Unless this is the effect you want, you'll either have to modify your composition, shoot it later in the day, or plan to return on an overcast day when both sides will be photographable. Photographing a canyon, for example, you might see that the west wall will be beautifully lit in the early morning, if the canyon is deep, however, the east wall will be in such complete shadow that your camera will be capable of rendering it only as a great black blob. This can take some practice because you also have to look at where the light will not be falling. Carry a compass to figure out where the sun will rise and set, and imagine how the place would look in different kinds of light. When you arrive in a place you've never visited before, spend time scouting-driving or hiking to different locations, finding different vantage points. Time is the most important investment you can make in getting good landscape pictures. Lenses and sensors or film cannot do this by themselves.

Our field of vision encompasses a great deal of the scene, but our eyes and brains have the ability to ignore all except the most alluring details. When we look at a landscape, our eyes travel over it and selectively focus on the elements that we find appealing. All the elements that enthralled you at the time are there, but not the feeling. You get home, look at the pictures, and find them flat and boring. Whatever you find interesting, that’s what you should be capturing.We've all had the experience: Driving through a beautiful landscape, you stop at every scenic overlook to make photographs sure to capture the grandeur of what you see. A tree, a person, a building, it doesn’t matter. “The most useful thing you can do is get out there and take pictures,” Scott says. As Eve Arnold put it, ‘It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.’ Scott recommends the Snapseed editing application for pictures taken with mobile devices. With smartphone shooting capabilities becoming increasingly sophisticated, there is no need to splurge on an expensive camera for great photography. “I started with a Nikon D3100, which is a pretty basic model, and produced some amazing shots,” the Jasper photographer says. “Is there an interesting foreground feature that you could utilize? Would a human element convey the sense of adventure you are looking for? Do you want more of a focus on the sky versus foreground? These are all important questions to ask yourself.” 4. As Scott points out, more time spent on composition will likely result in capturing pictures that need less editing or post-processing. While editing can be a great way to take your photos up a notch, it is no substitute for great photography. Think about the composition of your picture “Once I started shooting in RAW and manual mode, I really noticed the quality of my pictures improve.” Scott recommends Camera RAW and Photoshop CC for editing.ģ. Shooting in RAW allows for a greater ability to edit your photos. “If you shoot in JPEG, the image actually gets processed within the camera, and then compresses it, which is limiting,” she says. It’s stressful to watch the sky turn red and not be able to efficiently put your camera into the long exposure settings, for example, necessary to capture it.” 2.

“Get to understand what all those little buttons mean so you can utilize your options when in the field. Scott recommends reading a manual and familiarizing yourself with your camera and all of its capabilities. Whether you’re shooting breathtaking mountains or city skylines, she offers five tips to take the best landscape pics. Log In Create Free Accountīrigid Scott is a Jasper, Alta.-based landscape photographer whose work has been featured in Canadian Geographic and Backpacker Magazine, among other publications.

Scenic landscape photos