Landscape pictures are probably the hardest pictures to take because you have to let nature do its thing. You can't force nature to project the perfect amount of light or change the wind direction, so you have to work with it instead. Here are some tips on taking pictures of landscapes.
lightIn a landscape picture, lighting is important because it sets the mood. The issue with this is that you can't control the amount of light, so you have to work with what time creates what type of light. The best times to take a photo of a landscape are usually sunrise and sunset.
Like I mentioned earlier, lighting sets the mood. This picture is kinda creepy because of the green light. If it was noon when this picture was taken, it wouldn't be nearly as creepy.
The picture of the woods above is not supposed to have a creepy mood, so it was taken during the day when there is lots of light. This picture doesn't use light as well as the picture at the top of this screen (the one with the green light), but it's still a really good picture.
WaterSomething you have to work with (other than light) is water. Water creates a refection which can either make your photo better or worse.
The photo above is an example of a picture where water is reflecting the landscape. In this picture, the water's reflection looks cool because of the mountain and the clouds. Don't get me wrong, the purple light is cool too, but the position of the clouds looks really cool in the waters refection.
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Focal PointYes, I know I already mentioned what a focal point is for on the "Types of Pictures" page of this website, but I think that it's worth mentioning again.
In this photograph, the focal point would be the person with the telescope because that's what you look at first. It's important to be able to identify a focal point in a photograph before looking for a focal point to photograph in your own pictures. That way, you'll spend less time looking for the perfect focal pint and more time photographing.
SkyAnother important thing to consider in a landscape picture would be the sky. Whether there is a cloud or a sunrise, the sky is very important because it appears in almost every landscape picture. I don't think I've ever seen a landscape picture without a sky in it.
In the picture above, there are clouds. In this situation, it looks cool. The problem with having clouds in a photograph is they move, which is sometimes good, and sometimes bad. Also, the size of the cloud plays a large factor in a picture too. If the cloud you are taking a picture of fills the entire sky in your frame, chances are, the cloud is too big (depending on what you are trying to accomplish).
WeatherA major thing that you have to work with in a photograph would be the weather. Nobody can control or predict the weather (the weather channel is always wrong), so you have to go with the flow. Unless there's a tornado. Or a hurricane. Then go somewhere safe so you don't die.
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