Tips for the Beginner Photographer on Shooting Landscapes

Oct 13

My favorite subject for Photography… is Landscapes!

The reason why Landscapes are my favorite is that I love the outdoors and the peace and tranquility I receive when I am immersed in nature. In addition, I don’t have to work with anyone else to capture magic. It’s all up to me to locate and determine when and how to photograph the Landscape. I find it very therapeutic to ride through the countryside and over mountains looking for a subject to shoot. I love being out of the house with my baby poodle Benji and away from people and the chaos of life. Out there I am away from the hustle and bustle of the world and that’s where I find the magic is. By the way, Benji is 17 years old and a Teacup Poodle.

Here’s how I approach Landscapes.

The first thing I do is load the truck up with my cameras and tripods and a 15 foot A- frame ladder, which is also one of my tri-pods. I then pack a lunch and load up Benji. I kiss my wife goodbye and I head out. Where is the best part, I just start driving and head to wherever my spirit takes me. It’s very serendipitous as I turn up the music and begin praising the Lord for another day and before you know it, there it is. The subject is now in front of me! I pull over and begin studying the Landscape.

It’s rare that I would just happen to be there at the right time and the right day. If it is right, I begin shooting stills first with my Cannon 5D Mark iii, and then begin filming 4K footage with my new Black Magic Pocketcam. But it’s very unlikely it’s going to be the right time and the right day. My adventurous spirit soars!

I have a journal book I take everywhere with me to document the locations I want to capture. The first thing I do is write down where the sun is at the time I am there. Second, I pull out my trusty I-Phone 11 and pull up my compass to see where the sun will rise and set. I then document where the sun will rise on the subject and where the sun will set on the subject. I now know where East and West are, and this helps me determine what time of day I need to be there to set up and capture the image. Next, I begin walking around looking at the subject to find opportunities to shoot. I look for framing the subject with a left and right frame. Framing may be just trees or a barn to the right and trees to the left and so on. You’ll be surprised by just walking around the subject what will standout to you as frames for your image. Also, you may find a better place for your camera by just walking around a corner. Don’t lose your explorer spirit, after all it is one of the reasons you decided to become a photographer in the first place. The trick is to study the location and write it down for the shoot day. Documenting is a huge part of Photography.

Learn to study and understand what’s right in front of you and then write it down. Here’s what I am looking for when shooting a Landscape:

How does the Upper, Middle and Lower Thirds of the image work together?
Where do I need to setup to create the best image to maximize the 3 sections of the image? You must understand how the Upper, Middle and Lower thirds work together. Remember, the way a Landscape pops in an image is how the Upper, Middle and Lower sections complement each other.
In addition, study and understand how the Foreground, Mid-ground and Background work together and select your focus point and what aperture setting to shoot.
Locate any subject to the right and left that can provide you a frame. Work to have a natural frame in your image. The frame can be trees, mountains, old barn and so on…
If there’s a barn, tractor, tree or any other key subject in your Landscape, then setup accordingly to capture it along with the whole image. You become the artist here as you make this creative decision. The more you shoot, the better you’ll get at making split second decisions.
Study the light and make the decision on what will be the best time of day to be there for maximizing the light. Check your compass and know where the sun will be in the AM and the PM. The best time for most Landscapes is going to be early morning or late evening. The sun lying low creates more direct lighting on your subject and produces shadows. The camera loves good lighting! Shadows create depth, texture and emotion. For example, high noon light is not good for Landscapes as it only offers flat lighting without long shadows, depth or textures.

Now that I have this information, I write it all down in my Production Book. If you don’t have a Production Book or Journal, then get one and begin documenting your favorite locations today. I now know what, where, when and how to capture the best image and at what time of day.

The next step is to determine what month I want to come back and shoot. Some images will be better in the spring and others will be in the summer and yet others in the fall or winter. It’s all up to you to make that decision. What do you want people to feel when they view your image? Winter shots are cold and dormant whereas spring everything comes alive and is green. In the fall you feel different than say the middle of summer, right? I think you get the picture, pun intended.

The next step I take is to begin watching the weather. Do I want all blue skies with white puffy clouds, or do I want a moodier shot with rain clouds with sunrays? I encourage you as a beginner photographer to become your own meteorologist. Start now and study weather patterns where you live. Dial up Weather.com and study the forecast and gain a greater understanding of how weather forecast works for your benefit.

Now I can select the month that works best for the emotional image I want to create and the right location and the right time of day to be there. Once I see the weather is going to be what I want, I bounce and go and capture magic! Most of the time I shoot with a tri-pod to create a Panoramic and a HDR ( High Dynamic Range) Image.

I always shoot in the Manual Mode and bracket my shots with one image that is just left of center on my Histogram and then one full stop above that setting and one full stop below the first setting.

This is helpful in creating HDR images. I always shoot in the RAW file for the highest quality possible and in the small jpeg for monitoring only. I always shoot at the lowest ISO for the highest quality. This is also where the tripod helps.

I determine my Color Temperature when I get on set. No one can know what the color temperature will be until you’re on location. Most of my apertures are around the middle f-Stops like f-8 to f-16. It’s up to you to decide how much depth of field and how much of the image you want in focus. I usually shoot in Middle to Slower shutter speeds of around 100 to 60ish. This depends on the light and time of day of course.

The other thing I do is go back and shoot the location several times to make sure I get the opportunity to create magic. Some locations I shoot year after year.

If I decide to go shoot and it’s just the wrong day or the light is flat, then I turn around and go home until another day that offers me a better opportunity.

This is how you create art and magic!

If you are having a difficult time as a beginner photographer understanding how to shoot in the manual mode and what some of my language is in this Shutter Blog,(i.e. ISO, Color Temperature, RAW and others) then please consider ordering my teaching course and tutorial,

How to Shoot and Master the Manual Mode by Chris Cassels

This tutorial and teaching course is designed for the beginner photographers.

I break all these subjects down with easy-to-understand elementary charts and graphics which will get you off Auto and Program Modes and help you become a better photographer and go Pro.

You’ll be Glad you did!

Happy Shooting!

Chris Cassels- Shoot Like a PRO