our feet we feel sharp stones, tree roots and other unevenness in the landscape, we can touch the rough or smooth bark of trees, roll a snowball out of snow in our palms (Wright, 2010; Wade, 1989).
The materiality of the landscape is clearly visible in the foreground; a meter or two from the photographer, the texture is clearly visible: blades of grass, stones, and tree leaves are drawn in detail. The paradox is that the photographic result, instead of this multitude of delightful perceptions and sensations, will be some kind of banal photograph or flat picture on the monitor, conveying only a small part of everything that was felt at the moment of shooting (Belov. 2012; Morozov, 1985).
Another of the serious difficulties that a landscape photographer faces is the disappearance of the third coordinate. In a landscape, the depth of space is usually many kilometers! And in the photograph the image is flattened and becomes two-dimensional. How to restore a three-dimensional picture of nature? Linear perspective will help us with this (Lapin, 2005).
Perspective comes from the Latin word perspicere - to look through. The principles of linear perspective were developed by many Renaissance artists. These include Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Durer. For example, Leonardo da Vinci established the basic principles of image reduction. The science of depicting spatial objects on a plane or any surface in accordance with those apparent reductions in their sizes, changes in shape and light-and-shadow relationships that are observed in nature. In other words, this is: a way of depicting volumetric bodies that conveys their own spatial structure and location in space
Fig. 19.
Fig.20.
A perspective on how science appeared during the Renaissance, since at that time the realistic movement in the fine arts flourished. The created system for transmitting visual perception of spatial forms and space itself on a plane made it possible to solve the problem facing architects and artists. Many of them used glass to determine perspective, on which they outlined the correct perspective image of the required objects (Lapin, 2005).
IN fine arts and photography, perspective can be used in various ways, which is used as one of the artistic means that enhances the expressiveness of images. Depending on the purpose of the perspective image, perspective includes the following types: direct linear perspective, reverse linear perspective (Morozov, 1985).
Direct linear perspective. A type of perspective designed for a fixed point of view and assuming a single vanishing point on the horizon line. Objects shrink proportionally as they move away from the foreground. Direct perspective has long been recognized as the only true reflection of the world in the picture plane. Taking into account the fact that linear perspective is an image built on a plane, the plane can be positioned vertically, obliquely and horizontally, depending on the purpose of the perspective images (Fig. 21) (Kursky, Feldman, 1981).
Fig.21.
"Birch Grove".
An example of the transfer of space in this photograph is represented by linear perspective. The path in the birch grove and the ditch become smaller and narrower proportionally as they move away from the foreground. Trees also get smaller as they move away.
Reverse linear perspective. A type of perspective used in Byzantine and Old Russian painting, in which the depicted objects appear to increase in size as they move away from the viewer; the picture has several horizons and points of view, and other features. When depicted in reverse perspective, objects expand as they move away from the viewer, as if the center of convergence of lines is not on the horizon, but inside the viewer himself. Reverse perspective forms a holistic symbolic space, oriented towards the viewer and suggesting his spiritual connection with the world of symbolic images. Since under normal conditions the human eye perceives an image in direct, and not in reverse, perspective, the phenomenon of reverse perspective has been studied by many specialists (Fig. 22) (Belov, 2012; Levkina, 2013).
Fig.22.
What role does perspective play in photography? Linear perspective plays a huge role in the work of a photographer. In photography, to obtain a linear perspective in a photograph that is close to real, lenses with a focal length approximately equal to the diagonal of the frame are used. To enhance the effect of linear perspective, wide-angle lenses are used, which make the foreground more convex, and to soften it, long-focus lenses are used, which equalize the difference in the sizes of distant and close objects (Lapin. 2005).
Despite the two-dimensional nature of photography, the sense of volume in a photograph affects its perception, so it is important to use methods of working with perspective, with which you can achieve a three-dimensional perception of a photograph (Lapin, 2005).
There are several ways in which linear perspective manifests itself in photography. All of them are based on the composition of the photograph and the characteristics of human vision (Lapin, 2005; Morozov, 1985).
One of the obvious laws of linear perspective is that objects appear smaller as we move away from them. To learn how to apply this law, it is enough to find a shooting location with repetition of objects, for example: a row of trees, pillars or a long wall, steps and railings of stairs in parks (Fig. 23) (Belov. 2012).
Fig.23.
For linear perspective to show itself in a photograph, you need to get very close to the first object in this row so that it appears huge in the photograph. If this effect is achieved, the remaining objects in the repeating row will appear significantly smaller, which will enhance the impression of depth (Fig. 24) (Lapin, 2005; Belov, 2012).
Fig.24.
Another method of expressing perspective is to use lines going deep into the photo to convey volume in the image. Objects that form two converging lines work well for this method (for example, railway). To enhance this effect, you need to choose a low shooting point. At the lowest point of the survey, the lines will appear very wide and sharply move deeper into the image to the vanishing point (Fig. 25) (Harman, 2011; Wade, 1989).
Rice. 25.
One of the best ways display linear perspective in the photo - include objects of various sizes in it. For example, from a particular shooting point, the people in the photograph will appear very small, and if they are standing at the foot of a mountain, then the viewer will understand how huge this mountain is. In the same way, you can use trees, animals, cars or other objects whose relative size compared to mountains or other spacious landscapes is very different (Kursky and Feldman, 1981, 1991).
All of these techniques are the result of the photographer's powers of observation. IN real life linear perspective is perceived due to distance. If you use different plans in a photograph, emphasizing that one of the objects is closer to the camera and the other is further away, then the picture will seem three-dimensional (Belov. 2012; Lapin, 2005).
Based on the above, we can draw the following conclusion: it is necessary to select the composition of plans when shooting in such a way that a noticeable reduction in these dimensions is visible in the frame. Good way to emphasize the expressiveness of the depth of space - use a wide-angle lens, while the degree of reduction of objects in the frame increases sharply: the tree in the background is already sharply reduced in size, and in the third plan the object completely turns into a point. This phenomenon creates the illusion of remoteness and depth of space (Morozov, 1985; Belov. 2012; Dyko, 1977).
The next technique when photographing a landscape is to use the possibilities of color-tonal perspective and color (Wade, 1989).
Each of us is familiar with the natural phenomenon when, along with a decrease in the shapes of objects (with an increase in the distance between the object and the observer), color contrasts also decrease. Modern photographic art has reached such perfection that its best works, deep in thought, original in visual solutions, have acquired the features of true artistry. These works give reason to talk about the original handwriting of photo artists, about the style of their work, about searches in the field of artistic creativity and about such an important category of fine art as color (Buimistru, 2010; Ivanov-Alliluyev, 1971).
The concept of “color” came to photography from painting, where color refers to the nature of the relationship between all the color elements of the picture, the consistency of colors and their shades. The external expression of color is the picturesqueness and colorfulness of color combinations. But the meaning of coloristic decisions is in their use to express the content, the main idea of the author. Therefore, the appearance of certain colors and tones on the picture plane is always motivated and expedient, and they are used for a truthful, expressive, emotionally impressive depiction of reality. It is in
This area gives birth to the true beauty of color, its artistic value (Buimistru, 2010).
A photographer works on the color of color photographs in a completely different way than a painter. But the goal before them is the same, and end result, obtained by various means, has much in common. Both the photographer and the artist strive to convey the truth of life, to reveal the topic picturesquely and expressively. Both operate with colors, achieving color harmony, richness and consistency of color shades (Ivanov-Alliluyev, 1971).
Colors and tones of the subject of photography does not require special evidence to assert that the basis of the coloring of the future photographic image is the colors and tones of the selected subject of photography (Wright, 2010; Wade, 1989).
The chain of mountains (Fig. 26, 27, 28) on the horizon seems to be a bluish color transition to the sky; on the contrary, bright colors, and especially the contrasts of light and dark, prevail next to the observer. When removed, the color seems to “shrink”, giving something like the main mood of the picture. For example, look at a tree: due to the color, its crown seems almost uniform, although individual detailed forms become more and more distinct. If we squint our eyes a little, these detailed shapes become clearer and stronger contrasts of light and dark appear. Our eye zooms in on the big picture. The same thing happens when studying a landscape, in which, with increasing depth of space, the light blue color in the distance mixes into all the color values (refraction of color with blue and white) (Buimistru, 2010; Wade, 1989).
Fig.26.
Fig.27.
Rice. 28.
It turns out that with the help of color and geometric constructions, an entire space can be depicted on the picture plane (Belov, 2012).
As mentioned above, in the section on perspective, objects become smaller as distance increases. It turns out that objects also lose their color brightness; It seems that objects in the distance are shrouded in blue fog. As the viewer gets closer, color contrasts become stronger, contrasts of light and dark are more clearly defined, additional contrasts “overwhelm” the contrasts of warm and cool tones. It follows from this that red, orange, yellow (warm colors) colors act as optical approximators. Cool greens, blues as neutrals, and blues as distancers. Therefore, the blue sky or gray distances are always perceived as distant objects, greenery steadily occupies the middle ground, but what to place in the foreground needs to be thought through. These can be red and brown stones, red
or yellow flowers or other objects in the named color range. It turns out that the foreground is warm, the middle is neutral, and the back is cold (Buimistru. 2010, Belov. 2012).
But the most decisive thing here is observation of the corresponding image situation; due to a uniform change in brightness, for example, the transition from blue to white, an additional impression of spatial depth appears in the frame. Distance (Belov, 2012; Morozov, 1985).
From the above, we can conclude that tonal perspective is one of important means conveying space in the photograph and at the same time an important component of the overall coloring of the photographic work. This way the landscapes do not turn out flat, but on the contrary seem more voluminous. The depth of space appears (Dyko, 1977; Buimistru, 2010).
Good lighting is also of great importance for the beauty of the frame. In this case, the problem of exposure metering arises, so to be on the safe side
complex landscapes with enormous brightness latitude need to be shot with correction: first with the correct exposure, and then, just in case, with two overexposures and two underexposures. For some reason, amateur photographers love to shoot landscapes from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in midday light. The sun is almost vertically above the photographer’s head and provides the most unfavorable lighting for the landscape. Professionals shoot only in morning light - from 7 to 11 am or in the evening from 15 to 19 o'clock (at these hours the sun provides beautiful side lighting) (Harman, 2011; Morozov, 1985).
The backlighting that occurs when the oncoming rays of the setting sun is impressive is impressive. In order to correctly set the aperture shutter speed, the exposure meter is covered with some object - let it capture the rest of the space except the sun's ray (Morozov, 1985; Wright, 2010; Wade, 1989).
Conclusion: competent use of light by a photographer can create a masterpiece from shooting the most ordinary landscape, but inept use of light can ruin beautiful landscapes. Light expresses the mood of nature, which is easily transmitted to the viewer. Bright sunlight gives joyful mood, cloudy weather evokes minor feelings and thoughtfulness, and diffused light in the fog evokes a pleasant feeling of mystery (Belov, 2012).
In addition to all of the above, in landscape, as in any other genre of photography, the composition of the frame is of great importance. To create a harmonious composition of the frame, you need, first of all, to successfully choose the shooting point or move the camera slightly to the side in order to achieve some unexpected effect, capturing new objects in the frame. The basic rules of composition are based on the peculiarities of the gaze of a person, the viewer, who moves across the frame from left to right, stopping in front of the edge. The main rules are to highlight the main thing in the frame. Before taking a photo, you need to calmly examine the landscape and choose the main object on which the photographer’s attention is focused. The photographer determines what images and phenomena in the life of nature he should convey to the viewer (Levkina, 2013; Dyko, 1977).
Golden ratio rule. This rule was also used by the builders of the Egyptian pyramids. It's based on that. That certain points in a painting composition automatically attract the viewer's attention. Regardless of its photo format. There are four such points and they are located at a distance of 3/8 and 5/8 from the corresponding edges of the frame (Fig. 29, 30) (Belov, 2012; Kursky, Feldman, 1981).
Rice. 29.
Rice. 30.
According to the golden ratio rule, you need to place lines and objects not in the middle of the frame. And a little to the side. When applying the golden ratio rule, you need to remember the horizon line. Which should be on one of the lines of horizontal thirds: top or bottom. This rule is called the “rule of thirds” (Fig. 31) (Belov, 2012; Kursky, Feldman, 1981).
Rice. 31.
The horizon line in this photo is at the top horizontal thirds line. The horizon line should not divide the photo into two equal parts. It is necessary to compose the frame so that the sky occupies either one third or two thirds of the frame. The ideal ratio of the proportions of sky and landscape is 1:2, but it is necessary to remember about exceptions (Lapin, 2005; Belov. 2012).
Rule of diagonals. This rule says: important elements images should be set along the diagonals of the frame. The viewer's gaze does not move parallel to the edges of the frame, but diagonally. Consequently, the arrangement of individual lines of the scene along diagonals is perceived harmoniously and allows you to connect the contents of the frame (Dyko, 1977; Levkina, 2013).
Diagonals are either “ascending” or “descending”. Ascending diagonals are directed from the lower left corner to the upper right and carry an optimistic meaning, hope and development (Fig. 32). Descending diagonals directed from the upper left to the lower right corner carry a pessimistic mood, a feeling of completion (Fig. 33) (Dyko, 1977; Levkina, 2013; Belov, 2012).
Rice. 32.
"The Beginning of Life"
Rice. 33.
“Dzhanhot. Road to the sea"
Rice. 34.
The diagonals are represented by mountain slopes.
Main feature mountain landscapes the fact that there are more than enough natural diagonals in the mountains (Fig. 34) (Belov, 2012).
If you look around, you will notice that the world around us filled with horizontal-vertical axes, therefore, it is so important and necessary to break this boring order (Fig. 35) (Belov. 2012).
Rice. 35. Rule of frame diagonals. "Rising" diagonal. "Family"
Scenery- This is a detailed picture of nature. It would seem that it could be easier than to photograph the view you like. However, several useful rules Landscape construction will be useful to you for creating high-class photographs.
Rice. 2
The basis for constructing a spectacular landscape are the unbreakable rules of composition. And here the “law of thirds” comes in handy. Mentally divide the frame with imaginary horizontal lines. Always position the horizon line so that it intersects the landscape at a height of one third of the total height of the frame. (Fig. 1,2)
There may be exceptions if, for example, you want to emphasize the symmetry of the composition as in Fig. 3 (sea and sky).
Fig.3
In a landscape, the “protagonist” is of great importance. It could be a tree, an interesting building or a group of buildings, unusual shape cloud, yacht or something else. The main character should be placed at the intersection of 3 vertical and 3 horizontal lines according to the rule of thirds.
Rice. 4
Versatility is one of the main characteristics nice photo. It is difficult to achieve the effect of spatial depth in a frame, but this is aerobatics. This is where knowledge of the principle of perspective will come in handy (Fig. 5).
Rice. 5
Use a wide-angle lens, it will help you create the effect of the third dimension. But remember to fill the foreground. In landscape photography, the focal point of the composition is almost always the horizon line. Unfilled areas of the foreground turn into compositional “holes”. A flower, a tree branch, a gate and similar seemingly insignificant elements of the composition can compensate for the emptiness of the foreground.
Rice. 6
Rice. 7
Practice: the lowest point is often the best when shooting landscapes. A boring grassy lawn in the foreground can be enlivened by an unexpected flower. A pile of picturesque boulders will be a suitable impetus for the viewer’s gaze to move along a winding path deep into the frame to a picturesque hill (“the main character”), as in Fig. 6.7.
Remember that the person is not looking at your image with a frozen gaze. The gaze moves along obvious or invisible lines that connect the individual elements of the composition. If these lines are diagonals, your landscape will gain dynamism and become much more interesting. The natural appearance of diagonals in the frame can be achieved good choice shooting points. In this case, the left diagonal is always more expressive than the right. A single diagonal produces the greatest effect if it is positioned at a 45-degree angle to the horizon line (or to the bottom edge of the frame).
Rice. 8
Converging diagonal lines, as is known, are the basis of the principle of perspective (Fig. 9).
Rice. 9
Practice: When there are two objects of equal size in the frame, choose a shooting point from which one of them will appear smaller than the other. This will create the illusion of a multidimensional image.
Rice. 10
An unusual angle for a landscape is as possible as for any other genre of photography. A top view will save you from getting the sky or horizon line in the frame. But you probably won’t have problems choosing the right shutter speed in too bright sun (Fig. 11).
Fig.11
The advantage of a low shooting point is that the size of the object in the foreground is optically increased in the frame. This is especially important when you want to make a still life with a landscape in the background. Use a wide-angle lens, which will create a deep perspective in the frame, but even distant objects will remain in focus.
Photography is light. When shooting panoramic landscapes, the photographer always has to wait for a natural spotlight to appear in the gaps between the clouds, which will brightly illuminate the desired area of space in the frame. The most important thing here is to be patient, although the ability to detect the slightest changes in the weather will also not hurt. It is unlikely that you should shoot a landscape in rainy or cloudy weather. But as soon as it starts to clear up, the sun shines through the gaps between the clouds. Try to catch sunbeam sufficient to illuminate the landscape.
Rice. 12
It is under such conditions that the contrast between bright sun and dark clouds can be especially expressive. An important factor in successful field photography can be even the passing of rain, which cleared the air of dust, dispersed atmospheric haze and significantly improved visibility.
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Understanding the nature of light and its ability to transform even the most boring view into a stunning canvas is a fundamental skill for a serious photographer. The most spectacular landscapes are obtained at dawn and sunset.
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The sun provides lateral light, high contrast and deep shadows make the space more expressive.
If you're shooting on a clear, sunny day, beautiful white clouds can bring nature to life like this. 15-16
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If you decide to become a landscape photographer, get ready to travel. Your best friend will be a tripod. And the heavier it is, the more successful the pictures will be.
Landscapes can be different: mountainous and flat, rural and urban, sea or forest. Landscapes can be photographed at any time of the year, at any time of day and in almost any weather.
The most beautiful landscapes are those with water. Whether it’s a fast mountain river, a waterfall or the vast expanse of the ocean - such landscapes always attract the viewer’s attention with their beauty (Fig. 17-18).
Practice: Use a tripod and shoot at a slow shutter speed to capture the movement of water effectively (Fig. 19).
Artem Kashkanov, 2019
Landscape is probably the most popular genre that amateur photographers use to get acquainted with artistic photography. There are many reasons for this.
Firstly, this genre is the most accessible. Unlike staged studio photography, in which you need to at least pay for renting a photo studio, nature will not escape you. If the photo is unsuccessful, then you can go to the same place again, but, for example, at a different time of day or in different weather.
Secondly, the landscape is not very demanding on the level of photographic equipment. Of course, taking a high-quality photograph of a landscape with a cheap compact device or smartphone will be difficult, but an amateur DSLR, mirrorless camera or more or less advanced compact camera is able to provide an acceptable result.
Thirdly, a landscape does not require haste, unlike, say, a reportage. It gives you the opportunity to experiment with camera settings and shooting point, try, and finally give up automatic mode in favor of manual. To some extent, this is filming “for the soul,” and some people find the filming process more enjoyable than watching the footage.
Based on this, one may get the opinion that landscape is a very simple genre, the lot of dummies and housewives (one “pretentious” wedding photographer put it this way, I won’t name the name). In my opinion, only those who have not tried to delve into the subtleties can argue this way landscape composition, limiting your creativity to views from the window of a house or car. How then to explain the fact that out of millions of landscape photographs published on the Internet, only a few evoke a feeling of admiration? So, the genre is not so simple...
Rule of thirds
The first place to start mastering landscape photography is the basics of composition. The simplest rule that works in most cases is the “parallel of thirds.” We mentally divide the frame into 3 parts horizontally and 3 parts vertically and try to link key objects to the intersections of lines - visual centers:
For many cameras, you can enable the display of such a grid on the screen. Try to “pull” large key objects to these lines, and small ones to their intersections (visual centers).
If there is only one main object in the frame, try to place it as close as possible to one of the visual centers, and so that more space remains in the direction where the object is “looking”:
Skyline
The horizon line is present in almost any landscape photograph. The question arises - how should it be positioned?
Firstly, the horizon in a landscape photograph should be horizontal (sorry for the tautology). Some cameras have a very convenient “electronic level” function, which allows you to maintain the horizontal even when the horizon is hidden behind trees, hills, and buildings.
Secondly, the horizon can run along the lower or upper line of thirds.
Example 1.
This is a composition with an “upper” horizon. It is used when the foreground is primary in the composition. In this case, it is the mirror of a pond and a bizarrely curved line of aquatic vegetation.
If the foreground is nothing special (for example, it is a monotonous field or meadow), while there is more interesting in the background, for example, a beautiful sky, it is advisable to shift the horizon to the level of the lower third and give most of frame to the sky. Here are a couple of examples of landscapes with a “lower horizon”:
However, there are situations when you have to deviate from the golden ratio rule. Rarely, but they do happen. For example, both the top and the photographs are equally beautiful and expressive. In this case, it is quite justified to place the horizon in the middle of the frame:
It happens that there may be no horizon line in the frame at all! This usually happens when shooting in fog:
There is no horizon line in this photo. To be precise, this photo cannot be called fully landscape. It's something like minimalism. Beauty is in simplicity. But this “simplicity” must be carefully verified so that there is nothing superfluous. Objects are located according to the rule of thirds, or simply symmetrically to each other relative to the center.
The absence of a horizon can be used very effectively in minimalist photographs. Required condition- the presence of internal dynamics (that is, the photograph should direct the viewer’s attention in the direction intended by the author) and reducing objects to a minimum (there may even be only one object, but it must be positioned so that it is off-center, but the photograph does not lose balance) . In general, I think there will be a separate article about minimalism.
Key
The second one is very important feature photography is its tonal (color) solution. Since color affects the psyche, the tonal solution is one of the main components of the mood of the photo. The tonal solution can be of several types.
1. High key shot
High key helps convey lightness, calmness, and tranquility. You can use b/w or discreet but pleasant tones. When taking pictures like this, I recommend using positive exposure compensation of about 1EV, this will enhance the effect, but make sure that the light tones do not fall into whiteness.
2. Shot in dark tones (low key)
These are mainly night shots. To be fair, it is worth noting that photographing nature at night is a fool’s errand. The foreground will be completely black, and the background will have a fairly dark sky. For night shooting you need to go to the city with its lanterns and glowing windows. Night shots look very good in cool blue tones (which is achieved during processing). In this case, it is played on the contrast of the anxious mood associated with the overall cold tonality and the warm light in the windows, bringing a drop of peace. In general, yellow on blue almost always looks good (but not vice versa!).
3. High contrast
This is the case when the picture simultaneously contains both dark and light tones, ranging from absolutely black to absolutely white. The main problem in implementing this tonal solution is the transmission of halftones. The dynamic range of the camera is often not enough to correctly convey both highlights and shadows (the given example is no exception), so a significant part of the image field may be occupied by black or white areas (loss of information). But if you still manage to reduce these losses to a minimum, sometimes you can get some pretty spectacular pictures.
To obtain this image, the HDR technique was used - you can (and should!) learn more about it. The HDR technique is often used by landscape photographers, and not always successfully. Use it wisely and with a sense of proportion!
Perspective
When we stand on a railroad track and look into the distance, we see that parallel rails converge on the horizon to one point. This is what perspective is. In relation to photography, this concept can be formulated as follows: perspective is the ratio of the angular sizes of identical objects located at different distances from us.
Perspective is one of the most important techniques for creating volume in a frame, and there are different types of perspective.
1. Linear perspective
This is exactly the effect of parallel lines converging to a point. Moreover, they can converge in different ways, depending on the shooting point and the viewing angle of the lens. Wide-angle lenses provide a pronounced linear perspective, sometimes even excessive.
The above photo was taken with an ultra-wide-angle lens (14mm). Due to the pronounced effect of perspective, it seems to pull the viewer inside. Let's look at another example:
This photograph, taken with a focal length of 40 mm, looks more “pictorial” and its perception is close to what we see with our own eyes.
The photograph taken with a telephoto lens (600 mm) has practically no perspective (the buildings in the foreground are of the same scale as those in the background), the photograph looks like an appliqué:
However, I must note that you can also shoot wonderful landscapes with a telephoto. But there is one caveat. Since a telephoto camera has virtually no geometric perspective, you should usetonal perspective.That is, when the separation of plans is observed due to the difference in their illumination (or visibility).
Lighting
The original definition of photography is “light painting”. Beautiful light turns a simple image of an object into a work of art. Oddly enough, the role of lighting is often undeservedly forgotten. And completely in vain.
In landscape photography, we only have one light source - the sun, and we need to adapt to it. Let's consider the characteristic features of lighting in different times days.
1. MORNING
It is rightly believed that the most best conditions illumination occurs in the early morning immediately after sunrise. The sun does not shine very brightly through the veil of morning fog and gives a very gentle and warm light. The fog itself, being a light diffuser, provides us great opportunities on the use of tonal perspective.
Fog works wonders! Notice how perfectly it conveys the volume and depth of the image. And the backlight, generating diverging rays, gives the picture a special chic. Now imagine what a photo taken in the same place, but on a bright sunny day, will look like? Absolutely right - nothing special! Ordinary trees, ordinary grass. We've seen this thousands of times! And with morning light and fog, you can take very interesting pictures almost anywhere!
What to do if the sun is low and there is no fog (for example in the evening)? Use backlight.
Backlight can be used very successfully when there is something in the foreground that will be backlit (with the overall dark tone of the photo). For example leaves or flowers. However, when using backlighting we encounter two obstacles.
1. Camera dynamic range. As you can see, in the above photo it was not enough and the sky turned white. (shot by the way with the same Olympus 860 with which I took my first steps in photography)
We've dealt with backlighting, and now let's look at some examples of what good things can be seen in the morning. This is definitely heaven.
Very often on a summer morning in good weather there are very beautiful cirrus clouds in the sky, backlit by the sun. But to shoot them you need: 1. a wide-angle lens, 2. a polarizing filter is very desirable, which increases the contrast of the sky. (read more about what a polarizer does). The first photo was taken just after dawn. The second - after 1 hour. No processing was done in Photoshop. Notice how beautiful and unusual the clouds look when illuminated by the low sun (first frame). The second one looks more ordinary - almost the same as taken on a sunny day.
2. DAY
A sunny day is actually the worst time for artistic landscape photography. The only thing that can make a “daytime” landscape interesting is, first of all, a beautiful place combined with a well-thought-out composition. If morning photographs are more like paintings, then daytime photographs are more like “postcards”. Yes, they are nice to look at, but they are unlikely to “hook us to the quick.”
Cloudy day - also not best option, because the light is uninteresting. It takes a lot of effort to capture something truly worthwhile. Most of the photographs come out without mood - the same postcards, but “gloomy”. The sky plays a very important role in the artistic value of a photograph during daytime shooting. It is very difficult to photograph a normal landscape if the sky is completely clear or covered with a monotonous veil of clouds. Photographs in which clouds (cirrus or cumulus) play some role in the composition look much more interesting.
As already mentioned, a polarizing filter is used to make the sky more expressive. Cirrus clouds are interesting because they usually occur at some interval, which can be advantageously used as a basis for realizing the rhythm and dynamics of the image.
It should also be mentioned that a lot of interesting things can be seen in unstable weather, when dark thunderclouds can be present at the same time and the sun is shining. And if you're lucky, you can see absolutely creepy, but very beautiful phenomena such as, for example, atmospheric fronts.
If you notice that something is wrong with the weather, don’t rush to hide!It is quite possible that “Armageddon” will be very beautiful!:) By the way, this phenomenon is very fleeting - no more than 1-2 minutes. Therefore, try to take a good shooting point in advance (and one that has somewhere to hide from the rain:)
3. EVENING, SUNSET
The main thing that is most often photographed in the evening is sunsets. Absolutely everyone takes them off and many times! But for some reason, most sunset pictures sent to photo sites receive a very average rating.) . And no wonder! Spectators have already seen so many sunsets that it is difficult to surprise them with anything.
So, in order to capture a quality sunset (from an artistic point of view), you need to carefully consider the idea of the photo. Point-and-click photography is doomed to fail because it's a cliché idea. So, the main components of success:
- Colors and shapes. Keep in mind that sunsets have very interesting color combinations when the weather changes. Sometimes oddly shaped clouds appear on the horizon. The color of the sky is usually very beautiful and unusual.
- Dynamics. Avoid static subjects at all costs. Remember, the idea itself is terribly hackneyed, so look for something that can give the photo a “zest.”
Since there is very little light in the evening, the ground tends to be very dark. That's why sunsets are most often filmed over water.
Another example.
This was already taken after sunset. Beauty is in simplicity! There is only one object in the picture, but it is well located relative to the background (which, by the way, forms a diagonal) and the “golden ratio”. The color scheme of the image played a big role (again, the contrast between the cold tones in the upper left corner (LUC) with the warm ones in the lower right corner (LNU).
But let's not focus on sunsets, but turn our gaze in the other direction and I'm sure that we can see something quite worthy there.
But for such filming you already need a tripod. Pictures taken closer to night are distinguished by a special and sometimes very pronounced mood, which is due to the predominance of cold tones. For originality, I recommend placing small objects in the frame that somehow contrast with the overall tonality.
4. NIGHT
Night photography is one of the most difficult in terms of technicality. As already mentioned, it is useless to photograph nature at night. Since there are no natural light sources (the moon doesn’t count - it’s too weak). Therefore, for night shooting you need to go where there is artificial light. A tripod is required. General recommendations are:
- Concise photographs look better
- Don't overuse long shutter speeds. It is still night and the photo should be in a dark tone.
- If you want to do tinting in Photoshop, use cool tones to draw the general plan, and closer to warm ones for light key objects.
- Some photographs in black and white look more interesting than in color. Keep this in mind.
Examples:
The combination of fog and light in night shots always looks very advantageous. You can read more about night photography in the article "".
So...
Landscape photography is not as simple as many people imagine.Everything that has been said here is nothing more than my subjective opinion. I'm sure that after some time I will want to change a lot. But for now, this is my current view of landscape as a genre of artistic photography - so simple at first glance and so complex if you dig deeper!:)If you have any questions or suggestions, please send them to email, I will be glad to answer.
After seeing these majestic landscapes, you might be itching to visit the UK. It's not surprising, because it's -best works British photographers who capture and impress.
The Landscape Photographer of the Year competition was founded in 2007 by renowned British photographer Charlie Waite. Every year, the competition jury selects the best landscape photographs from thousands of applicants. By tradition, the most memorable photographs end up in a special album, and the winner of the competition receives a check for 10,000 pounds (856 thousand rubles). Before you are the works that took prizes photo competition in 2018.
Pete Rowbottom won the 2018 Landscape Photographer of the Year award. The photograph "Ice Spikes" was taken in Glencoe, Scotland.
The Adobe Prize went to Will Milner for his photograph of the lighthouse in Brixham, Devon, UK
"The Lighthouse and the Sea Serpent" by Edward Hyde. The photo was taken in New Haven Harbor during Storm Brian in October 2017. Wind speed reached 64 km/h
"The Train at Cardigan Bay" by Paul Fowles
James Loveridge lived in Dorset for 27 years, but only saw fog flowing from a cliff to the coast once.
Mary Davey captured this beauty at sunrise in Houghton, West Sussex
Joseph Fitzgerald-Patrick won the youth category (participants under 17 years old) with a photograph of a bay in Cornwall
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