The first in a series of Landscape Photography Tips…
A lot of people tell me they love my photos and how they couldn’t take them like that. I don’t even really think about most of them, I just take them. Conversely, I often tell my wife how much I love her cooking, and how I could not make something like she has just made, by myself. These are things, like, erm, omelettes, you know (!)
I think what my wife does in the kitchen, and what I do with a camera are really the same. We understand the basics. Once you understand, and practise the basics, the rest falls into place.
A Front, A Middle, and a Back
First of all, a photo is like a book, it has a front, a middle bit and a back. My photos all have a front, a middle and a back.
- Things at the front could be a stone in the surf for on the beach. It could be a rocky outcrop in a landscape. It could be a tree branch in the top of the frame. These are all (relatively) near to you.
- Furthermore, the middle bit could be a crashing wave, a tree, a hut, or similar. These things are a little bit further away from you.
- The back bit is maybe the horizon of the sea, or a hill or mountain in the distance, or even the colours of a sunset. These are the furthest away from you.
Once you put these three Landscape Photography Tips elements together you immediately get a sense of depth in an image and your eye is led into the photo. It becomes more three dimensional.
Put it Into Practice
So try it! Next time you have your phone in your hand, take an image and include a rock, stone, log or something in the foreground and then take a shot without the foreground. See the difference. All of the parts make the whole. If you have one, use a tripod, so you can review the frame before you take the image. If you don’t have one, buy one! More on that here.
Maybe next time I make an omelette I will put all the ingredients in it and see whether it tastes any better than say if I left the eggs out.
In conclusion, the feature image I have chosen here overlooking Berowra Valley National Park looking toward Berowra Waters, the front is the rock (and tree), the middle is the nice shapes of the ridges, and the back is the sunset colours.
Thanks for reading my Landscape Photography Tips this far.
Andrew Barnes