Travel Photography How To

Camera technology these days is amazing; it’s practically magic. The problem, though, to my way of thinking and photographing, is that the magic offers a very wide and deep comfort zone—you might call it a zone of automatic decisions, and it’s probably best not to spend a lot of time there, certainly not if you want to create individualistic images.

In today’s mobile-obsessed society there’s one thing we carry with us at all times (even if we forget to bring our wallet). And that’s the smartphone we use for everything from checking the weather, keeping up to date on social media, and taking photos when a “real” camera isn’t available. Some folks even use their phones to make telephone calls.

If you’re just getting started in landscape photography, or could use a quick refresher, the tutorial below will quickly help improve your skills. You’ll learn a bunch of camera settings and techniques that are responsible for the beautiful imagery captured by one of our favorite instructors.

There are plenty of camera settings to consider for capturing the best possible landscape photos, depending upon the specific look you’re after. And one of our favorite pros insists that, “aperture is the most important stylistic instrument of all.”

When I started in photography my pictures were factual; they fulfilled the “here’s what it looked like” requirement and checked off all the familiar guides: a clearly-defined subject; properly placed leading lines; the rule of thirds obeyed; backgrounds taken into careful consideration. But they were static images, and there was no real communication of what the images were about.

Show your best images to the world by posting in the Shutterbug Photo of the Day gallery. Here’s the quick and easy procedure along with some tips to help you navigate to the right place, and even some advice about composition and subject matter.

The way you frame an outdoor scene can often be the difference between a mediocre shot and one that really grabs attention. In the tutorial below you’ll discover both impediments and potential solutions to composing landscape images for maximum impact.