Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Landscape Photography - 4 Tips to Capture Great Landscape Shots

If you have been active in traveling, you may have had the many opportunities of capturing many beautiful landscapes in the places you travel. The landscape may look beautiful from your own eyes but it may not look as beautiful on the shots that you have captured. If so, you will want to know how to capture great landscape shots so that the next time you are out traveling and you come across a beautiful landscape, you will know how to capture it in its most beautiful form.
Increase Depth of Field
To capture a landscape with as much detail as possible, you would want to use a deep depth of field. This would ensure that most of the landscape will be sharp and in focus. To use a deeper depth of field, you will need to adjust your camera's aperture settings so that it is using a smaller aperture. When using this aperture setting, you may find that your shots will turn out to be darker than normal. The reason for this is due to the small aperture opening in your camera lens and this means less light can enter your camera lens, hence a darker shot.
To counter this problem, you will need to increase your camera's shutter speed so that your camera shutter stays open longer to allow more light into the lens. Alternatively, you could also try to bump up your camera's ISO so that the camera sensor is more sensitive to light, although that would mean a grainy shot.
Capture the Movement
You may be wondering what movement there is to capture as landscapes are generally still and passive. However, that is what most people think when they think of landscape photography. Landscapes can have movements in them such as a running waterfall, trees swaying due to wind, clouds moving, or waves pounding on the shores. These are all movements that can be captured to make your landscape shots look more dynamic and lively.
To capture landscape movements, you will need to use a slower shutter speed so that the shutter stays open longer to allow the camera sensor to capture more movements in your scene. However, this would allow more light to enter through your camera lens, thus causing your composition to be over exposed. To overcome this problem, you will need to use a smaller aperture which will then limit the amount of light entering through your camera lens.
Lookout for the Horizon
When capturing any landscape scene, it is a good idea to think about how you want to frame the horizon in your composition as it is an important part of any landscape shots. Try to align the horizon along one of the lines in the rule of thirds. Do not frame your horizon dead in the center of your composition as it usually does not look as good when compared to framing your horizons along one of the lines in the rule of thirds. There are exceptions to this but it is rarely the case when it comes to landscape photography.
Utilize a Tripod or Monopod
When capturing landscape scenes, it is normal for you to use a longer shutter speed to get more light into your lens as you will be using a smaller aperture for a sharper landscape shot. This also means that your camera shutter will stay open longer and any slight movement of your hands can cause your shot to be blurred. To counter this problem, you can bring along a tripod or monopod to help you stabilize your camera while composing your landscape photography shot.
Roy Lee is a freelance photographer residing in Malaysia, who specializes in wedding, portrait, and landscape photography.
© Copyright - Roy Lee. All Rights Reserved.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6162528

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