Photo by Pedro Carrilho via iStock
Landscape photography is my first passion for creating compelling images. There are so many variables for what makes a good landscape image. Plus, I get to be in the great outdoors while pursuing my love for photography.
Looking for creative landscape photography ideas often leads me in unexpected directions. Follow me as I go through some landscape photography ideas I have found helpful in continuing to capture more and different images.
Table of Contents:
- Landscape Photography Ideas - Blue Hour
- Landscape Photography Ideas - Low Angle
- Landscape Photography Ideas - Telephoto Compression
- Landscape Photography Ideas - Black & White
- Landscape Photography Ideas - Make Canvas Prints
- Recommended Photography Gear
Landscape Photography Ideas - Blue Hour
Photo by mirceax via iStock
Blue Hour photography is a wonderful method for capturing awesome and unique landscape images. What is Blue Hour photography, and what makes it part of my list of unique landscape photography ideas to try?
Blue Hour photography refers to a time of day with a particular lighting characteristic. Many photographers know Golden Hour backward and forwards. Golden Hour refers to the time of day just after sunrise or coming up on sunset.
In Golden Hour, the sun is above the horizon but low in the sky. With the sun low in the sky, the light passes through more atmosphere and takes on a somewhat warm and golden hue. This makes for beautiful landscape images.
Blue Hour is when the sun is below the horizon, but the sky is still lit by sunlight. With the sun out of the picture (literally!), the wavelengths of light are more similar to nighttime conditions. The color hues are decidedly cool, leaning towards purple, violet, and blue. Hence the name Blue Hour.
What time is Blue Hour? In the morning, it is from an hour or so before to right before sunrise. In the evening, it is just after the sun dips below the horizon and lasts for about another hour. Before or after Blue Hour is entirely nighttime. The actual length of time will depend on the season, the weather, and your latitude.
Calculating proper exposure can be tricky, with some light values requiring shutter speeds of several seconds. The beautiful results are well the effort required for landscape photography ideas involving the magic of Blue Hour.
Landscape Photography Ideas - Low-Angle
Photo by wingmar via iStock
Extreme low-angle photography is one of the better landscape photography ideas for unique images. Zooming with our feet is a common method for changing the view of a landscape scene. Low-angle photography is similar in intent.
Lowering your camera almost to ground level creates a unique perspective that can work wonders with certain landscape photography scenes. It works especially well with extreme depth-of-field effects with foreground interest.
Landscape Photography Ideas - Telephoto Compression
Photo by FilippoBacci via iStock
Forced perspective tricks can be accomplished as landscape photography ideas by using lenses other than the normal range of lenses often used in photography. Ultra wide-angle lenses stretch apparent perspective, which is a common effect in landscape photography.
Going to the other extreme, using very long lenses gives a forced perspective effect known as telephoto compression. Instead of stretching the apparent perspective, this effect compresses the apparent perspective, making objects seem to be closer to each other.
In the video above, Grant Takes Pictures explains how to use telephoto compression in landscape photography.
Landscape Photography Ideas - Black & White
Photo by RobChristiaans via iStock
Black and white landscape photography ideas are part of what got me into this field in the first palace. Seeing what Ansel Adams could do with a landscape scene and black & white film and paper was magical.
You can do black and white (B&W) in film and in digital photography. Digital B&W landscape photography ideas can turn a current scene into a classic and timeless work of art. Do it in-camera with its B&W mode or use a post-processing program like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to adjust any color digital image file.
Landscape Photography Ideas - Make Canvas Prints
With these unique and special landscape photography ideas captured in your camera, you will want to display them in the best form possible. Large canvas prints from Pure Art Printer are a marvelous way to showcase the results of these landscape photography ideas.
Pure Art Printer uses durable satin canvas material, a 10-color photo printer using environmentally friendly water-based inks, and kiln-dried locally sourced wood to create canvas prints in sizes up to 30x45 inches.
Implementing these unique landscape photography ideas and then printing them as canvas prints will lead you in unexpected directions, resulting in the beautiful art of your favorite genre of photography.
Recommended Photography Gear
Learn More:
- 4 Keys to Great Landscape Photography
- How To Make Money as a Landscape Photographer
- 5 Abstract Nature Photography Tips