How to Make a Landscape Photography Print Pop
- Lee Filters Landscape Landscape Pro Filter Kit
- NiSi 100x100mm Neutral Density Long Exposure Filter Kit
- ProMediaGear Pro-Stix 4-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod
- Acratech GP-SS Ballhead
- DJI Mavic Air 2S Fly More Combo
- Water-Resistant Anti-Shock Memory Card Wallet
- Portable Charger Power Bank
- Peak Design Everyday Backpack V2
photo by Ron and Patty Thomas via iStock
Are you looking at your landscape photography prints right now and wondering how to make them pop?
Try out a few of these landscape photography tips to make your landscape photography prints stand out.
Steady the Shot
photo by amriphoto via iStock
A common quality of many landscape photography prints that make people sit up and take notice is how sharp they are. Not all images need to be tack sharp, soft focus lenses were invented for a reason after all, but an image that is intended to portray reality as opposed to a romanticized view should be sharp.
Sharp involves focus and camera steadiness. The focus can be deep depth of field or artistically selective focus, which can be adjusted and affected by lens focal length, camera format size, focusing distance, and lens aperture or f-stop. So, there is a lot of variability to consider.
Camera movement in landscape photography can negatively affect the sharpness of an image, especially if we want to enlarge it to display as a landscape photography print. So we find ways to steady the camera to avoid any movement.
We can use several methods or accessories to steady a shot for higher sharpness. Our camera may have image stabilization. Learning a good body stance and hand holding technique is also a valuable skill. Tripods, monopods, camera mounts, and tripod alternatives are accessories that we can use to steady our shots even more.
Use Filters - C-POL and GND
photo by Ron and Patty Thomas via iStock
For landscape photography in the digital age, we don’t use a whole lot of filters like we may have done when most landscape photography was done on film. Two filters stay on the must-have accessories for digital camera landscape photography, the circular polarizer (C-POL) and the graduated neutral density (GND) filters.
GND filters allow a landscape photographer to balance out dynamic range issues in a scene and show a full range of highlights to shadows which can make our landscape photography prints truly stand out.
A circular polarizer has multiple benefits for landscape photographers. Controlling polarized light lets you have white clouds pop out from a dark blue sky, see through water and glass by removing reflections and glare, and deepen colors in a scene full of live foliage.
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Embrace Contrast
photo by Rhys_Palazzolo via iStock
A C-POL filter is a great tool for adjusting contrast in landscape photography. Other methods include exposure techniques and composition tools that emphasize contrast of light and dark colors.
Sometimes, a lower contrast can work to make a landscape photography print stand out, such as a high key image or a monochromatic scene.
Make a Metal Print Enlargement
After using our landscape photography skills to craft a beautiful image, another step we can use to make our landscape photography prints pop is to make these enlargements from a specialty process, such as metal prints.
Metal prints are a wonderful way to show off our fine art, since the image is the entirety of the enlargement. If a frame is used at all, a very small profile frame is all that's needed. Metal Mouth Prints is an online printing company that specializes in ultra-high-quality metal enlargements in color and black and white.
Their éZi mount system makes it a simple affair to mix and match enlargements and vary their placement around your home or office. It’s like having an art gallery in your own home. Their metal landscape photography prints prices are very reasonable for how outstanding they make your fine art look.
Simplify!
photo by Ron and Patty Thomas via iStock
Sometimes the best image, the landscape photography print that really pops and stands out, is the image that has the simplest composition. A powerful image of a single aspect of a beautiful scene can really capture attention.
Steady your shot for ultimate sharpness, use a C-POL filter to enhance contrast, and finally make your landscape photography print as a metal enlargement, and your landscape photograph prints will literally POP!
Here are a few other recommendations for great photography gear to consider if you want to improve your landscape imagery in 2022:
