7 Simple Tips to Dramatically Improve Your Landscapes
As most of you will know by now, to become a top-level photographer takes a lot of blood, sweat, and aperture-shaped tears. But for those still early on in their photographic journey, YouTuber and landscape aficionado Nigel Danson returns with another short video to give you a helping hand.
In this latest offering, Danson highlights seven simple tips to drastically improve your landscapes in a short space of time. Although landscape photography may seem a breeze, to master the craft can be a long and difficult process.
“When I started landscape photography many years ago I thought my images were great, but looking back at them now I can easily see the many errors I made,” writes Danson over at Fstoppers.
As he explains, taking great landscape images was a “slow and organic process” over many years. So from the comfort of his office, seated before an amalgam of lenses, maps, books and more, Danson dishes out his seven simple tips that he wishes he knew earlier.
1. Use Aperture Priority
Although landscape photographers will often favour manual mode for complete control, Danson advises using aperture priority for efficiency and ease. He stresses how using aperture priority gives you more time to focus on the light in a scene, which can change in an instant.
2. Master the Histogram
Whilst histograms can seem confusing at first, they are an essential and easy to understand tool that are invaluable across all genres of photography. Dansons suggest pushing your values to the right of your histogram, in order to avoid more noise when post-processing.
3. Focusing Your Camera
There are a lot of variables involved in focusing your camera, from the scene you are shooting to the kit you are using. If shooting wide, Danson advocates focusing on infinity instead of using hyperfocal distance, doing a simple sketch to show why.
For the final four of Danson’s tips, be sure to watch the video above. More of Danson’s work can be found on his website, YouTube, and Instagram.
Eager to shoot some landscapes? Then read up on our 7 Challenges All Landscape Photographers Must Overcome!
