Beautiful landscapes have the power to take our breath awe, inspire awe, and cause thoughtful reflections. The sheer force and majesty of the beauty around us is truly something to take in, and when you come across the sun setting over a gorge when you’re hiking, or the rush of a river underneath a bridge overlooking the old buildings downtown in your city, you can’t help but want to have an impromptu digital camera shoot to capture the moment.
The only trouble is that although a picture might be worth 1,000 words, landscapes sometimes can’t reflect what we felt or saw in those moments. Though you tried your best, your digital camera shoot really didn’t do the scene justice.
Don’t give up, though. There are tons of little tricks you can use to take truly great shots of landscapes. Here are just a few you should use in your next digital camera shoot.
Find a Focal Point.
Like all digital camera shoots, your landscape photo shoots should have a focal point — an obvious reason for the viewer to look at the picture. In fact, your viewers’ eyes will just wander around the picture, and find it kind of empty looking if you don’t have a focal point. Try to find a building, a tree, a rock, or some other significant feature in the landscape and let that anchor your photo as the focal point.
Use the Rule of Thirds to Place the Horizon.
You should always be using the rule of thirds in all of your digital camera shoots, but especially when shooting landscapes. Not only will it help you place your subject or focal point (just off-center), but it will also help you define your horizon. Essentially, imagine a three by three grid has been laid over your viewfinder, so that there are nine boxes. Your horizon should go along one of the two lines filling in either three or six boxes.
Use Google Photos to Enhance Your Shots.
Online digital camera stores have tons of high-end, powerful photo editing software, but you can also get some pretty great photo apps for free. One of the best ones out there you can use to make your digital camera shoots’ landscape shots even better is Google Photos. The free app has an effect called “HDR Scape” that can take landscapes to the next level.
If you remember these tips the next time you have an impromptu digital camera shoot, your landscapes are going to turn out great. If you have any other tips, feel free to share in the comments.
