Landscape photos are a dime a dozen these days.
One look at places like Flickr and Instagram, and you'll see a lot of really bad landscape photos.
But if you look hard enough, you'll also see some truly epic landscapes that take your breath away.
And believe it or not, getting from "okay" landscapes to "really awesome" landscapes isn't that long of a journey.
It of course requires time, patience, practice, and an understanding of photography principles related to composition, lighting, and so forth.
But there are a few other ways you can take your landscape photos to the next level, too.
Let's explore some of the easiest, yet most impactful landscape photography tips.
Get Some Perspective
What's the first thing you do when you come upon a beautiful landscape?
If you're like most people, you stand there, bring your camera to your eye, and take a photo of the scene as you see it from your perspective.
But here's a tip - that's boring!
Sure, we all have slightly different eye levels, but that doesn't change the fact that if we're all just standing there taking photos that they will more or less look the same.
Conversely, if you create a landscape photo from a different perspective, you open up all sorts of new worlds to delight people's eyes.
The image above is a perfect example of how changing the point of view results in an image that is far more engaging and unique than if it was taken from the typical point of view.
Now, this doesn't mean that you have to buy a drone or charter a helicopter if you want to find unique perspectives...
But if you put a little work into it and find ways to take photos from higher up or lower than normal, your landscapes will be the better for it.
Learn More:
Use Different Lenses
My guess is that a solid majority of landscape photos are taken with a wide-angle lens.
That makes sense because landscapes are big subjects, and a wide-angle lens helps you capture more of the scene.
But just like finding a different perspective on a landscape will help you create something more compelling, so too will using different lenses to capture what you see.
For example, where a wide-angle lens is big on the whole scene and short on the details, taking landscape photos with a telephoto lens allows you to cut out all the extraneous stuff and focus on creating a more intimate shot.
Heck, even using a normal or standard focal length like a 50mm lens on a full frame camera or a 35mm lens on a crop sensor camera allows you to create a completely different type of landscape photo than is possible with a wide-angle.
In fact, normal lenses offer a view that's very close to what we see with our own eyes (thus the name normal...), so the images they help you create look and feel right.
That is, there isn't the distortion you find with wide-angle lenses, nor is there the compression of a telephoto lens.
Again, this is about taking the time to experiment and try new things, because the more you do that, the more adept you'll be at capturing landscapes that make viewers say "WOW!"
Learn More:
- 6 Tips for Landscape Photography With a Telephoto Lens
- Intimate Landscape Photography: What is It Exactly?
How You Present Your Images Matters
You know how people say that wearing nice clothes can make you feel more confident?
I think there's something to that idea as it pertains to photography as well.
I'm all for sharing photos online, but there's just something about displaying an awesome landscape in a big, beautiful print that makes the image that much better to view.
That's especially true if you find the right kind of substrate for the image.
I've talked before about how much I love metal prints, but I've got a fondness for acrylic prints as well, particularly those from Artbeat Studios.
The nice thing about HD Acrylic Prints from Artbeat Studios is that it transforms your image into a work of art.
On the one hand, the high-resolution print on archival metallic photo paper gives you a true HD viewing experience - the details are clear, crisp, and clean.
On the other hand, by face-mounting the print onto a 1/4-inch sheet of acrylic, Artbeat Studios helps retain all the resolution in the image. It also results in a print that has much more vibrancy for a photo that grabs your attention and won't let go.
The diamond-polished edges of these HD Acrylic Prints are something else, too. It gives your print a three-dimensional look with a nice visual weight that makes it feel more substantial as it hangs on the wall. See what I mean in the video below:
Artbeat Studios offers all sorts of sizes for your prints as well. That means you can get everything from an 8x10 for a small space or a massive 48x96 print.
And not only do these acrylic prints look incredible, but they're built to your taste.
With two different mounting styles for easy hanging and four different wall mounts, you can customize how your print looks for maximum impact.
Is every landscape photo you take going to be worthy of a print? No.
But your best work certainly deserves the best presentation, and for my money, an HD Acrylic Print from Artbeat Studios certainly fits the bill!
Learn More:
- Get the Specs and Pricing on HD Acrylic Prints from Artbeat Studios
- A Step-By-Step Process For Making Your Photography Stand Out