Landscape photography lessons. Coursework: Photography of landscape photography. Don't try to "paint" the landscape with your camera

Several years ago I became interested in landscape photography. This is a fantastic hobby, very rewarding and very educational. I do not consider myself a professional in this field yet, but I have some useful tips that can be useful to those who are just starting to get acquainted with the world of landscape photography.

Why you need to study the shooting location

If you are planning a photography tour, it is important to do some preparatory research. Use the internet to find as much information as possible about a future filming location. Try to identify potentially interesting locations and find out the best times to shoot - some locations are most photogenic during certain times of the year, while others are most photogenic throughout the year. Try to avoid the peaks of the tourist seasons as in popular locations, many people will get in the way of your shots.

There are some great utilities to help you prepare for your trip. Google Maps and Google Earth will allow you to get an idea of exactly how everything looks there, and in some cases even take pictures without getting up from your computer! A detailed view is not yet available for all points, but at least you can get a rough idea of the places you are going to visit.

Another great utility for the landscape photographer is The Photographers Ephemeris. This component will tell you the exact times of sunrise and sunset of the sun and moon on any day anywhere in the world. Moreover - it will show you the direction in which the sun or moon will be at this time. Based on this information, you can plan your shoot more carefully.

Regardless of whether you plan to shoot on the road or near your home - take a look at the photos that other photographers have taken in the area. This will give you ideas for locations to shoot. But don't just try to copy their successful photographs, have your own perspective.

Conduct local reconnaissance

Your research does not end with the start of your journey. While the internet allows you to plan and prepare your trip, there is no substitute for walking around a location in terms of finding points from where you will be filming. Use the middle of the day for this exploration when the light is too harsh for photography. This will allow you to present your shots and their composition before you go to shoot. The last thing you want to do when the light is right is to desperately search for the best vantage point.

This is the most time-consuming and boring part of the photo tour, but if you do not have an organizer or do not know the place well, this is a necessary evil.

Getting a great composition

Once you've found an interesting spot, you still have to decide how to compose the shot. This is a very subjective area and it is difficult to give precise recipes for what is good and what is bad for composition. The best photographers seem to have their eyes arranged in such a way that they immediately see from which angle and from where it is best to take a picture that will attract the viewer. There are a few rules to follow, but on the other hand, a number of outstanding photographs violate these rules, so you shouldn't take them as dogma. However, keep these in mind:

Avoid clutter. Include in the frame only what you want to show to the viewer. The best photographs are usually simple and clean. If unwanted objects such as electric poles, cars, roads, buildings, etc. enter the frame. - try a different angle in which they are not visible. Small objects can be removed in post-processing, but large ones will distract the viewer.

Simple compositions are usually the best.

Include an interesting foreground. You should not rely only on the beauty of the sky when shooting a sunset. Foreground objects such as rocks, water, etc. balance the photo and draw attention to the photo.

Lots of boulders create an interesting foreground.

Leading lines are a great way to draw attention to a photo. Pier, piers, and roads are obvious examples, but look at rocky formations as well.

Using stones to create leading lines.

Avoid placing the horizon or the focus of the picture in the center of the frame. Use the rule of thirds as a guide to cropping.

And do not forget to regard all of the above as recommendations only. Rules are made to be broken!

Waiting for the light

After the work on the study of the area is completed, it's time to move to the selected location and wait for the correct light to release the shutter. The future does not depend on you in any way, and you just have to rely on mother nature in everything.

The best time to take a photo is the clock around sunrise and sunset, which photographers usually refer to as the golden clock. At other times during the day, the light is usually too harsh and flat, which makes the photos look dull and faded. There are, of course, exceptions, but most of the beautiful landscape photographs are taken in the golden hours.

After you have built your compositional frame, it remains only to wait for the correct light. This is easier said than done! There are days (in fact, there are many such days) when Mother Nature does not want to play with you and shows you the sunrise or sunset that is not as beautiful as you expect. This is the hardest part of being a landscape photographer in my opinion - no matter how much effort you put into preparation and planning, how well equipped you are, how experienced you are as a photographer - if you don't have the right light, you won't get beautiful photos.

Moments like these are hard to get through - coming back empty-handed after getting up at 4 a.m. to shoot the sunrise is never fun - but when it's done, little things like that are quickly forgotten. There is nothing better for a landscape photographer than when the light is good and you capture this magic with your camera.

It's worth it when everything works out.

Lighting types

Depending on where the sun is, there are different types of lighting. The type of light you use is sometimes dictated by the landscape you are shooting, but sometimes you can use different composition options and therefore lighting. It is generally accepted that for landscapes, side light, with the sun to the left or right of the camera, is most appropriate. This is due to the contrast between light and shadow created by directional light and adds depth to the shot. However, both backlight and front light, when the sun is behind or in front of you, can also create good photographs.

I often shoot against the sun because I think that's where the most intense colors are concentrated. To do this, it is better to wait until the sun is low enough above the horizon to avoid highlights and sun glare in the frame. When the sun is higher, side lighting is preferred.

Side lighting creates long shadows, adding shape and texture to the photograph.

The front light accentuates the clouds beautifully.

Shots with the sun in the frame usually look impressive if the highlights are under control.

Equipment

One of the questions I am often asked (especially by non-photographers) is what kind of camera and lenses do I use. For me, this is a bit of a strange question - like asking an artist about what brand of brushes he uses, or a builder - what brand he has a hammer. The fact is that neither the camera nor the lenses have a very noticeable effect on the final result. Yes, it's true that top-end cameras produce higher-resolution photos with less noise, and better lenses produce slightly sharper photos and the like, but if you don't print huge prints, then this is not so important.

By the way, now I use Canon 40D, and lenses most often - Sigma 10-20 and Tamron 17-50. However, some of my earlier shots were taken with a Canon 350D, which is inferior in functionality to any entry-level camera today, but gives more than acceptable results.

Filmed onCanon 350D.

A tripod is a necessary piece of equipment due to the fact that many shots are taken in conditions of lack of light, which leads to slower shutter speeds than can be shot handheld. Another advantage of a tripod is that it allows you to compose the shot in advance and also to do bracketing (multiple shots of the same frame with different exposures).

Exposure bracketing is important when it is not possible to capture the entire dynamic range of the frame in one shot. For example, at sunrise or sunset, the sky may be several stops brighter than the foreground. Typically, the difference in brightness is too great for the camera, so a compromise is needed. Either preserve shadows at the cost of losing highlights, or vice versa - in any case, some of the details will be lost.

When taking multiple shots with different exposures of the same frame, you can assemble the frame in post-processing via HDR or layer blending. For such processing, it is desirable that the camera remains stationary between shots - which is why a tripod is so important. Almost all DSLR cameras have an Auto Exposure Bracketing mode that can be turned on via the menu.

HDR image obtained from 3 frames.

Until now, the most important part of my equipment is filters. In particular, gradient filters. These are square plates with one half light and the other dark with a gradient transition between them. The dark part is neutral gray and is intended to reduce the light intensity in that part of the frame (usually the sky). They are available in different weights (1 to 4 stops) and are also available in soft and hard versions. Soft ones have a smoother gradient transition and are used when the foreground overlaps the sky (for example, mountain peaks), while hard ones have a sharper border and are used when there is no strong sky overlap with the foreground.

I use gradient filters for almost all of my sunset / sunrise photos, where 3 and 4 stop hard filters are most applicable. They balance the difference between the brightness of the sky and the foreground and allow me to be limited to one shot instead of several, which are then collected in the computer. I find it more appropriate to take a photo in camera than spending extra time processing the photos and getting the result I want.

Gradient filters. On the left with a hard border, on the right with a soft border.

A 3-stop hard gradient filter balances a bright sky with a dark foreground.

Another filter that I use is a polarizer. The two main uses for polarizers are to reduce glare (such as from water) and enhance color intensity (such as blue skies or fall foliage). This filter cannot be simulated by post-processing.

A polarizer can enhance the color of autumn leaves.

The third type of filter that I use is a powerful neutral gray (ND) filter. Unlike gradient filters, it is all dark and reduces the intensity of light across the entire field of the frame, and not in certain places. An ND filter is usually used to use slower shutter speeds than the available light allows. This is especially useful for capturing flowing water, as long exposures give the water a smoother ethereal look that many photographers like.

ND filters are available in various strengths, usually up to 3 stops (they reduce the amount of light entering the matrix by 8 times). However, much stronger filters are also available, such as the B + W ND110. This is a 10 stop filter and it reduces the amount of light by 1000 times! This strong filter gives some creative possibilities for shooting in light conditions where the light is usually too harsh for landscape photography, especially with moving clouds and flowing water in the frame.

Lake Hayes, Queenstown. Shot with a 10 stopND filter on a sunny day.

The application of a 10-stop ND filter allows you to capture the sunrise at long exposures.

Post-processing

Since I shoot in RAW format, all my pictures are post-processed, to one degree or another. RAW frames contain raw, uncompressed information captured by the camera. In contrast, the JPEG format assumes conversion and post-processing (sharpness, saturation, contrast and other parameters) in the camera. So when people show off their photos “straight from the camera” and “unprocessed,” it usually means that they shot in JPEG and left the processing of the photos to the camera's automation. While this is by far the most convenient option and for some types of photography, where you need to quickly get pictures, it is necessary, but I think it is better to control the processing of your pictures yourself.

The main advantage when shooting RAW is that you get more information to work with. After converting an image to JPEG, a lot of information is lost forever, and the RAW file contains all the information that the camera was able to obtain. This gives you more freedom to adjust exposure and other parameters, allowing you to process the file in different ways. This can come in handy when your processing skills improve (or better software tools are available) and you want to re-process old photos. RAW files are sometimes referred to as digital negatives.

The degree of post-processing is determined by your personal taste. Some people prefer minimal processing, such as sharpening, reducing noise, and slightly improving contrast, curves, and saturation. Others prefer to use their artistic vision to give their photos a surreal look (this is especially true for many HDR enthusiasts). Personally, I prefer to give the floor to natural light without being interrupted by post-processing. However, if the natural light was too average, or if I am in a creative mood, I can use other processing techniques. Most of my pictures are classified as having minimal processing.

Good light minimizes the need for processing.

A more creative look with post-processing.

Summary

Taking good landscape photos is easy if you do it wisely. Basically, you just need to come to the right place at the right time and, knowing a few simple tricks, take a picture. The most important thing is to leave the house more often and take pictures. The best way to learn something is to make mistakes, and remember to have fun filming!

In photography, a landscape is not just taking pictures of views and not a protocol-accurate reproduction of one or another corner of nature. No wonder they say that a landscape photographer should be not so much a botanist as a poet! And if we are talking about creating an artistic photograph, we have the right to demand from its author an accurate selection of material, correct understanding of the material and the meaning of artistic creation. Truthfulness, poetry, picturesqueness of the photographic image (Ivanov - Alliluyev, 1971).

An artistic landscape created by means of photography should evoke in the viewer the same deep feelings as a landscape made by means of painting. And there are many such works that meet these high requirements in photography (Ivanov - Alliluyev, 1971; Levkina, 2013).

Modern landscape photography is very diverse. The landscape has survived and is developing, in which its authors follow the examples of classical painting samples. Here, of course, one cannot talk about thoughtless imitation and simple repetition of techniques and effects found by painters. Photography does not lose its independence, specific features of our time. But the analogies in plots and pictorial structures still remain, they are quite obvious. Such landscapes are interesting because they develop artistic taste, demonstrate pictorial skill, and evoke associative representations in the viewer (Ivanov - Alliluyev, 1971; Levkina, 2013).

Landscape photography features

It is generally believed that landscapes can be captured in all weather conditions, from bright sunlight to the flashing of thunderstorms, and the most important thing in landscape photography is to get up early to catch the morning light, since the morning sky is the clearest and most transparent (Harman, 2011) ...

The most important feature in landscape photography is the absence of the science of artistic landscape photography. In the world of photoliterature, there is no book titled The Art of Landscape Photography. The reason is simple: the art of photography is so multifaceted and complex that this science turns out to be metascience. As written in the book by L.D. Kurskiy, Ya.D. Feldman "Illustrated manual for teaching photography": "The main feature of landscape photography is constructive. Unlike still life, it is impossible to introduce any adjustments here. It is impossible, for example, to remove a mountain slope that interferes with the overall composition; it is impossible to change the location of the whole. Thus, the work on the composition of the scene is limited to a single trick of choosing a shooting point and choosing a lens with the desired focal length. There may be many such points, and each of them has its own peculiarity, its own individuality. " Each landscape has several shots: near, far and middle. Their appearance is associated with a reduction in the scale of objects receding into the depths of space, towards the horizon. Comparison of the scales of linear shapes is a linear perspective of a photographic image (Belov, 2012).

Lighting is an integral part of building a photo. Light is one of the most defining sources of our sensations. It is considered as the main means of creating an artistic photographic work (Dyko, 1977).

The individuality of a landscape depends mainly on the unity and integrity that a well-chosen lighting effect gives nature (Belov, 2012; Dyko, 1977; Wade, 1989).

Light makes it possible to see the real world. In this case, an important role is played by the originality and attractiveness of lighting, as it happens at different times of daylight hours: at dawn, in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, at sunset. Also, the time of the year, temperature, landscape of the area is also important for photography. As a result, we can conclude that the landscape photographer has many unusual and difficult to solve problems (Belov, 2012).

First of all, the following paradox awaits him: being directly at that point in space from where a stunning landscape opens up, a person with a camera experiences a powerful, versatile influence of the surrounding nature. His gaze simultaneously covers 180 degrees of perspective, and if he looks around, then all 360. In a photograph, perspective is usually limited to 60 degrees with a focal length of a typical lens of 28 mm (Ilyinsky, Petunina, 1993; Belov, 2012) ...

Second, the photographer is influenced by visual, auditory and olfactory images. Something is constantly happening around: birds are singing, flowers are smelling, a stream is murmuring, the wind is blowing. Tactile sensations also play an important role in general perception: under our feet we feel sharp stones, tree roots and other irregularities in the landscape, we can touch the rough or smooth bark of trees, roll a snowball from the snow in our palms (Wright, 2010; Wade, 1989).

The materiality of the landscape is clearly visible in the foreground, a meter or two from the photographer the texture is clearly distinguishable: grass blades, stones, leaves of trees are traced in detail. The paradox is that the photographic result, instead of this multitude of delightful perceptions and sensations, will be some kind of banal photograph or flat picture on the monitor, which conveys only a small part of everything that was felt at the time of shooting (Belov. 2012; Morozov, 1985).

Another major difficulty that landscape photographers face is the disappearance of the third coordinate. In a landscape, the depth of space, as a rule, is many kilometers! And in the picture, the image is flattened, it becomes two-dimensional. How can we reconstruct a three-dimensional picture of nature? Linear perspective will help us with this (Lapin, 2005).

Perspective comes from the Latin word perspicere - to see through. The patterns of linear perspective were developed by many Renaissance artists. These include Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Durer. For example, Leonardo da Vinci established the basic laws of image reduction. The science of depicting spatial objects on a plane or any surface in accordance with those apparent reductions in their size, changes in shape and cut-off ratios that are observed in nature. In other words, it is: a way of depicting three-dimensional bodies, conveying their own spatial structure and location in space

Fig. 19.

Fig. 20.

The perspective as a science appeared in the Renaissance, because at that time the realistic direction in the visual arts reached its heyday. The created system for the transmission of visual perception of spatial forms and the space itself on a plane made it possible to solve the problem faced by architects and artists. Many of them used glass to determine perspective, on which they traced the correct perspective image of the required objects (Lapin, 2005).

V fine arts and photography, a different application of perspective is possible, which is used as one of the artistic means that enhance the expressiveness of images. Depending on the purpose of the perspective image, perspective includes the following types: direct linear perspective, reverse linear perspective (Morozov, 1985).

Direct linear perspective. A perspective view designed for a fixed point of view and assuming a single vanishing point on the horizon. Objects shrink proportionally as they move away from the foreground. Direct perspective has long been recognized as the only true reflection of the world in the picture plane. Taking into account that linear perspective is an image built on a plane, the plane can be positioned vertically, obliquely and horizontally, depending on the purpose of the perspective images (Fig. 21) (Kurskiy, Feldman, 1981).

Fig. 21.

"Birch Grove".

An example of the transfer of space in this photograph is represented by a linear perspective. The path in the birch grove and the ditch decreases and narrows in proportion to the distance from the foreground. Trees also shrink with distance.

Reverse linear perspective. A type of perspective used in Byzantine and Old Russian painting, in which the depicted objects appear to increase as they move away from the viewer, the picture has several horizons and points of view, and other features. When depicted in reverse perspective, objects expand as they move away from the viewer, as if the center of the lines converging is not on the horizon, but inside the viewer himself. The reverse perspective forms an integral symbolic space, oriented towards the viewer and suggesting his spiritual connection with the world of symbolic images. Since, under normal conditions, the human eye perceives an image in a direct and not in reverse perspective, the phenomenon of reverse perspective has been studied by many specialists (Fig. 22) (Belov, 2012; Levkina, 2013).

Fig. 22.

What role does perspective play in photography? Linear perspective plays a huge role in the work of the photographer. In photography, lenses with a focal length approximately equal to the diagonal of the frame are used to obtain a linear perspective in the picture close to the real one. To enhance the effect of linear perspective, wide-angle lenses are used, which make the foreground more convex, and for softening - long-focus lenses, which equalize the difference in the sizes of distant and close objects (Lapin, 2005).

Despite the two-dimensional nature of photography, the sense of volume in a photograph influences its perception, therefore it is important to use methods of working with perspective, with the help of which it is possible to achieve a three-dimensional perception of a photograph (Lapin, 2005).

There are several ways in which linear perspective manifests itself in a photograph. All of them are based on the composition of the photograph and the features of human vision (Lapin, 2005; Morozov, 1985).

One of the obvious laws of linear perspective is that objects appear smaller as we move away from them. To learn how to apply this law, it is enough to find a location with repetition of objects, for example: a row of trees, pillars or a long wall, steps and railings of stairs in parks (Fig. 23) (Belov. 2012).

Fig. 23.

For linear perspective to show up in your photo, you need to get very close to the first object in this row so that it appears huge in the photo. If this effect is achieved, the rest of the objects in the repeating row will appear much smaller, which will enhance the impression of depth (Fig. 24) (Lapin, 2005; Belov, 2012).

Fig. 24.

Another method of expressing perspective is by using lines that extend deep into the image to convey volume in the image. Objects that form two converging lines (such as a railroad) are well suited for this method. To enhance this effect, you need to choose a low shooting point. At the bottom of the survey, the lines will appear very wide and sharply tend deeper into the image to the vanishing point (Fig. 25) (Harman, 2011; Wade, 1989).

Rice. 25.

One of the best ways to display linear perspective in an image is to include objects of various sizes. For example, from a specific point of view, people in the photograph will seem very small, and if they are standing at the foot of a mountain, then the viewer will understand how huge this mountain is. In the same way, you can use trees, animals, cars or other objects, the relative size of which is very different in comparison with mountains or other spacious landscape (Kurskiy, Feldman, 1981, 1991).

All of these techniques are the result of the photographer's observation. In real life, linear perspective is perceived through distance. If we use different plans in the photograph, emphasizing that one of the objects is closer to the camera, and the other is farther away, then the picture will appear three-dimensional (Belov. 2012; Lapin, 2005).

Based on the foregoing, we can draw the following conclusion: it is necessary to select the composition of the plans when shooting in such a way that a decrease in these sizes is noticeable in the frame. A good way to emphasize the expressiveness of the depth of space is to use a wide-angle lens, while the degree of reduction of objects in the frame increases dramatically: the tree in the background already sharply decreases in size, and in the third plane the object turns into a point. This phenomenon creates the illusion of distance and depth of space (Morozov, 1985; Belov. 2012; Dyko, 1977).

The next technique when photographing a landscape is to use the possibilities of color-tonal perspective and color (Wade, 1989).

Each of us is familiar with a natural phenomenon when, along with a decrease in the shape of objects (with an increase in the distance between the object and the observer), color contrasts also decrease. Contemporary photography has reached such perfection that his best works, deep in thought, original in pictorial solutions, have acquired the features of genuine artistry. These works give grounds to talk about the original handwriting of photographers, about the style of their work, about searches in the field of artistic creativity and about such an important category of fine art as color (Buymistru, 2010; Ivanov-Alliluyev, 1971).

The concept of "color" came to photography from painting, where coloring is understood as the nature of the relationship of all the color elements of the picture, the consistency of colors and their shades. The external expression of color is the picturesqueness and brilliance of color combinations. But the meaning of coloristic solutions is in their use to express the content, the main idea of the author. Therefore, the appearance on the picture plane of certain colors and tones is always motivated and expedient, and they are used for a truthful, expressive, emotionally impressive depiction of reality. Exactly at

this sphere gives birth to the true beauty of color, its artistic value (Buimistra, 2010).

A photographer works on the coloring of color photographs in a completely different way than an artist-painter. But the goal before them is the same, and the end result obtained by various means has much in common. Both the photographer and the artist strive to convey the truth of life, picturesquely and expressively reveal the topic. Both operate with colors, achieve color harmony, richness and consistency of color shades (Ivanov-Alliluyev, 1971).

The colors and tones of the subject of photography does not require special evidence to assert that the colors and tones of the selected subject form the basis of the color of the future photographic image (Wright, 2010; Wade, 1989).

The chain of mountains (Fig. 26, 27, 28) on the horizon seems to be a bluish color transition to the sky, on the contrary, bright colors, and especially the contrasts of light and dark, prevail next to the observer. When removed, color shrinks, as it were, giving something like the basic mood of the picture. For example, look at a tree: the color of the crown appears to be almost uniform, although individual detailed shapes are becoming more distinct. If we squint our eyes a little, these detailed shapes become sharper and stronger contrasts of light and dark appear. Our eye brings the big picture closer. The same happens when studying a landscape, in which, with an increase in the depth of space, a light blue color in the distance mixes into all color valers (refraction of color with blue and white) (Buimistra, 2010; Wade, 1989).

Fig. 26.

Fig. 27.

Rice. 28.

It turns out that with the help of color and geometric constructions on the plane of the picture, it is possible to depict the whole space (Belov, 2012).

As mentioned above, in the section on perspective, objects get smaller with increasing distance. It turns out that objects also lose their brightness; objects in the distance seem to be shrouded in a blue mist. As one approaches the viewer, color contrasts become stronger, the contrasts of light and dark are more clearly defined, additional contrasts "suppress" the contrasts of warm and cold tones. From this it follows that red, orange, yellow (warm colors) colors act as optically approximating. Cool greens, blues as neutral, and blues as distant. Therefore, the blue sky or gray-gray distance is always perceived as distant objects, greenery steadily occupies the middle ground, but what to place in the foreground - you need to think over with. It can be red and brown stones, red

or yellow flowers or other objects in the named colors. It turns out that the foreground is warm, the middle is neutral, and the background is cold (Buimistra. 2010, Belov. 2012).

But the most defining thing here is the observation of the corresponding situation of the image, due to the uniform change in brightness, for example, the transition from blue to white, an additional impression of spatial depth appears in the frame. Remoteness (Belov, 2012; Morozov, 1985).

From the above, we can conclude that tonal perspective is one of the important means of transferring space in the image and, at the same time, an important component of the overall color of a photographic work. In this way, landscapes do not turn out to be flat, but, on the contrary, seem more voluminous. The depth of space appears (Dyko, 1977; Buimistru, 2010).

Good illumination is also of great importance for the beauty of the frame. This raises the problem of exposure metering, so for safety net

complex landscapes with huge brightness latitude should be shot with correction: first with the correct exposure, and then, just in case, with two overexposures and two underexposures. For some reason, amateur photographers like to shoot landscapes from 11 to 15 o'clock in midday light. At the same time, the sun is almost vertically above the photographer's head and provides the most unfavorable lighting of the landscape. Professionals shoot only in the morning light - from 7 to 11 am or in the evening from 3 to 7 pm (during these hours the sun gives beautiful side lighting) (Harman, 2011; Morozov, 1985).

Impressively spectacular back lighting that occurs when the opposite rays of the setting sun. In order to correctly set the aperture shutter speed, the exposure meter is covered with some object - let it capture the rest of the space, except for the sunbeam (Morozov, 1985; Wright, 2010; Wade, 1989).

Conclusion: the correct use of light by a photographer can create a masterpiece from shooting the most ordinary landscape, and inept can ruin the most beautiful landscapes. Light expresses the mood of nature, which is easily conveyed to the viewer. Bright sunlight gives a joyful mood, cloudy weather evokes minor feelings and thoughtfulness, and diffused light in the fog evokes a pleasant sense of mystery (Belov, 2012).

In addition to all of the above in the landscape, as in any other genre of photography, the composition of the frame is of great importance. To create a harmonious composition of the frame, first of all, you need to successfully select the shooting point or move the camera slightly to the side in order to achieve some unexpected effect by capturing new objects in the frame. The basic rules of composition are based on the peculiarities of a person's gaze, a viewer, who moves through the frame from left to right, stopping in front of the edge. The main rules are the selection of the main thing in the frame. Before taking a picture, you need to calmly examine the landscape and choose the main subject on which the photographer's attention is focused. The photo master determines the Sami, which images and phenomena in the life of nature he must convey to the viewer (Levkina, 2013; Dyko, 1977).

The rule of the golden ratio. This rule was used by the builders of the Egyptian pyramids. It is based on that. That certain points in a picture composition automatically attract the viewer's attention. Regardless of its aspect ratio. There are four such points and they are located at a distance of 3/8 and 5/8 from the corresponding edges of the frame (Fig. 29, 30) (Belov, 2012; Kurskiy and Feldman, 1981).

Rice. 29.

Rice. thirty.

According to the rule of the golden ratio, you need to place lines and objects not in the middle of the frame. And a little on the side. Applying the rule of the golden ratio, you must remember about the horizon line. Which should be on one of the horizontal thirds lines: top or bottom. This rule is called the “rule of thirds” (Fig. 31) (Belov, 2012; Kurskiy, Feldman, 1981).

Rice. 31.

The horizon line in this photo is on the top line of the horizontal thirds. The horizon line should not divide the image into two equal parts. It is necessary to compose the frame so that the sky occupies either one third of the frame or two thirds of the frame. The ideal ratio of the proportions of the sky and the landscape is 1: 2, but it is necessary to remember about the exceptions (Lapin, 2005; Belov. 2012).

The rule of diagonals. This rule says: important elements of the image should be set along the diagonals of the frame. The viewer's gaze moves not parallel to the edges of the frame, but diagonally. Consequently, the arrangement of individual lines of the scene along the diagonals is perceived harmoniously and makes it possible to connect the content of the frame (Dyko, 1977; Levkina, 2013).

Diagonals are “ascending” and “descending”. Ascending diagonals are directed from the lower left corner to the upper right and carry optimistic meaning, hope and development (Fig. 32). Downward diagonals directed from the upper left to the lower right corner bear a pessimistic attitude, a sense of completeness (Fig. 33) (Dyko, 1977; Levkina, 2013; Belov, 2012).

Rice. 32.

"Beginning of life"

Rice. 33.

“Dzhanhot. Road to the sea"

Rice. 34.

The diagonals are represented by mountain slopes.

The main feature of mountain landscapes is that there are more than enough natural diagonals in the mountains (Fig. 34) (Belov, 2012).

If you look around, you will notice that the world around you is filled with horizontal-vertical axes, therefore, it is so important and necessary to break this boring order (Fig. 35) (Belov. 2012).

Rice. 35. Frame diagonal rule. "Ascending" diagonal. "A family"

At first glance, landscape photography is a very simple type of photography. It seems that all you need to do is go outside with your camera, choose a decent subject and press the shutter button. However, when you see your first footage, you might be disappointed. Find out what to look out for when shooting landscapes and how to get great shots below.

Lens for shooting landscapes

To begin with, there are no lenses designed exclusively for landscape photography. The picture taken with a long-focus lens has less geometric distortion, but, unfortunately, a smaller angle of view. Short-throw (wide-angle) optics are suitable when you need to get a larger angle of view, depth of perspective transfer or build a panoramic image. At the same time, geometric perspective distortions inherent in such lenses can be used as an artistic effect. For landscape photography, wide-angle fixed focal length lenses such as 14mm or 18mm are available. An alternative and cheaper option is to purchase a zoom lens (10–20 mm, 12–24 mm, 18–35 mm). Finally, a kit lens (18-55mm) can be used, which will give you a lot of flexibility in choosing your subject and is a great choice for the aspiring photographer.

It should be noted that lenses designed for narrow format cameras have a focal length scale in terms of angle of view for a standard 35 mm film frame. Therefore, to estimate the angle of view of a lens for your digital camera, you need to consider its crop factor.

Light filters

In addition to the lens, you will need light filters for landscape photography. They will dramatically improve your images. For landscape photography, it is best to use gradient and polarizing filters.

A gradient filter where the top is darkened and the bottom is completely transparent. A gradient filter lets you dim a bleached, expressionless sky, or enhance its texture in cloudy weather.

A polarizing filter is used when you want to emphasize blue skies, clouds against its background, or to emphasize reflections in water.

When choosing filters, it is important to take into account that their use on ultra-wide-angle lenses (18 mm or less) can lead to the undesirable effect of uneven illumination of the frame and vignetting.

Composition

Before you start shooting, you need to remember the basic rules for building a composition. Try not to place the horizon line exactly in the middle of the frame. It is desirable to build the composition in such a way that it is closer to the upper or lower third of the frame. Avoid central arrangement of objects that you emphasize. Since ancient times, the rules were well known according to which an object located near the point of the "golden section" has the most harmonious perception. Mentally dividing the frame into three equal parts with two vertical and two horizontal lines, compose your frame so that the accentuated object is in the area of one of the points of their intersection. If there are several such objects, never place them on the same line.

When shooting a landscape, divide the frame into three well-defined shots - foreground, middle and background. With this composition, your shot will acquire the required volume.

Light

Watch out for lighting. The most favorable time for shooting is before 10 am and after 5 pm (in autumn and winter, these boundaries naturally narrow). At this time, the lighting is the softest and most even. Use a polarizing filter to expose clear, cloudless skies. With it, you can achieve a deep and soft gradient: from light smoky to deep, velvety shades (Photo 1).

Use a gradient filter to reduce the brightness of the cloudy, colorless sky and the appearance of the cloud texture. This will add extra dimension to your shot. When you turn on the blue sky fragments in the break of the clouds, the effect of the gradient filter on them will be equivalent to the action of the polarizing filter (Photo 2).

Try not to overwhelm your shot with unnecessary details. Sometimes the simplest composition can add volume to a frame. For example, in this frame (Photo 3) with the help of people it was possible to bring the composition to life, and with the help of just one detail - the stone in the foreground, arranged near the point of the "golden ratio", to achieve volume.

Feel free to experiment with metering, especially in difficult lighting conditions. When shooting landscapes, the maximum depth of field is very important, so when shooting handheld, it is preferable to set the aperture F8-11, and if you have a tripod, you can reduce it to F22.

Panoramas

Finally, practice taking panoramas. Several rules should be followed here. All future shots of your panorama should have the same scale of the subject, so do not focus closer or further away from it. The aperture value should be kept constant. Frames need to be done with some overlap. Otherwise, due to the lack of information at the edges of the frames, the program for stitching panoramas will not be able to collect the final image. You can use your camera's bracketing function to avoid exposure errors.

As an example (Photo 4), we can take a panorama made up of two frames with a relative aperture of F8 and a focal length of the lens of 28 mm. In this case, the lens was focused at infinity, and the shutter speed in all frames was equal to 1/125 of a second.

Before this post, I only wrote about travel, but today I will break the tradition and share with the readers of LiveJournal a short article about landscape photography that I wrote for one of the photojournalists.
I did not explain in detail all the nuances and load with photo terms, so I explained in simple language what aspects should be taken into account in the process of shooting and in preparation for it.

The landscape theme is closest to me, so in my article I want to talk about shooting in this particular genre.
I must say right away that I have never studied this craft anywhere, I do not have a diploma of a photo school graduate. Everything came by itself. I bought my first SLR camera three and a half years ago and I still use it. During this time, I managed to make several dozen good shots and write more than 50 photo reports. Someone even thinks that I manage to shoot masterpieces, but from the outside, they probably know better.

Unfortunately, I still do not have many opportunities and free time for travel, but at the first opportunity I try to break out of the web of everyday life somewhere far from the city into nature, taking a camera with me. First of all, I am going to relax my soul, unload emotionally and be distracted. In my head I have no thoughts at all costs to shoot a masterpiece, rather, on the contrary, it seems to me that before that I had already given out the maximum of my capabilities and a better shot than I have never been before.
Very often we travel with the whole family or with friends ...

The childhood spent in the summer in the village, apparently, left an imprint on my mind, so I shoot many of my landscapes in the Russian outback. I really like the grandeur and diversity of Russian nature, extraordinary beauty monuments of wooden architecture, remote and half-abandoned villages and rickety huts and fences familiar to every Russian ...
These pictures really impress me!

Professionals, on the other hand, think that the landscape genre is not quite suitable for many of my photographs: some sites, as well as the organizers of most photo contests, list my photographs in the "architecture" or "cultural heritage" section. But I photograph what is close to me and pleases the eye, and it does not matter to me what genre it is called. I would call my works simply "Photos for the Soul".

To the traditional question: "How is this filmed?" You can argue for a long time and in detail, but in the format of this publication I would like to briefly go over the main points that allow me to take good photos.

Preparing to shoot

I didn’t take a single more or less decent shot by accident. All my travels and short excursions are well planned and prepared ...
In my opinion, the most important aspect in landscape photography is the choice of the shooting location (the so-called location). You can take as many pictures of the beautiful view of the park from the window as you like, trample the shore of a nearby lake in search of the perfect shot, or shoot the sunset by the nearby grove. You may be able to take some good photos, but you will get the most beautiful works only by moving in time and space.

During my school years, I was seriously involved in orienteering, participated in all-Russian and international competitions, along the way I was also involved in tourism, so I am relatively well versed in maps. This helps me a lot in choosing a location and preparing a route. I would even say that exploring maps and terrain is a hobby that accompanies photography.
The current possibilities of the Internet are truly endless, so all ideas are born after studying information from the worldwide network.

On Google maps, Google Earth, Wikimapia, Panoramio (ordered to live long) - I look at photos and unique places from satellites. On many roads, by the way, in Google maps you can "ride" in a virtual machine and pre-monitor the surroundings. I look for interesting notes and articles on popular websites, travel forums, and networks. There is a lot of information about the monuments of wooden architecture on the site Sobors.ru. I would also like to mention reserves, national and natural parks. These territories, by definition, should be of interest to landscape painters. I put all the information received together and get the best route.

To get to some locations, you sometimes have to provide additional means of transportation, such as a boat, bicycle or skis.
If possible, it is better to visit the object before shooting, conduct reconnaissance and "try on" the angles - it will not be superfluous.
I visit both the objects of "pilgrimage" of photographers, and in places where photographers have not yet reached. I like the second option much more, since the output is often an unexpectedly pleasant result and always a unique picture. In those areas where tens or hundreds of shots have already been taken before me, I try to approach the shooting outside the box and bring something of my own into the picture.

Timing for shooting

This is the second point I would like to talk about. Most of my shots I take during the so-called "regime" time: about an hour after dawn and an hour before sunset. Soft and warm light adds richness and color to the picture and details the texture of objects. The transitions between bright and dark areas are smoother.
In addition, in the morning and (less often) in the evening, fogs are likely to form, which emphasize the depth of the image, beautifully scatter light and blur the contours of objects, making photographs more mysterious and fabulous.

Naturally, it is important to understand where the light source will be at the moment of shooting. To do this, on the Internet, I look at the exact time of sunrise and sunset, and then, focusing on the sides of the horizon, I superimpose the direction of movement of the sun on the map.
Well, and of course the most important thing is the weather.
When the chosen shooting point is not far away, then it is enough just to look outside the window and at the forecasters' promises in the phone. And if you have to travel for a long time, then I get acquainted with the forecast in at least three sources and look at the estimated map of the movement of atmospheric fronts. It helps to correct the route in the direction of travel.
Having analyzed the aforementioned moments, I already have in my head a clear schedule of movement and approximate pictures, which will later appear on the matrix of my camera. I must say that it is almost always possible to carry out our plans, but in some places you have to return again ...

Technical component

I shoot with Sony A65 and three lenses: Sony CZ16-80, Minolta 70-300, Samyang 8mm. There is also a portrait fix Sony SAL-50F18.
The first lens is universal, I shoot about 80% of all shots with it. It has excellent sharpness and color rendering.
I do landscape shots mainly at aperture covered up to f / 8 - f / 13 (this provides maximum sharpness throughout the frame) with the lowest possible ISO value in auto focus mode (not always). All these parameters, including shutter speed, are set in manual mode. If there is a need to get beautiful rays from the sun in the frame, you can cover the aperture and more.
I write the frame to a memory card in jpg and raw format, and I only need the second one as a safety net if I suddenly have to draw out shadows or lights. Information is recovered from shadows much better than from overexposed areas, so most often I shoot a landscape with underexposure.

Many photographers will forgive me, but I rarely use a tripod. It is clear that at night, in low light conditions, etc. conditions without it anywhere. But during regular hours, the light changes rapidly and, as a rule, I have enough of it. Sometimes you even have to jog from one shooting point to another in order not to miss the moment. But I love to run and extra charge never hurts :) The tripod in this situation significantly reduces the efficiency. Sometimes I shoot with exposure bracketing, but here, too, I usually don't need a tripod. Even panoramic shots in 90% of cases I do hand-held.

About panoramic shooting

I do some of my work using the panoramic technique - stitching several frames taken from one point with overlapping. In the final version, such pictures look like quite ordinary ones. And the point here is not at all in the desire to shoot scenes for posters or to obtain transcendental pixels, just a panorama gives volume, depth and sharpness to the entire frame, allows the viewer to direct the viewer's gaze from the foreground to the middle and background, create the effect of being in the frame, and of course it gives wider coverage.

I really like photos with an interesting foreground, so I try to start building a frame (be it a panorama or a single shot) with it. You can use stones, flowers, leaves, etc. as a foreground. If there is nothing to catch your eye, you can improvise, bringing, for example, some snag.

Treatment

I do post-processing in Photoshop Ps5. I mainly correct shadows, highlights, contrast, saturation, apply filters and sometimes the technology of expanding the dynamic range of the image (HDR). I do not welcome photo collages. I also stitch panoramas in Photoshop, mostly in automatic mode. I refine the inconsistencies and geometry with my hands.
It should be noted that the use of a photo editor allows you to improve the frame, but at the same time the source must be made with high quality. If the snapshot did not work out frankly, then no editor will make any trip out of it.

I am critical of many of my shots. It so happens that at the moment of shooting you lose sight of some moments, but you simply neglect some nuances. After some time, you begin to understand that you could have removed better.
That, in short, is all. But maybe I missed something.

Summarizing all of the above, I want to say the following: if you are into photography, do it with heart, be creative and improve your skills. Choose a shooting location responsibly, plan your route, study the weather ...

I wish you all good luck, interesting travels and beautiful memorable shots!

36091 Improving knowledge 0

Landscape photography can be divided into several components, the main of which are landscape photography and cityscape. The first part of our tutorial will focus on landscape photography.

Shooting landscapes is one of the most difficult and problematic areas of photography. I will say that for me, an experienced photographer, landscape photography still causes difficulties. It's not that difficult from a technical point of view - just have a tripod, a wide-angle lens and pay more attention to exposure. So what makes this kind of photography so challenging?

First of all, you need to be creative when shooting a landscape in order to be able to capture the mood and convey it to the viewer. If the technical side of the issue can be described, then regarding the creative component of photography can only be advised - you need to develop your vision of truly unique pictures.

Equipment

Let's start with the simplest. Which lens should you choose? While great photos can be obtained with any lens, it is preferable to use wide-angle lenses. They allow you to capture the space of the landscape, emphasizing perspective, which adds depth to the image. If you are using a DSLR camera with an APS-C sensor, then pay attention to the wide-angle 10-20mm; for full-frame cameras there is a choice of lenses with 12-24 mm, 16-35 mm, 17-40 mm FR. The zoom lens is easy to use, but the best quality is provided by fixed focal length lenses. In the range of EGF 12-24, a wide viewing angle is provided, while 16-35 and 17-40 provide a much smaller viewing angle, but they provide less optical distortion, especially at the corners of the image. The use of ultra-wide-angle lenses and a fisheye lens will make pictures more expressive and original. But it will not be interesting to shoot all frames only with “fishy”, so it is good as an addition to the main lens.

When shooting landscapes, small apertures are almost always used to obtain a large depth of field: usually f / 11 - f / 16. It is recommended to avoid very small apertures such as f / 32 as this will degrade image quality due to diffraction (an effect that reduces image sharpness and contrast).

When photographing landscapes, only manual focus should be used, especially when photographing objects in the foreground close to the camera.

ISO sensitivity must be set to the lowest that the camera allows, usually ISO 100-200. It is not recommended to use the ISO 50 extension, which is available as an option on some cameras, due to the reduced dynamic range. Shooting at ISO 100, the image will be virtually noise-free, with a wide dynamic range and excellent image quality that can be sharpened during processing without the fear of loud noise. Shutter speed: As you can imagine, the combination of a small aperture and low ISO values will give a slower shutter speed. Depending on the lighting conditions, the shutter speed can be from a fraction of a second (1/250 or 1/500) to several seconds or even minutes.

If you are seriously interested in landscape photography, then you must understand the need to use a tripod. A tripod is a key element for delivering sharp, detailed shots, especially at slow shutter speeds. Moreover, the tripod allows you to carefully choose and think over the composition. Using a tripod, it is possible to use a special technique that allows you to take stunning pictures: at sunrise or sunset, take a couple of shots of the same scene - the first exposure to the sky, the second to the foreground, then combine them - you get an original shot with the widest dynamic range. When shooting handheld, it will be impossible to shoot two absolutely identical shots.

When taking landscape shots, we recommend using filters - polarizing, and. UV filters and safety filters are useless as they can reduce image quality, reduce sharpness, and increase the likelihood of glare. When choosing filters, it is important to take into account that their use on ultra-wide-angle lenses (18 mm or less) can lead to the undesirable effect of uneven illumination of the frame and vignetting.

Preparing to shoot

Much of the success of your photography depends on how well you prepare for it. You need to think carefully about what might interfere with filming or make you come back. The more possible nuances you consider, the more likely you are to focus entirely on shooting. Solve organizational issues: how will you get to the shooting location, where you will stop. If you are not planning to stay overnight, you still need to consider the option of overnight stay - you may not calculate the time, circumstances may change.

Dress in a way that your clothes and footwear are not uncomfortable. Take an umbrella or hooded jacket with you. Consider protecting your vehicle in case of heavy rainfall. A flashlight should be at hand. However, try to get out of the forest or mountains before dark, as spending the night there is not the best option. Get a map of the area, be guided by it and by objects that cannot be confused. It's a good idea to have a compass at your disposal.

Don't forget to bring food and water with you. It is better not to go to distant and deserted places alone. Make sure that your mobile phone has money in your account and that its battery is fully charged. If you go by car, check the "spare", fill the tank with gasoline, do not leave in a faulty car. Tell friends, relatives exactly where you are going (going) and orienteering time when you will return.

Check camera settings, battery charge, and memory card space before shooting. It is optimal to shoot in RAW by setting the white balance setting to auto, then you will select the desired balance in the converter. By using different white balance settings, you can provide more attractive color reproduction.

Light

Light is an essential element in landscape photography. The right light can transform even a nondescript subject, and the wrong one can ruin even the best scene. Interestingly, many aspiring photographers believe that a clear sunny day and cloudless sky are excellent conditions for shooting - but this is not the case - these are the worst conditions you can imagine for shooting landscapes. The best light is not the bright midday light, but the soft light of sunrise or sunset. Shadows are crisp, colors are warm, rich and pleasing to the eye. Experienced photographers call this time.

It is necessary to get up early and go to bed later to capture the landscape in this light, but the result is worth it. Sometimes it is possible to take fantastic pictures even before the sun rises - it is quite possible to take beautiful landscape pictures even at night. Whenever possible, capture the moon to make it more interesting.

If you don't have the ability or desire to wait for dusk or dawn, shoot at noon is another strategy for getting better lighting. If the sky is cloudless, try to exclude it from the frame as much as possible and, conversely, if the clouds form an intricate pattern, be sure to make the sky part of the composition. A polarizing filter in this case will help to emphasize the contrast between clouds and sky and make colors more saturated.

Another way to get a great shot is a black and white shot. Even in low light, a photo can be captured perfectly by converting it to black and white, but not all shots will benefit from “discoloration”. In black and white, shots that are saturated with textures, edges and other contrasting elements clearly benefit, while others can look "flat". In any case, do not hesitate to experiment with contrast when post-processing in a graphics editor (not in-camera!).

Shooting at midday, sunset or sunrise is not the only time a photographer can get a good shot. Even when the sky is overcast or in a pouring rain, you can get a great shot. Clouds and stormy skies will add the appropriate mood to the photo, allow you to give landscapes an unusual look.

Mood

The same places can look very different. Weather, time of day, and many other factors affect the environment - it is never the same.

The two pictures show the same waterfall. The first picture was taken in summer, on a sunny day - the waterfall is almost invisible, and the light is not very pleasant. In short, this is a typical photo taken by a typical tourist. The second photo was taken on a day when no one would have thought to visit this waterfall. A cold autumn day, fog and rainy weather, which intensified the waterfall, filled the picture with mood - it is mesmerizing.

Do not be afraid to shoot in the rain or snow - professional lenses and cameras are dust and moisture resistant (you can find out from the description of your photographic equipment), and even if not, you can get 100% moisture protection by purchasing a special plastic or polyethylene cover.

Seasons

Each season gives the photographer its own gifts, so don't postpone shooting the landscape just for your summer vacation.

SHOOTING IN AUTUMN, IN PASMY WEATHER
When photographing rain, it is necessary to strongly aperture the lens in order to shoot with long exposure. In this case, the raindrops will appear as stripes, which will create the impression of rainy weather in the picture. You just need to be careful not to get rain drops on the lens. Drops will result in blurred images.

Spectacular landscapes can be shot in foggy weather. The foggy impression can be enhanced by placing a rare silk mesh in front of the lens. To convey the depth of space, some dark object must be placed in the foreground in the frame.

WINTER LANDSCAPE
On bright, sunny days, the contrast of the landscape is very large, which is caused by the combination of dazzling highlights in the snow and, say, dark trees, especially conifers.

It is better to photograph a winter landscape in the morning or in the evening, when the oblique rays of the sun create elongated shadows - this enlivens the composition and well emphasizes the texture of the snow.

The snow in the winter shot should be well defined. Therefore, when photographing a landscape in which snow takes up most of the frame, the exposure is determined by measuring the brightness of the snow. If the snow and dark objects in the subject are of equal visual quality, the exposure is determined by their average brightness, but taking into account the greater elaboration of details in the snow compared to dark objects.

Composition

1. Rule of thirds

Good composition is an essential part of landscape photography, but it is also the most difficult task. There are a few "rules" to help you improve your composition, but you must constantly develop your "creative" eye to get decent shots.

The most common mistake aspiring photographers are placing the horizon line in the center of the frame - resulting in a static and unbalanced image. The first step in improving composition is shooting the landscape according to the rule of thirds. We have already considered it in our previous tutorials on composition, but it will not be superfluous to recall it. It's very simple - mentally divide the frame into three parts horizontally. And shoot in 1/3 foreground, 2/3 sky or vice versa - 2/3 foreground, and 1/3 sky. In other words, create an asymmetrical composition.

Naturally, the rule of thirds will not be a panacea for all photographs, but you need to remember about it.

2. Foreground and perspective

One of the most effective ways to create a strong composition is to use a wide angle of view and place an object (flower, stone, etc.) in the foreground.This object, combined with the perspective enhanced by the wide-angle lens, will give a sense of depth.

The depth of field must be able to accommodate all objects. Therefore, it is recommended to set the aperture values f / 11 or f / 16.

3. Other elements of the composition

There are many elements in nature that help create an expressive composition - the diagonals are the most influential of these. Use diagonal lines to draw the viewer's attention to the subject. If you take a closer look, you will see that everything around is subordinated to some guides. Look for guidelines and try to fit them into the composition.

Patterns (repeating shapes) and textures are other elements in the composition. It is not easy to see natural patterns in nature, but various textures are common: small particles of sand, tree bark, stones and many more interesting objects will help make the picture more interesting.

The main thing in the frame

Determine what will be the main thing in the frame. It can be a lonely tree, rock, mountain, picturesque forest, slope, road. Using the composition grid on the LCD monitor (in the viewfinder), divide the frame into thirds and position the main subject at the intersection of the vertical and horizontal grid lines.

Try to make sure that there are three shots in the picture: foreground, middle and far - this will make the landscape look more voluminous, and the space will be better conveyed. The foreground should be drawn clearly, in detail, the background may well be blurred, hidden by atmospheric haze.

Try not to make the landscape "empty". It is better to fill the empty space, if possible. In the sky, this filler can be clouds. In the foreground are shrubs, tall grass, stones, leaves, branches, animals.

Do not try to place everything that you see in one frame at once, get rid of the random and monotonous space that inexpressively fills most of the frame - water, sky, foliage. Leave only the most important, beautiful and interesting. Look for open spaces in the forest.

Too dense foliage, branches create variegation, small glare and very thick shadows that look like "black dips" in the photograph - such pictures look worse than a carefully thought-out composition.

If you can't find the fill, crop the image to highlight the more interesting part of the landscape. You can walk a little and take different shots - straight or at an angle, from the bottom point. Climb a hill, a slide, any structure - from there you can take a multi-dimensional spatial panoramic photo.
When choosing a subject, look for the main element of the landscape that will be accentuated, as well as the way in which the environment will emphasize and complement it. When composing the shot, make sure that the subject fits harmoniously with the subject. For example, a tree should not grow from the bottom of the frame - leave some space at the bottom; don't cut off the top of the mountain, leave some "air".

When photographing a landscape, always pay attention to the fragments, because it is not at all necessary to shoot only general shots. A close look can highlight an interesting part of the landscape, beautiful and expressive details. But do not get carried away with strong zooming - here you need to preserve the integrity of the fragment, otherwise the image will end up with an abstract piece torn from the general plan, devoid of meaning.

Panorama

You can use the bracketing function in your camera to avoid exposure errors.

Shooting water

If it is necessary to photograph water covered with ripples or a small wave, then it is removed with counter-lateral illumination at an angle of 35-45 ° to the optical axis of the lens.

Water against light is photographed when rays from the sun, hidden by a cloud, strike the water, creating expressive shining stripes. But care must be taken to keep the sun out of the field of view of the lens.

It is better to shoot the sea from a high point. Then the water space occupies a significant part of the frame, the photo is more expressive.

Surf is usually photographed from a low point with a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 s.

It is better to shoot flowing water with a short shutter speed. In this case, there is a slight blurring of the image, which creates the impression of water movement.

Mountain landscape

In the mountains, it is best to shoot early in the morning. During these hours, the air is transmitted most effectively. Cloudy weather also contributes to more expressive pictures.

On sunny days, the subject should be chosen with a dark foreground, the brightness of which determines the exposure. In this case, the distance will be somewhat overexposed and will appear on the print lighter than the foreground, which will emphasize the depth of space, fill the landscape with a feeling of air and spaciousness.

Side lighting is considered the best, as it emphasizes the shape of the mountains, and the haze illuminated by oblique rays creates the impression of depth. When the sun is behind the camera, the image becomes flat. When - from the front, the picture is very contrasting, details, especially in the foreground, disappear.

Photographing a mountain landscape during the day with a high sun position brings out the details of the image without sufficient contrast.

When determining the exposure, it is necessary to take into account that the intensity of solar illumination increases with altitude in the mountains, and it acquires a different character than on the plain. With height, there is a decrease in the brightness of the shadows and an increase in the brightness of the bright areas of the landscape. Therefore, when shooting distance without a foreground, the shutter speed is reduced compared to shooting on flat terrain: at an altitude of 500 m by 1/4, 1000 m - by 1/2, 2000 m - by 3/4, 3000 m - by half.

To get glare on the surface of the glacier, you should photograph in backlight.

The main question of the topic: how to learn to see beautiful landscapes?

A beautiful landscape is based on the fact that the plot unites everything in the frame and subordinates the environment to a common idea - the author's thought, creating a certain mood, emotions, conclusions in the viewer.

I wish you success and everything photographic!

It might be useful to read: