If you’re looking for some surefire landscape photography composition tips, here are a few suggestions to keep in mind next time you head outdoors with your camera.
Set the camera aside
It’s easy to take one look at a majestic landscape and become instantly awestruck by its grandeur. You might feel compelled to raise your camera and begin shooting the moment you see it, but what you’ll probably end up with is an image no better than a typical snapshot.
A seasoned photographer knows that it pays to take some time to size up the scene with your own bare eyes even before glimpsing it through a lens. Walk a few paces in every direction and crouch down to position yourself lower to the ground. Watch closely how the landscape changes as you move, which features present themselves in a different light, for better or worse. Compare the results in your mind and then choose the spot and the angle that gives you the best perspective possible.
Take a closer look
Once you’ve eyeballed your shot in advance, scour every inch of it in your viewfinder or LCD screen from edge to edge, corner to corner to confirm your initial instincts or see what happens when you raise or lower the tripod and swivel the camera slightly to the left left and right. Keep an eye out for distracting details that you might not have noticed that would be difficult to deal with in post-processing.
Use the gridlines and apply the rule of thirds to ensure that the significant features align properly within the frame. Some photographers like to set the horizon roughly midway to give the shot a more equal sense of balance. Others apply the rule of thirds more literally, letting the sky fill the upper two-thirds when they want to give it more prominence or reducing it to one third when they want to place greater emphasis on the foreground.
The truth is that every shot generates its own aesthetic requirements and rules are meant to be broken. In the final analysis, trust your gut.
Timing is everything
It’s been said that there’s nothing static about a landscape and they’re really a moving target because the ever-shifting sunshine and cloud conditions will ultimately determine the overall quality of the end result. In this sense, you’re always at the mercy of the sky, and you have to be both patient and quick witted to give your landscape photo the justice it deserves.
By the same token, if some previously unseen element suddenly enters the frame out of the blue – a bird, for instance, or perhaps an animal or even a person – don’t hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity if you think it adds something interesting to the shot. In either case, you’ll have to be keen enough to recognize the perfect moment when it happens and sharp enough to capture it before it’s gone.