Today, a few quick tips for shooting landscapes.

Northern Israel, 2007

Follow these:

Tools:

1. Use a tripod. This is the one time you will need one. Landscape needs to be sharp. SHARP.
2. Consider using graduated filters to darken skies.
3. Consider using a polarizing filter.
4. Use small depth of field (e.g. set an aperture of f/11 or f/16).
5. Focus one third into the picture to ensure all is sharp.
6. Be careful not to over-expose. You may well need -1 stop exposure compensation when shooting foliage.
7. Did I mention tripods?

Composition:

1. Keep the horizon straight.
2. Shoot at sunrise or sunset if you can.
3. Use the “rule of thirds”.
4. Use S-curves if you can to gently lead into the image.
5. Look for small colour contrasts (e.g. red-green, and yellow-blue),
6. Consider adding close-by foreground subjects to show depth in your image.

And your pictures will be better!