Landscape photography tips

If you already own a DSLR, mirrorless system camera or a high-quality compact camera, you are well equipped in this regard.

If you are about to make a purchase decision, I would generally recommend a camera that can reproduce a high contrast range.

Basically, pretty much any focal length is suitable for landscape photography. A wide-angle or ultra-wide-angle lens should not be missing under any circumstances. In addition, it is easier to create a consistent depth of field or depth of field with wide-angle lenses.

In this case, you should place the camera on a tripod to ensure blur-free, sharp images. A classic tripod is part of the absolute standard equipment in landscape photography.

If you want to do a long exposure during the day, you need a so-called ND filter, or gray filter. This is screwed to the filter thread of your lens. The ND filter reduces the amount of light, which leads to longer exposure times. The filters are available in different strengths.

If you are often out and about in the dark, you should also take a compact LED lamp with you. Alternatively, you can also use the LED light on your smartphone.

For BULB exposures (longer than 30 seconds) I recommend a remote shutter release. For shorter exposure times, however, you can simply use the self-timer function of your camera.

You should also always make sure you have a spare battery with you on a longer photo tour.

In contrast to portrait or macro photography, where you want to emphasize an object using a blurred background ("bokeh"), in landscape photography you usually want to depict the entire landscape in sharp focus.

You can achieve this continuous depth of field by shooting with a slightly narrower aperture.

In many cases, in landscape photography, you can simply focus using autofocus. You should only make sure that you do not focus completely on the foreground.

As a rule, landscape photographers make sure that the sky is not burned out.

So there should still be details in the sky. Depending on the brightness situation, you often have to pull the exposure correction into the minus range. In most cases, you accept that the images are generally somewhat underexposed.

However, if you photograph in RAW format, the exposure can be optimized quickly and easily in image processing / image development.

The most well-known of all design rules is the so-called rule of thirds.

To put it simply, the photo scene is divided into three thirds by two lines. Then place the horizon of the picture on one of these imaginary lines. So the sky always takes either one third or just two-thirds of a picture.

Position your camera so that the element you want runs from the edge of the image towards the center of the image. Thus, the viewer’s gaze is guided.

In most cases, landscape images look better when a foreground is built into the image.

Half an hour before sunrise dawn begins.

Even though I’m personally more of a sunset fan, many people swear by the sunrise.

Towards the end of the sunset, the afterglow begins. This lighting atmosphere also lasts for a certain time after the sun has already disappeared. If you photograph the sunset, you can take the afterglow with you.

The famous blue hour begins just after dusk and lasts about an hour. At this time, the night sky is not yet black, but dark blue.