Do you love wildlife and the great outdoors as well as photography? If so, you may have aspirations to take up nature landscape photography.
If this sounds like you, you have to start somewhere and that somewhere could be here, just keep reading for all the best tips for landscape photography.
Having said that the most memorable landscape photography tips can never be found behind a computer screen, but rather in the wild with your camera, good lighting and lots of patience.
One of the best things about nature landscape photography is that you get to be your own boss.
Every composition is unique and it will be up to you to make the most of your surroundings.
Decisions like what time of day to shoot and where to set up your tripod are important ones that only you should have to answer.
In this series that discusses the best landscape photos and offers landscape photography tips for beginners, you’ll find out about the most idyllic locations in the world and why they are suited to awesome nature landscape photography.
After that, you may want to discover your own unique destinations.
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What Does Landscape Photography Require?
To take the best landscape photos possible, certain things are required.
Creativity
Firstly, to capture creation, you need to be creative. Doing so means ensuring that your image holds beauty, tension and intrigue in its composition. Taking a beautiful photograph, even if that is a portrait or documentary image, requires more than a passive, point-and-shoot action, it requires a huge amount of creativity.
In many ways, this kind of creativity is unique within the arts because it includes choosing a location, and composition and then using available light to recreate it with your camera lens.
It’s about taking what the world offers and capturing the most creative permanent memory of it that you can.
An Eye for Landscapes
Landscapes are everywhere, but not everyone has an eye to spot a landscape with potential. Whether for nature landscape photography or urban environments, that all-important notion of composition first takes place in the eye of the photographer.
When it comes to nature landscape photography, the possibilities are endless, however, it is what the photographer chooses to see through the lens that is important.
Technical Requirements: Landscape Photography Tips
Whether it is urban, populated, desolate or nature landscape photography, it all begins in the mind of the photographer. The end result, where the image is held in a hand, frame or magazine takes a lot of work and many decisions along the way.
Of course, you’ll need a digital camera. But that is not all.
You will need skill and a deep knowledge of photography. Behind the best landscape photos are issues like depth of field, shutter speed and white balance. Not only that but no article on landscape photography tips would be complete without a mention of wide or fisheye lenses. And all of these important factors have a direct relationship with the light that is observed by the photographer.
When it comes to landscape photography tips, remember that the one you will need the most is knowing how to carefully balance all of these delicate elements. After that, you will want to know how to tweak and balance all of these even further through image editing software.
Above all, whether you are an amateur or professional, if you are looking for tips for landscape photography, you will need patience – the perfect image takes time.
Locations for the Best Landscape Photos
As already mentioned, any landscape has the potential to create a beautiful photograph.
Think about Eugene Atget’s Parisian shots of alleyways and shopfronts in contrast to Fay Godwin’s English landscapes. Both are landscape works of art that include beauty way beyond the subject matter of the image.
The point is that the location could matter less than you think. You could go to the most spectacular places on earth, Mount Everest or the Great Barrier Reef for example and come back with a load of average photographs. You could stay in your hometown and photograph your own street so that it becomes a work of art.
Choosing a landscape is a very personal choice because to truly take an outstanding image the environment needs to talk to the photographer.
As you grow in experience and knowledge, it is likely that you will come to find a preferred subject. Like Ansel Adams became known for the American West, you too could find your niche.
Bear in mind that beautiful locations are helpful for something more than their scenery. They are inspirations for the artist. By seeing the world’s most incredible places, you will be challenged to capture images that are as beautiful as can be.
There are many incredible locations to visit, and in this series, you will find links to in-depth articles on tips for landscape photography in South America as well as just about every other corner of the world.
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Noteworthy European Landscapes
Ironically, Europe as the smallest of the world’s continents is filled with exquisite and notable sights. For any landscape photographer, it is one of the most rewarding travel destinations on earth.
Depending on the subject matter you are hoping to find, here are some of the options available to you as a landscape photographer in Europe.
The Scottish Highlands have recently been voted as the most beautiful location in the world. So, if you like rugged, barely populated landscapes that boast dramatic coastlines, moors and mountains, then this could be the place for you.
Perhaps you are intrigued by totally unique landforms. If so, visit the Italian Dolomites where rocky outbursts are not seen anywhere else in the world.
For more suggestions on landscape photography options in Europe, visit our in-depth article.
Landscape Photography Locations in the USA
In the USA, landscapes on the whole seem familiar, however, that does not mean it is not a wonderful country to try out your landscape photography skills. Similarity, in the case of photography, does not imply banality, especially when the lighting can make every image so unique.
Take the ethereal landscapes of Utah which will forever remain striking in their strangeness and majesty. Or, consider New England’s White Mountains which boast an endless variety of colours.
Of course, no discussion about the landscapes of America would be complete without mentioning the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. If these natural wonders are landscapes that appeal to you, find out more about where to go in America for landscape photography.
Shoot Landscapes in South America
South American landscapes are a photographer’s dream - not only are they extreme, but breathtaking too. From some of the longest rivers, driest deserts, most enormous jungles and highest mountains, there is no shortage of splendour on display.
All it would take is some courage for the wild and some in-depth planning to position you in awe-inspiring locations that would make for outstanding photography.
Whether you are in the Amazon, the valleys of the Andes, or shooting ancient city ruins, South America offers some of the least explored areas on the planet for intrepid photographers. From the shapes, colours and unusual skylines, South America is a destination, unlike most others.
Locations in Asia for Landscape Photography
To summarise the vast landscape opportunities within planet Earth’s largest continent are virtually impossible. However, if you are an adventurous explorer who seeks to take landscape photographs, it is a destination that could yield incredible locations for a lifetime.
From the Temples of Angkor Wat to the Great Wall of China there is an abundance of iconic sights. Of course, many of these are crowded with tourists, which means timing your set-up very carefully. For the more adventurous, the depths of the Himalayas and unvisited areas of Kazakhstan are excellent options too.
To find out more about landscape photography locations in Asia, click here.
Africa’s Top Spots for Landscape Photography
There is no question about Africa’s diverse beauty– from the vast plains of the Serengeti to the dry Sahara and wild coastlines, Africa has it all.
For the passionate landscape photographer, the vastly different locations throughout Africa could keep one busy for a lifetime. From the Atlas Mountains in Morocco to the Fish River Canyon and rivers in Southern Africa, landscape photographers are guaranteed unique experiences throughout the continent of Africa.
For more information on landscape opportunities in Africa, read our in-depth article here.
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