Be A Digital Landscape Photographer

Photo credit:  wili_hybrid














If you have no experience but you're thinking of venturing into landscape photography and make it a career, even as a part-timer, there are a few steps you need to take to learn the ropes.

Basically, you need to read books, take a course and visit relevant websites.

There are many books in the market spotlighting digital landscape photography.

There are two books that I can recommend to open your eyes and broaden your views.

To get a good start, Digital Landscape Photography Step By Step, by Michelle Perkins, is a compact book but it is packed with great advice about composition, the technique behind photographing sunsets, night work, and creating black and white images.

The next book with a straightforward title, Step-By-Step Digital Landscape Photography, by renowned photographer Tim Gartside, provides detailed info about this subject.

Gartside's book includes topics such as software manipulation of images, but also guides the novice through composition and the basic techniques of digital landscape photography.

If you are serious about landscape photography, you should take a course.

It will be to your advantage to learn what film to use, how to work with sunlight or other natural light, how to achieve a sense of balance and scale, how to shoot running water and other landscape photography issues that you might face.

You can also find many groups and message boards on the Internet that are designed for landscape photographers to meet, share photos and tips and ideas.

Once you have gone through the beginner's stage, then it's time for you to practise your landscape picture-taking and build your portfolio.,

To see how much you have achieved, it will do you some good to send some of your best photos to photo contests or magazines. These are good ways of breaking into the world of professional photography when you have no experience.

Photo credit: Vince Alongi

Here are some tips on digital landscape photography that might help you to get started on the right footing:

1. Point your digital camera lens upwards, and capture more of the sky. This can signify openness, freedom, and wide expanses - the effect you are striving to achieve in digital landscape photography.

2. The best time to shoot landscape pictures is during the first 2 hours and last 2 hours of daylight.

3. For panoramas: Meter all scenes beforehand and use the one with the least exposure. Then take all scenes with that constant setting.

4. Shooting in below zero degrees? You should keep your batteries warm by alternating sets between the camera and your inner pocket. Below zero temperatures shorten battery life.

5. Setting White Balance: For nature photography set WB to daylight.

The wonderful thing about digital photography is that you can be anywhere to capture beautiful scenes whether in the country or in the city.

You can travel the world to take great pictures. Or you can find beautiful landscapes right where you live.

All you need is to have an eye for such scenes. As one photographer puts it: "If you can open your eyes to the beauty and see it, then other people can see it in your photography."

Digital photography is amazing, it's an art form, it's emotional, and it's great fun and joy to be able to capture memorable landscape scenes. It's an exciting,fullfilling career.

Photo Credit: Steve Webel

12 Common Digital Photography Mistakes

With digital cameras at their most affordable, anybody can be a photographer these days. Problem is, it takes more than a camera to take good pictures.

It takes a certain eye, a way of seeing things, to take pictures that make people go "Wow!". Fortunately, it can be learned. And the more you practice, the better you'll get.

If you're interested in becoming a good digital photographer, I recommend the "Shoot Digital Pics Like the Pros," a free report.

Start by taking a look at these most common mistakes people make when taking digital pictures:

1. Not knowing your camera

If you never read your digital camera's manual and learn its features and how to use them, you won't be able to make the most of it.

2. Not using a tripod

Tripods allow you to take the sharpest pictures even in low light. Use one as often as possible.

3. Not giving the camera time to focus

Digital cameras need time to properly focus and get the right exposure. It can take a fraction of a second or a couple of seconds. Account for this when taking pictures.

4. Relying too much on zoom

Using the camera's zoom feature makes the picture grainier. Get as close to the subject as possible.

5. Taking pictures against the light

This makes the subject dark and the background too bright.

6. Relying too much on the flash

Natural light gives the best pictures, so use it as much as possible. Flash tends to make images look harsh.

7. Not taking enough pictures

It's almost impossible to take the perfect shot at one try, so take many pictures. With digital photography, this doesn't cost you extra. Try different angles and compositions.


8. Always putting the subject dead center

Learn the rule of thirds in composition, and you'll have more interesting pictures.

9. Forgetting to check the horizon

When taking pictures with the horizon showing, make sure it's level.

10. Selecting a low-resolution setting

Your camera will allow you to select different resolutions. Don't be tempted to choose a low resolution just to save on memory space. Instead, buy additional memory for your camera and always take your pictures in high resolution.

11. Trying to take too much

Don't try to include too many things in one picture, such as people and scenery. A picture is more effective when it's focused on a single subject.

12. Not using the camera

You'll never know when a good photo op will come up, so have your camera with you at all times.

It may seem like a lot to think about, but with practice, these things will become second nature.

For those who want to learn even more digital photography techniques, check out the free report, "Shoot Digital Pics Like the Pros." It's a short but info-filled guide that will have you shooting digital pictures like a pro in no time.

Find out more about "Shoot Digital Pics Like the Pros" here:
www.learndigitalphotographynow.com

Stock Photography

Histogram Digital Camera Photography Tips

Get Cool With Landscape Photography

Photo: cairnsie16

Photography covers a very wide field  -  from travel photography to nature, portraits, wildlife, etc. You name it, if you have a camera it's up to you to decide in which photographic direction you want to go. Whether you are an amateur or a professional photographer, you will find your photographic niche. Here, photographer and author Colin Hartness writes about Landscape Photography which is one of the most enjoyable niches in the field of photography and the rewards that go with it if you have the inclination to go down this road.

By Colin Hartness

There are many different types of photography. You can take pictures of anything and there is someone out there somewhere who would like to see the pictures that you take. So, photography is a great field to get into.

What is landscape photography?

Landscape photography is a great field of photography, especially if you love nature and if you love to travel. You can travel the world taking pictures of beautiful scenes across many countries. Of course, this is landscape photography on a big scale. Not many people are lucky enough to start off traveling the world.

But you can find beautiful landscapes right where you live. That’s the great thing about nature, it’s everywhere, and landscapes are everywhere. And that same sunset behind the mountain that you’ve seen everyday since you were a kid may look pretty amazing to someone who has never been to the mountains. Seeing the sun rise up out of the oceanfront may be absolutely astonishing to someone who has never been to the beach. It’s all relative.

What you may see every day is someone else’s treasure. If you can open your eyes to the beauty and see it, then other people can see it in your photography. It can be simple and everyday or it can be vast and amazing. It’s all about the great pictures you take. You may see a night city skyline, a series of lightening bolts or an interesting cloud; it’s how you take the picture that makes it beautiful to someone else.

photo credit: Nicholas_T

How to Learn Landscape Photography

If you are serious about landscape photography, you should take a course. You may have already had a course in photography but you will want to take one specifically for landscape photography so you can learn how to get the best pictures possible. You will want to learn what film to use and how to work with the sunlight or other natural light. You will also learn about achieving a sense of balance and scale, how to photograph running water and similar issues that a landscape photographer might face.

If you can’t find any appropriate classes in your area, you can find them on the internet. You can also find many groups and message boards designed for landscape photographers to meet, share photos and tips and ideas. You can get tips and advice for your questions if you join these groups. You can also view the work of others, some that may be much more experienced than you. You can learn from them and their photos.

How to Make Money with Landscape Photography

If you are considering landscape photography as a career (even part time), the first thing you are going to want to do is learn as much about it as possible; read books, take classes, visit websites. Then you are going to want to practice, and build a portfolio. Your portfolio should be updated often and only include your absolute best work. You may want to send some of your best photos to photo contests or magazines. These are good ways of breaking into the world of professional photography when you have no experience.

About the Author: Looking for information about Photography? Go to: http://www.asaphotography.com 'ASA Photography' is published by Colin Hartness - An excellent resource for Photography! Check out more Photography articles at: http://www.asaphotography.com/archive