So you love landscape photography but you are getting bored of always photographing the same things.
In this article I am going to give you 12 ideas which you can try out to not only get your creative juices flowing again but also to help you improve your photography skills.
How you approach these projects is up to you, but I have chosen the number 12 to give you 1 a month for a whole year. But you can choose to do one a week, or just do them when you have time. You also don’t have to try every idea on this list, but the more you try to more you are going to learn and grow as a photographer.
1. Long Exposure – Water
We have all seen those gorgeous photos where the water is blurred and looks silky. This effect is created using a long exposure and often a Neutral Density filter. (if you don’t have a Neutral Density filter you can still do this but will be limited to the hours around sunrise and sunset.) Go to your chosen location and set up your camera on a tripod. Line up your shot and then add the neutral density filter (if using one) to the front of your lens. Set your shutter speed to 30 seconds, aperture on a high F number and use the light meter to set your ISO. Use a self-timer or remote release to take the picture to avoid camera shake.
2. Long Exposure – Traffic
This is something which can only be done at night and is best done where a reasonably busy road is a main focus of your image. Go to your chosen location and set up your camera on a tripod. Line up your shot with the road clearly in the frame. Put your camera on Bulb Mode, set your aperture to a high F number and ISO to 100. Use a shutter release cable to open and close your shutter. Watch for cars coming along the road. As a car approaches the edge of your scene open the shutter. Only close the shutter once the car has left the scene.
3. Shoot Through The Bushes
Framing is a very important part of landscape photography and I am often looking for natural frames to add that something a little bit different to my scenes. Go to your chose location and look for a bush or other type of foliage that you can shoot though. I find it easier to hand hold the camera whilst shooting these types of photos as it allows me to move around and find the best frame. Line up your shot so that some of the bush is in the edges of the frame. It could be just one side/corner or it could be surrounding the whole frame. Make sure that the bush is not blocking out too much of your scene. Set your focus on an object far away in the scene.
4. Get Close with a Telephoto Lens
Not all landscape photography has to be taken with a wide angle lens. A telephoto lens allows you to get in closer and show off more of the details. Go to your chosen locations and look for details in the scene which you think are interesting. Put your telephoto lens on and zoom in on that detail. Remember to use fast shutter speeds or a tripod to eliminate any camera shake caused by the longer lens.
5. Keep it Simple
Not every landscape photo has to have lots going on. Keeping it simple can often be the most effective way of shooting a landscape. Go to your chosen location and instead of looking for things to include in your photo, think about what can be left out. What is not important in the scene? You may just want to focus on one tree or one house. You can use a telephoto lens to zoom in on that one thing, or you can use a shallow depth of field to eliminate the other objects.
6. The Milky Way
These are photos which require a lot of planning and some luck, regarding the weather. To get the best results you are going to want to choose a location which is as far as possible away from artificial lights of towns and cities. As for your composition you are going to want have something in the foreground. This could be a tree, a house, a rock or something else. Use the lowest F number that you can, an ISO of 3200 and a shutter speed of 15 seconds. You will of course need a tripod for this shot.
7. Moon Light
Photographing landscapes at night is not often done as it can be hard to get enough light into the camera. However when the moon is full you can create some really interesting landscape photos. You will need a tripod and long shutter speeds of at least 30 seconds (longer if you want the whole scene in focus and will therefore be using a high F number). Set up the scene so that the moon is behind you and casting plenty of light on your scene. Pay attention to area which are shaded from the moon as these will appear very dark in your image.
8. Fields
Landscape photography does not just include natural landscapes. Agriculture is a huge part of our landscapes these days and therefore have a right to be included in our photos. Choose the crop that you want to photograph. This could be anything from flowers to sugarcane to rice. Walk around the field and find a good location which shows the lines of the crop. Fill the majority of your frame with the crop and use the lines to draw the viewers eye through the photo. Remember to always get permission from the farmer before going onto their land.
9. Waterscapes
Everyone loves waterscapes, whether we are talking about beach scenes, waterfalls or lakes. Find a location where water is the main focus of your scene. Think about how you want that water to look. Do you want it to be soft and silky (See number 1) or sharp and crisp (a very fast shutter speed)? Consider the location and strength of the sun when shooting as it can cause lots of reflection in the water which can either make or break an image.
10. Panoramas
Have you ever had a view that you just can’t fit into the shot. Well this is where panoramas come in. Go to your location which has a panoramic scene. Set your camera up on a tripod so that it is in a vertical or portrait orientation. Line your camera up at the left edge of your scene and take you first photo. Take note of an object or mark in your scene which is about a third of the way in from the right side of that picture. Rotate the camera to the right so that object or mark is now of the left side of your image. Take another photo. Repeat this process until you have covered your whole scene. You can then merge these photos together in Lightroom.
11. Get Low
A lot of landscape photos are taken from standing height, but to change things up a bit get lower to the ground. Find a scene which has interest closer to the camera as well as in the distance. Such as lines or patterns in the ground or an object in the foreground. Crouch down or put your tripod on its lowest setting. Compose your scene so that most of the image is the interesting subject closer to the camera.
12. Urban Scenes
Landscapes don’t always have to be rural. There are plenty of urban landscapes which you can take. Take a walk around your local town and look for streets, alleyways, buildings or parks which you find interesting. Compose them in the same way you would a rural landscape. Keep an eye on where the light is coming from and where the shadows are falling.
I hope that you have found these ideas inspirational and are ready to head out and take some photos. I would love to see the photos that you take so please drop them in the comments.
If you would like to learn more about how to do any of these techniques, I offer Private Lessons where we can discuss and even try out some of these ideas.
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