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How to shoot perfect landscapes

Get the best results from stunning scenery

There’s few things worse in the world of photography than being able to visualise how a shot should look, but being unable to achieve it. Although the average digital camera will be able to take a snap of a beautiful sunset or breath-taking landscape, without the correct settings or framing the majesty of the situation may well be lost. Over the next eight pages we’ll show you how to set up your DSLR or compact in such a manner that the photo will fully capture the eye-catching nature of the landscape.

Unlike action photography taking an image of scenery involves more patience than reaction speed. Lighting can dramatically affect the look and feel of the scenery, changing an uplifting image into something far more moody with the shifting of cloud cover. The fact that no real control, shy of spending a few hours in Photoshop, can be exuded over this means the setup and timing are all the more important. Beyond the basics there are plenty of effects filters to alter the colouration or correct some of the more common issues involved in taking wide, long exposure images, such as lens flare. We’ll also be explaining how High Dynamic Range works, and the pro secrets behind utilising it.   

Settings and techniques

Pick the right time of day

Light is everything in photography, and when trying to take an image of a huge expanse of land any issues with not quite having the right balance will be all the more obvious. A clear day is preferable, and early mornings have the dual benefits of offering less chance of human involvement and offering some stunning lighting results. As depth of field will be paramount a larger amount of light will be helpful, as the length of exposure time can then be reduced accordingly. This doesn’t mean shooting in the fading light or even night-time can’t be beneficial, but expect to take far longer to get worthwhile results.  

Have a focal point

Landscape photographs often suffer from having too much content with little interest. A house, tree or even gathering of rocks can provide that focal point for your image, as even the most well composed, beautifully framed shot can suffer from being to wide and vague in it’s subject matter. A subject can also give the image context in terms of location and mood, such as a rustic shed in the middle of a series of sweeping hills. One of the great benefits of landscape photography is the almost infinite amount of angles you can adopt, so explore before taking the image and find that point of interest.   

Narrow the aperture

Aperture, which is represented by an f followed by a decimalised number such as 2.8, depicts how much light the camera allows onto the chip. A lower number means more light but a lesser degree of sharpness in the image, so for landscape a higher number is needed. This also means the shutter will need to stay open longer to allow the maximum amount of light to travel to the chip, making the steadiness of the camera far more important. It’s worth experimenting with the amount of objects you’ll need in focus against the shutter speed, as finding a balance between just the right amount of light and too much is tricky. 

Use a tripod

Where as in most techniques a tripod is advisable, in landscape photography it’s a necessity. When dealing with longer shutter speeds the potential for shake and blur is far higher, so a tripod is required to avoid any motion from yourself or the weather. A heavier option is preferable to insure a sudden gust doesn’t knock the setup off kilter, and a spirit level insures the shot will be flat even if the tripod isn’t. Once the shot is composed it’s best to lock the axis as much as possible and step away while the shot is being taken. 

Go for a longer shutter speed

If the camera is switched to Aperture Priority the shutter speed should take care of itself, but its worth bearing mind that the camera will simply cater the results to the light reading. Always check how the camera has read the situation before depressing the shutter release fully by pressing it halfway down, looking at the values and then pressing fully. The shutter speed should be set to a couple of seconds at the very least during the middle of the day, and upwards of 30 seconds in the morning or evening. 

Try a filter

Filters don’t only correct issues with lighting and colour, but also create eye-catching effects. Although the likes of Photoshop can add a tint to an image with a few mouse clicks, the end result isn’t quite the same as having a piece of glass physically inserted in front of the lens. There are both solidly coloured filters and those that are graduated from a colour to clear, so just the sky can be affected. It may seem antiquated to utilise a physical effect when a computer can produce a close facsimile, but it’s far easier to frame a filtered shot if you don’t have to visualise the end result when shooting.  

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