Landscape- the order of things

[ClaudioG]

Hi all.. I need to just ask some advice on landscape or seascape photography. There's to major points I'd like some help on
1- where do you start, as in, deciding on compositition, basic tripod set up, and so on.
2- camera settings, as in, the order which you go by setting up. Ie metering, focusing, focusing with filters or without,shot priority And so on.

Basically, I'd like to know the order by which you all go by.
Thanks for any and all advice.

[Stagecoach]

Hi all.. I need to just ask some advice on landscape or seascape photography. There's to major points I'd like some help on
1- where do you start, as in, deciding on compositition, basic tripod set up, and so on.
2- camera settings, as in, the order which you go by setting up. Ie metering, focusing, focusing with filters or without,shot priority And so on.

Basically, I'd like to know the order by which you all go by.
Thanks for any and all advice.

Hi again Claudio,

Having recently tried my hand at landscape purely to learn another area this is the procedure I ended up using;

1 .......................................

a) Load car with camera, filters, lenses I may need and tripod. Include gear for walking in mud along with cloth and water to clean hands should I need to climb.

b) Drive along a planned route looking for scenes that appeal to me. It's very easy here on our back roads as so little traffic in the interior that you can stop/start/reverse no problem.

c) Park up and look around with the camera for possibilities. Once found set up the camera on the tripod.

2 .................................................. ..........

I always use manual for both metering and focus for static shots. Firstly I zoom to frame the scene as I want then focus on a point roughly 1/3 into the scene depth. I set my aperture generally starting at f16 and adjust meter to centre position and confirm speed with ISO at min is acceptable for such things as wind affect on grass/trees.

I have found that I can focus without any concerns with the CP if being used fitted.

A test shot is then taken and LCD plus histogram checked. I make any changes to exposure required by 'offsetting' the meter indication by adjusting speed, I do not dial in exposure compensation separately. I then take further shots at different apertures, possibly f11, 16 & 22 and may vary focus point depending upon focal length being used and foreground importance.

I always use matrix metering and single point focus.

What I have learnt is if you have the time use it to experiment with different settings, it does not take long.

Grahame

[lukaswerth]

I suppose many different approaches are possible; here is what I often do:

search for the best spot, set up a tripod whenever possible, balance the camera - I often use my tilt-shift lens also for landscape in order to frame carefully, think where in the scene the focus should be placed and manually focus - oh wait, the light for which you want to expose is going, hurry, hurry - damn it, it's gone! Oh wait there the clouds come again! Expose for the widest dynamic range: for heaven's sake, no clipped highlights in the sky, except perhaps for this hardly muted sun, that can't be helped - or wait, a shorter exposure for that, might cut and paste it into the longer exposure in PP. Did I get the shadows also? Looks like. Focus okay? Was infinity not perhaps a tad off? Perhaps a few more exposures in these changing clouds. If only this pedestrian/kite flyer/car would move out of the image field! Or will I be able to clone them away in PP? Why do I mind them, anyway? Because this jogger brings in all the hectic of this particular day, and his outfit is so 2010!

Nice images, but perhaps, in another light... I will have to come back here tomorrow morning at 6am.

Come back next morning, few other exposures, but the first ones had turned out best.

Lukas

[dabhand]

Claudio,

Re #1 - the last thing I do is set up a tripod, when you find a potential location walk around a bit, look at it from different angles, try looking from ground (ish) level, climb on a tree stump / rock etc to get views from different heights - where anyone else is stood is generally as from from a car as they are willing to walk.

steve

[chauncey]

I go out and shoot what I find interesting...usually based on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpHMuK7Htic

Then look at them on my monitor and ponder what to do with them based on what I visualize in my mind.
They rarely escape without major league PP of some kind.

Or, I reverse the process by perusing various artistic websites to find inspiration, then figure out a way to emulate that piece of work using what may exist on my HD or shooting new stuff.

I don't use filters, always a tripod, settings are subject and light dependent and a 300mm/180nmacro lens.

[Manfred M]

My preferred method of operating is to scout out a location during the day and then return to do the shooting when the light is more interesting. Often I will take a few shots of the site (generally I have a GPS logging the location) to check out camera angles, focal lengths, etc.

I'll then head home (or to where ever I am staying, if I'm away from home) and review the shots on a computer, to help me plan my shots. I will then turn to a tool like The Photographer's Ephemeris, to figure out the best shooting times, based on where the sun will be. I prefer evening "magic hour"; I tend to prefer shooting then.

I will pack up my gear; which includes the camera, two or three lenses (usually the f/2.8 14-24mm, f/2.8 24-70mm and f/2.8 70-200mm). a long focus plate (to do panoramic shots), soft and hard grads, a polarizer, a tripod and a cable release. In the spring and summer, lots of insect repellant too.

I'll try to arrive on site at least 1/2 hour before my planned shoot and will stay on site until I'm done, or it gets too dark and will shoot away. Up here in the northern parts, this generally means one to two hours on site, depending on the conditions. This really depends on how far off the beaten track I am going; I hate finding my way back through the woods after dark (I have a couple of flashlights, including one head mounted one along), just in case. If it is raining or snowing, I will have a rain cover in my camera backpack as well. Longer walks mean I will take less gear and a lighter-weight tripod (and no pano gear).

For impromptu shots, I may not have all the gear along (ususally just a couple of lenses and the polarizers), and will do the best I can.

From a shooting standpoint (and the whole purpose of using the tripod) is to let me use large apertures at a low ISO value. I will set the ISO first (as low as I can go to maximize the dynamic range and colour range) and will then shoot aperture priority (at least f/11). I use autobracket mode to ensure I get at least 2 stops over and 2 stops under (sometimes more). Depending on the sky, I might shoot a series with a 2 or 3 stop grad (I have hard and soft grads), and make the call based on the horizon. Flattish horizons get a hard grad and less even horizons, I use a soft grad.

The reason for the bracketing is that I will layer things up in Photoshop and selectively blend areas of the shot (rather than using HDRI) to get a nice dynamic range in the image.

[Brev00]

That is one huge question. Simply tackling composition can lead to a ridiculously lengthy response. First of all, I do a lot of handheld work which suits my sort of roving style, moving from one scene to another scene to a scene within that scene. Finding pleasing compositions is really the essence of it all and is entirely up to your own sense. What is the light, the subject, the angle, etc.? It is hard for me to convey what orients me to a scene to you. You are going to have your own approach. One thing I notice lately in my imagery is a lot of detail work: isolating one aspect of a scene and often using a telephoto to work that subject. A rope, a flower, a bridge. The subject can be quite sharp and clear while the background can be nicely blurred. Another compositional trick is to use surrounding details that may seem distracting at first to frame your scene. Some branches on the top and edges, bushes on the side, edges of windows or doors. All can be used to frame your subject. Some people get all the framing elements together but forget to find something in the scene to be a subject. Like a lovely empty lake with nice branches forming a frame--but no swan or swimmer or boat to hold interest. Reflections are great, too, and can transform an ordinary landscape into something magical. Reflections work well when there are some clouds. My main piece of advice, though, is to travel. There is nothing like a destination to get one's attentions and skills in order. It is good to take all that theory and put it into practice. Enjoy!

[NigelD]

... and when you've composed the shot, look around to see if there's some foreground interest to add perspective and balance.

[Downrigger]

Such helpful strategies here. I have learned from reading all of the great stuff above.

I would add - scan the weather ahead over the next several days to see if you can plan to get out when it will be helpful. Changing weather often provides good skies and interesting light. We get a lot of Robin's blue skies out here, often for long stretches, and attractive compositions often suffer from blaring, boring light in those conditions even early and late in the day.

As an aside, I find that vistas that compel me abound but many are hard to get into an equally compelling composition, just simply because the structural elements and lines are not quite there, or the foreground is not helpful, etc. etc. Perhaps that's a matter for experience and practice, but for me, at my level of development, just because it looks good, doesn't mean it will shoot good.

[ClaudioG]

Thank you all for your great advice!!! its trully appreciated an i have printed everything out already so that i have all this at hand with me while im at the coast. Thank you again all!!

[rpcrowe]

1. I see a scene or a vista that I think might become a nice image...
2. I try to think of how the best way to show what I see in my image...
3. That is when focal length, shutter speed, f/stop and camera positions are all mixed up in my pea sized brain...
4. Somehow the computer between my ears often spits out a viable solution...

5. Then if I have a camera with me, I take the picture...

6. If I don't have a camera with me, I kick myself and I vow to return but, often don't...
7. I have multitudes of unshot images sloshing around in my brain...
8. Even when I return, often the light is different or something has changed that results in the view not being as photogenic as when I fist saw it...

Case in point! Yankee Meadows Utah. When I first visited this scenic spot many years ago, I thought that it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. When I returned, several years later, armed with my new top-line digital equipment, I was sorely disappointed. There had been a drought in the intervening time and my beautiful Yankee Meadows Lake was simply a dried up mud hole. So much for returning to get the shot!

[Glenn NK]

The best reference I've seen on landscape photography:

http://www.amazon.com/National-Audub...3388532&sr=1-1

I bought the first copy about seven years ago; two years later I couldn't find it and thought I had lost it - so I bought a second copy. Good investments - found the first one and still have both of them.

[ClaudioG]

1. I see a scene or a vista that I think might become a nice image...
2. I try to think of how the best way to show what I see in my image...
3. That is when focal length, shutter speed, f/stop and camera positions are all mixed up in my pea sized brain...
4. Somehow the computer between my ears often spits out a viable solution...

5. Then if I have a camera with me, I take the picture...

6. If I don't have a camera with me, I kick myself and I vow to return but, often don't...
7. I have multitudes of unshot images sloshing around in my brain...
8. Even when I return, often the light is different or something has changed that results in the view not being as photogenic as when I fist saw it...

Case in point! Yankee Meadows Utah. When I first visited this scenic spot many years ago, I thought that it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. When I returned, several years later, armed with my new top-line digital equipment, I was sorely disappointed. There had been a drought in the intervening time and my beautiful Yankee Meadows Lake was simply a dried up mud hole. So much for returning to get the shot!

Ricahrd so true, but what i've come to realise and am very thankful for, is that most times the missed shots in our heads, linger throughout our lives rather than the shots we got, and put into print. You'll never forget the look of that scenery in your head, and maybe thats the way its supposed to be for that moment. Who knows.

[rpcrowe]

Very true Claudio... I have a picture that has been stored in the recesses of my brain for 48 years and I can see it as clearly now as I did then. If I had a still camera, it would have been a landmark shot, possibly a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Alas, I had no still camera with me and my motion picture gear was safely packed away in an Aluminium case, safe from all harm but, not doing me one iota of good.

That was the least time that I traveled in Vietnam with my motion picture camera packed safely away. From then on, I always had a ready camera.

Undoubtedly I have enhanced this image in my memory but, I still remember how vivid everything was....