Despite Instagram’s best efforts, a sunset never gets old, and landscape photography remains one of the most popular streams of the artform. Here’s a few tips to better your captures.

1. Be Prepared

Research, research, research. Every landscape photography activity or trip must start with an extensive research to acquire as much information as possible about the location and its actual landscape, the weather, travel conditions, the perfect time for capturing images, know where the sun rises and sets, etc. Your gear is your best friend so treat it kindly. Make sure your camera is clean, batteries and filters ready, tripod washed and well-lubricated because just like you, they need to be ready for action. Invest in proper clothing and footwear. You don’t want the elements to get the best of you out there.

2. Know Your Gear

For you to be able to make the most out of your camera, you must know the basics by heart. This will allow you to easily apply various techniques such as long exposure for clouds movement, slow shutter for swirling waves, etc. Also, know your filters and when is the right time to use each one.

3. Master Your Technique

Educate yourself on the basic concepts of composition such as the rule of thirds, leading lines, s-curves, patterns, use of scale, etc. Learn about exposure compensation between ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Maximize your depth of field to ensure the entire image is well-focused. Then, study and apply advance techniques such as multiple exposure blending, focus stacking etc. in order to produce a high dynamic range image.

Every photographer has his own workflow. For you to be able to master your own, you must practice a lot. No workflows are exactly alike. You will create your own by exploring and finding what is most comfortable for you, but remember to keep evolving too.

To make it concise, here’s an example:
find composition → set up gear → put appropriate filters → adjust settings → FOCUS → take the shot → view output image and histogram → adjust settings → retake the shot (multiple exposures) → shoot more to be safe

4. Be Adaptable

Shooting landscapes can be a challenge when nature decides to give you a surprise, so you have to be able to adapt rather quickly. Be ready for the unexpected but dwell only on the positives. To accommodate sudden changes, scout the location early. Take everything in, visualize and make use of different perspectives to your advantage.

5. Be Teachable

Being open to new, and even unconventional, techniques will allow you to grow. You have to keep learning by studying the works of your fellow artists. Diversity makes us unique and at the same time inspires growth and improvement.

If you’d like to improve your photography, check out DLPHOTO’s Beginner To Pro Photography Course or one of our Workshops.