The wonderful thing about photography is how the skills you acquire from each style can lend to other styles of photography. Landscape photography is a great place to start when it comes to learning the essentials, especially if you're looking to progress onto night sky and astrophotography. In this guide, we will discuss everything relating to landscape photography so you can grasp the basics, from equipment to shooting times, and location scouting to editing.
Once you're confident with the basics of photography, you'll discover how easy it is to branch out into different styles and photography techniques, and how you can weave your skills through multiple aspects of photography. After you've mastered the information here, branching out into astro images and photographing aspects of the night sky will be much less daunting and you'll feel more confident creating a composition and editing your images. You may find our astrophotography for beginner's guide and photographing the moon helps with this.
In this article, we will discuss camera equipment, the best times to shoot and how to find a great location, photography techniques, and how to edit your photos effectively. The first question to answer here is: which camera should I buy? Unfortunately, there's no easy way to answer this, as a lot of it is down to personal preference. Many photographers will focus more on finding a certain lens first, then look for a camera body that will fit that particular lens.
Think about what features are important to you, be it quick autofocus, the size and weight of the camera, or how well it performs in low light. Lenses When it comes to choosing a camera for landscape photography, the focus (pun intended) isn’t so much on the camera body itself, but more so on which lens you choose. Many photographers will actually purchase a certain lens first, then find a camera body that will fit that particular lens.
Generally, in landscape photography you’ll be using a wide-angle to mid-range focal length for the majority of your shots. Most kit lenses are somewhere within the region of 24-70mm, which is a great starting point for landscape photography. They're wide enough to capture broad vistas, but have enough zoom to pick out specific areas of a scene.
Wider focal lengths are primarily used for larger scenes with a foreground, mid-ground, and background. Specialized wide lenses usually run from 14-24mm (opens in new tab) , although some drop as low as 10mm. Generally, wide lenses are ideal for night sky photography and astro.
Telephoto lenses can also be used in landscape photography - longer focal lengths are great for zooming in to isolate certain aspects of the scene, and the compression makes the objects appear much closer together. This would be a great lens to use if you want to focus on certain objects further away, or if there isn't much interest in the scene as a whole. If you're composing a shot of the moon, in a landscape, the telephoto lens is your best friend.
Tripod Although a tripod is very useful to have, they aren't always a necessity for landscape photography. You can shoot without one in many cases, but there are certain situations and conditions where you definitely will need one. You can get away with shooting handheld if there is a lot of good light, or if you're shooting a scene without much movement.
Many lenses have built-in image stabilization so you can achieve some good results without the use of a tripod. If, however, you want to shoot long exposure (perhaps to capture the movement of long grasses), or you're shooting in the evening or under dark clouds where there isn't much light and therefore need to lengthen your shutter speed, you will definitely need a tripod. If you’re shooting high up in the mountains or on a windy day - think about how sturdy you need your tripod to be.
Carbon Fiber tripods, like the Benro Mach3 (opens in new tab) combines strength and lower weight, but you do pay for it. Lightweight tripods are fantastic to carry as they won’t break your back, but they don’t always hold their own in adverse weather. If you do go for a lightweight tripod, ensure to find one with a counterweight hook on the bottom of the central column.
You can hang your camera bag on it to weigh the tripod down a bit so it doesn’t move in the wind. If you need something cheaper, but heavier, the Vanguard Alta Pro (opens in new tab) is a good option. Note that astro will always require a tripod, so it's best to have one.
Filters As a beginner in landscape photography, a filter may not be one of your top priorities. However, it's helpful to know how a filter can eliminate certain challenges when shooting landscapes, and how they can also enhance your images. You may have seen photos of rivers and waterfalls where the water looks beautifully flowing and milky and wondered - how do I achieve that? The answer is: with a Neutral Density filter or a polarizing filter.
ND filters limit the amount of light going into the lens, which enables you to have a longer shutter speed. Using a long shutter speed is what gives the water that milky quality. The intensity of this effect depends on how long your shutter is open, so experiment with different timings.
ND filters come in different strengths, but we'd recommend either a 2, 3, or 4-stop ND filter to get you started. Most filters require a holder too, so build this into your budget. Cokin make some great packages, and this ND kit (opens in new tab) is a great place to start.
A polarizing filter can also be useful in landscape photography. If you're shooting on a sunny day, a polarizing filter can boost the color of the sky, eliminate any unsightly glare from shiny leaves, and reduce reflections from the surface of any lakes you're shooting. You just attach the filter to the front of the lens and rotate the filter to get the desired effect.
Personal equipment If you're going to be taking your camera along on hikes and long walks, you'll need to make sure you're prepared. We always wear walking shoes or hiking boots when we're out shooting, as well as weather-appropriate clothing and SPF. Warm clothing is especially important if you're going to be shooting at night.
A comfortable camera bag is also very important. Check out our guide for the best camera rucksacks to see which ones we rate. Don’t forget to pack waterproofs for yourself and your camera in case it rains! There are many different shooting styles and techniques when it comes to landscape photography.
Here's a breakdown of some of them to help get you started. Auto mode is a great place to start with landscape photography, as your camera will read the light and determine which shutter speed, aperture, and ISO is most appropriate to use. Using auto mode can give you less to think about if you're starting by focusing on composition.
If you'd like to manually determine the depth of field of your photo, shoot in aperture priority. In this mode, you set which aperture you'd like the camera to use, and the camera will fill in the rest for you based on which aperture you've chosen. Aperture determines how much light reaches your camera sensor and can impact the sharpness and saturation of an image.
If you want focused foreground objects, with softer backgrounds, go for a wider aperture (which is a lower f-number) Shutter priority is the same concept, only you manually set the shutter speed. This is a great way of working your way up to full manual mode, where you can control all the settings. You'll generally need to use manual for astro so landscape photography is a great discipline to help you learn the skills.
There are also different shooting modes. For landscape photography, you'd normally be using single-shot mode. If, however, you wanted to shoot a moving object in your scene, for example, an animal, burst/drive mode would be beneficial to use here.
In this mode, the camera takes numerous different shots for as long as the shutter button is held down. Your composition largely depends on what type of scene is in front of you. If you're shooting large vistas, look for angles and intersecting lines in the scene.
Using layers in hills is a brilliant way to create interest and lead the viewer through your photo. Try to have a focal point in the distance to focus on. If you want to zoom in on a particular tree in the distance, for example, you might consider framing the tree in the center of the photo to create more impact.
Try different compositions within the same scene and see what you like the look of best when you get them onto the computer. Remember there's no right or wrong here. Landscape photography goes hand in hand with wildlife and nature photography.
In the spring you may want to isolate pastel flowers in the foreground by using a wide aperture. Or you could look for a carpet of bluebells that can fill your frame or give a beautiful foreground. Shoot these with the light coming in from the side of the scene to create gorgeous light rays.
If you want to shoot deer or spring lambs, get down to eye level and use focus tracking with drive/burst mode. In summer, the blessing and challenge is that there's usually lots of light. To avoid overexposing your landscape scene, use an aperture of between around f9-f14 to make sure the whole scene is in focus and not to allow too much light through the lens.
You can also overcome this by increasing the shutter speed if you don't want to capture movement in your photo. Consider using an ND filter if you need to limit the amount of light going through the lens, particularly if you are working with a slower shutter speed. This is a great way to add more drama to cloud cover when shooting on dull days.
In the Fall, you will likely want to capture the beautiful colors of fallen leaves. Using a polarizer here can help reduce glare from the leaves and boost the colors. If you're shooting water in your landscape, a polarizer will also eliminate reflections on the surface.
Some cameras have an 'autumn colors' setting in the creative section of the camera menu. A polarizer would also be useful in the winter to reduce the brightness of any snow. If you want to photograph sparse, lonely trees, use a wider aperture to focus right in on the tree and blur the rest of the scene.
If you're shooting snow-covered hills, use a smaller aperture to get more of the scene in focus. You may need to dial down your exposure compensation on your camera if the scene looks a bit too bright. When you are thinking about techniques, make sure you consider light.
How does the cloud affect the light? If you're shooting on a very overcast day, the light will be soft, but also very flat. The quality of light will determine which ISO you use. You only really have to change your ISO if you're shooting in full manual mode, but a general rule of thumb is better quality light = lower iso, and low-quality light = higher iso.
For night and astrophotography, you may need to use quite a high ISO to make sure you're capturing light as efficiently as possible. If you're worried about higher ISO creating grain, we do have a guide to reducing noise in astrophotography. It doesn't matter if you prefer cityscapes, classic landscapes, or even seascapes - you need to find interesting places to shoot, and know what they look like at different times of day (or in different weather and light conditions).
While we can't tell you where to go and shoot, these are our tips on what to look for, and when. First, you want to decide what type of landscape you want to shoot. Within landscape photography, you could photograph the mountains, lakes, deserts, coastal landscapes, rivers and waterfalls, woodlands and forests, national parks, rolling hills, and snowy landscapes - to name a few.
Once you have an idea of your preferred scene, you can then find a more specific location. If that all seems a bit daunting to a beginner - see what types of landscapes are local to your area for you to dip your toe in, and go from there. If you are looking to go further afield, researching your trip beforehand can save you so much time.
Take inspiration from other photographers you like - we'd recommend people like Sam Binding and David Driver for classical landscapes, Graphic. Cal for urban landscapes, and Neil Harrison for seascapes and nature. If there's a particular photo of theirs you like, see if you can head to the same location and put your own spin on it.
Instagram is great for finding new locations, as is Pinterest and blog posts. It's a regular occurrence for every landscape photographer to stumble across a brilliant composition at the wrong time. When this happens, think about what kind of light and conditions you think would work best in the scene.
You can then return to the same place to get the shot during those conditions - although this may take a few attempts! In landscape photography, generally speaking, bad weather is good weather (most of the time!). If you're shooting astro, you need clear weather and no cloud cover, but landscape can be done in all weathers, all seasons. Each season of the year has something unique to offer, so there's no real "best time of year" to shoot.
Spring is a beautiful time for photography because you get to experience the world waking up again. Flowers start to appear, baby chicks and lambs are born, and the chilly spring mornings make you long for summer. Some notable things in to look out for in spring are dewdrops, bluebells, and lavender.
If you manage to find a bluebell patch in the woods, go early in the morning so you capture the golden light rays beaming through the trees. Summer is the season of early sunrises and late sunsets. Summer is a difficult season to shoot landscapes in, as there's often a lot of harsh light and not much interest in the sky.
Summer can, however, be excellent for astrophotography as there are usually plenty of clear skies. Find your composition during the day, and either set up a tent or return at night to capture the stars and milky way over a quiet landscape. There's an app called The Photographer's Ephemeris which shows you where exactly in the sky you can find the sunrise, sunset, moon, and milky way on any given day.
This app is great for planning as it removes the guesswork from your trips. You just need to hope for a clear night! Fall is a favorite for many landscape photographers due to its beautiful colors. Our favorite scenes to shoot in the fall are woodlands, rolling hills, waterfalls and rivers.
October is usually the best month for finding the most vibrant reds and oranges (in the Northern Hemisphere) - September is a bit early and November a bit late. For a foolproof fall photograph, try to find a winding river surrounded by trees. Fall is also great for getting high on the hills or in the mountains and shooting over foggy landscapes.
