Landscape Photo Tips

There are places where it seems almost impossible to take a bad photo (glaciers and mountain vistas, for instance), but a few tips can help improve other landscape pictures.

• Take advantage of the long light early in the morning (less haze) or just before dusk (sunset colors), since you get more interesting shadows and interplay between light and dark. Try to keep the sun at your back or your side.

• Try to keep the horizon level, although iPhoto can straighten photos if an otherwise good photo is marred by a bit of skew (Figure B.12).

  Figure B.12. It's hard to take a bad picture of a glacier... unless you can't hold the camera straight. iPhoto's Straighten tool can fix this shot.

  

• Keeping the Rule of Thirds in mind, if the land is the subject of your photo, make two-thirds of the photo be land, with one-third sky. If the sky is the focus of the photo (sunset photos can produce the most amazing colors), then reverse those proportions so the sky fills most of the frame.

• Try to include an object in the foreground to catch the eye, rather than leaving the entire landscape in the far distance (Figure B.13). A foreground object has the added advantage of indicating the magnitude of the scenery.

  Figure B.13. The misty woods in the background evoke a mood, but Tristan running away from the camera down the mown strip in the field lends focus.

  

• When possible, eliminate distracting elements, such as telephone poles or electric lines. Otherwise, try to use them in the composition of the photo.

• Try using reflections in water or windows for interesting effects and perspectives (Figure B.14).

Figure B.14. This picture, although seemingly a normal landscape of trees and the sky, is actually a reflection in a pond, giving the scene added depth.