Sneak Peaks at Snap Shots
Updated: Mar 3, 2020
Welcome back to Lets Go Big Tunes weekly Photography tips blog, where I share tips found online that can help everyone from beginner to expert. This week I start having a look at landscape shots.
*content from https://www.techradar.com
Whether you've just got a new camera and are looking to learn some new photography techniques or have been shooting for a while and want to master some old ones, this essential photographer's resource is here to help. This list of photography techniques to try covers some of the most popular types of photography, so whether you want to improve your portrait photography or learn how to take better landscapes, discover the secret to sharp close-up photos or start out in street photography, you'll find some essential tips and tricks here.
Tip 1. Using ND grads, strong Neutral Density filters and polarizers
Landscape photographers often carry a range of filters to help them solve exposure problems or achieve an effect that's difficult to recreate in photo editing software.
Although HDR photography and exposure blending in Photoshop have reduced the need for ND grads in the field, solid ND filters and polarising filters still have their place in the landscape pro's camera bag.
Solid Neutral Density filters reduce the amount of light entering the lens, extending shutter speeds for long-exposure landscape photography.
Polarizer filters remove reflections from the surface of water and shiny leaves, and boost the contrast between blue skies and white clouds.
Tip 2. Level horizons
Most of the time you'll want the horizon in a picture to be level. This is especially true if you're shooting seascapes, otherwise the water will appear to be running out of the frame.
Your camera's Live View screen has a grid overlay that can be activated in the menu to ensure horizons are level, and it may also have an electronic level display that can be superimposed over the image.
If your camera lacks these features, use the rows of autofocus points you can see in the viewfinder as a rough guide to keeping the horizon straight.
Tip 3. Hyperfocal focusing technique
Depth of field is an important consideration when photographing landscapes. It's often desirable to get as much of a view - from foreground details to the distant horizon - to appear as sharp as possible.
To increase the depth of field, choose smaller apertures and then manually focus at the hyperfocal distance. This is the point at which the depth of field will stretch from approximately half the hyperfocal distance to infinity.
The hyperfocal distance changes according to the focal length and aperture being used, so we'd advise using one of the many useful hyperfocal smartphone apps available to do the calculations for you.
Learn more: Depth of field explained
Come back next week for more landscape photography tips