Landscape photographers make photographs of mountains, beaches, forests, and other locations. Landscape photographs are used for many purposes. They can be sold as artwork, to be framed and displayed on a living room wall, or printed on postcards to be sold to tourists, or licensed to an author or publisher for use in a book.
A landscape photographer such as the well-known Ansel Adams, famous for his visionary black-and-white photos of California's Yosemite Valley, may spend days on location, waiting for just the right sunlight, clouds, leaf colors, or type of snow.
Types of Landscape Photography
There are 3 generally recognized types of landscape photography: Representational, impressionistic, and abstract.
Representational — Representational landscape photography is straightforward: The mountains. The beach. The horizon. As it appears in real life. The goal of representational photography is to present the landscape as realistically as possible. But that doesn't mean that this is a simple type of photograph to make. The weather, the quality of the light, the foliage (or lack of it), the time of day — these are all important factors in creating high quality representational landscape photography.
Impressionistic — Impressionistic landscape photography is aimed more at creating an impression of the scene in the viewer's mind than in conveying the actual scene exactly as it appeared. A field of flowers may be framed specifically to create an impression of a valley filled with nothing but flowers, or the rapids in a mountain stream may be emphasized to give the immpression of a dangerous and raging stream. The impressionistic landscape photograph doesn't set out to deceive, but to emphasize some particular aspect or create an emotional reaction.
Abstract — Abstract landscape photography emphasizes shape, form, contrast, and color, and the particular scene may not even be recognizable. One part of a landscape may be combined with another to juxtapose beauty and danger, or red and blue, or water and desert. Abstract landscapes aren't really intended to depict a particular scene at all, but to create a piece of art that is only loosely based on a real scene in the real world.
Urban Landscapes and Cityscapes
Some photographers consider "urban landscapes" or cityscapes to be part of landscape photography. Photographs of luxury Fifth Avenue buildings, inner city slums, pedestrian-filled sidewalks — these are part of the "urban landscape," and as such may be considered another style of landscape photography.
Tips for Landscape Photography
The good news is, almost any camera is capable of taking excellent landscape photographs. A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) gives you most flexibility in adjusting the shutter speed and aperture (f-stop) for difference effects.
Study the scene and decide how to frame it. When you're standing there admiring the mountain and valley view, you're probably absorbed in the general beauty of the whole scene. Our eyes automatically overlook certain things in situations like that. But your photos will be better if you examine the scene carefully and compose your photos to avoid telephone poles, signs, parking lots, gravel pits, or other unsightly elements.
If you're shooting at dusk or dawn, use a tripod, or at least a monopod, to steady your camera. It's physically impossible for most humans to hold a camera still long enough for the longer shutter speeds that you'll be using in low-light situations.
Don't shoot directly into the sun — you'll just get a bright sun and a very dark foreground. If the sun is just outside your viewfinder, use a lens hood to avoid flare.
Use the concept of converging lines to enhance your shot. A road, a path, or a railroad track, a set of power lines, a river or stream — anything with parallel lines that stretch off into the distance will appear to get closer together off in the distance, and may appear to actually converge. Powerlines running horizontally across your landscape scene are likely to mar the beauty of the scene, but a set of powerlines that stretch from foreground to background can add a dynamic effect. The point where they appear to converge will generally become the focal point of the photo, as the eye is drawn to the point of convergance.
Tripods and Monopods for Landscape Photography
A good tripod or monopod will allow you to use the longer shutter speeds that are needed for photography at dusk or dawn, when landscapes are usually best photographed.
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