useful info

this is an Aide-mémoire I use to help with my landscape photography......

Look out for potential scenes whilst walking, driving, etc and make a note of the location

always carry a compass so can work out direction for morning / evening light

Be prepared to re-visit the scene in ideal light pre-visualise an image, working out best time of the year and what time of the day a scene will look at its best, & aim to capture the mood and atmosphere.

Morning light is soft & pink, less contrast, cooler, bluer
Evening light is warmer, long black shadows, deep yellows / oranges/reds

The three elements of a good landscape image: foreground / middleground / background

The secret is to pick something interesting — an environment that makes your eye look around. A good landscape picture is compelling no matter where you look. Rubbish scene no matter how well taken is still rubbish

Patience & perseverance: find a composition that captures the essence or mood of your subject

Wait for the right moments, clouds / rain clearing, spotlight effect, etc to add additional dynamic elements in the picture, like an eagle flying in the air, or a boat tranquilly floating on the river about to move into the scene.

consider what to leave out of a composition. Some of the best landscape images have the important quality of simplicity, using strong shapes, colour and textures to achieve clarity keep in mind the Rule of Thirds, landscape photographers don't photograph objects, scenes, etc, they photograph light

Imagine what the scene you are viewing will look like as a large wall print
how to successfully transfer what's seen in 3 dimensions by the human eye into a two-dimensional photographic image, develop skills that enable you to override your mind's-eye and build images with depth and perspective, practice seeing in 2D (previsualising), and provide enough visual clues / elements to give perceived 3D depth

How quick will the viewer get bored of uninteresting features, unwanted rubbish, posts, and other distractions in the frame.

Make the viewers feel as if they are there, feel the warm sunshine, cold rain, moody stormy sky ( in black & white?), texture of sand, hardness of rocks, salty sea spray, smell of grass / trees / flowers

winding roads, rivers, fence lines walls etc as lead in lines to image
converging lines: bridges,rails,fences,roads) beware not to lead eye out of image
layers and planes, movement (waves, waterfall) frozen or milky calm look?
overlapping lines: dinghy’s in a row etc
use framing card to work out best framing, check if it works, best focal length

Colour and contrast – as foreground (warm advances, cool retracts)
layering of light from undulating ground – light and dark, shadows and highlights


Low view point can compress empty space, use thistles, reeds, branches as a frame within a frame

images should have impact from bottom to top, find a strong foreground that will lead the viewer into the image and then build up a composition that keeps interest throughout. achieve a sense of balance and proportion within the frame.

Wide angle lens to give depth, 3D effect to images moving foreground into background

long lens will bring things closer & eliminate depth and compress distant objects into a closer relationship with foreground objects shallow depth of field can used to isolate one object in a complex picture

Walk around scene, view from all angles, lying down, kneeling, try and get an original shot – use reflections in puddle / lake / river / window

move tripod closer to the subject and lower to the foreground. bracket your images in difficult lighting to blend in Photoshop

Make the photo, don't just take it. Look all around you, get a feeling for the light, the weather, the mood and capture the image.