Outdoor Photography How To

There's no doubt that some outdoor scenes cry out for a monochrome rendition with all of the striking contrast or moody effects that are possible with b&w imagery. Other times, however, the vivid color you see through the viewfinder makes this decision a no brainer.

Serge Ramelli is a French landscape photographer who occasionally experiments with portrait composites. In the Photoshop tutorial below he shows you how to shoot and combine two shots to make one epic “Landscape portrait.”

Blue hour, that magical time just before sunrise or sunset, is usually a great time to shoot. With the sun just below the horizon, beautiful blue tones bathe the landscape and create a dreamy soft glow.

Landscape and travel scenes can be particularly striking when captured in black and white. Some photographers set their camera to monochrome so they can see the effect on the LCD screen, while others prefer to shoot in color and make the conversion during the editing process.

Experienced photographers are always on the lookout for distracting background elements that can ruin a photo. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to find a different vantage point from which to shoot that excludes the offending junk.

Do your landscape photos lack impact and fail to appear as impressive on the computer as they did through the viewfinder? If so you’re not alone, and in the video below you’ll learn two simple Lightroom tricks for achieving the compelling look you expected.

Not everyone has an opportunity to go on safari to photograph rare and wild animals, but most of us have a zoo nearby which is often the next best thing. The problem is that most images shot at the zoo look like were shot at the zoo.