^{Photo by shunjian123 via iStock}

The world around us is full of beautiful landscapes, but capturing them on camera in a way that properly conveys that beauty can be challenging. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as seeing a photo-worthy landscape, pulling out your camera, and snapping a picture. So then, what steps do you need to follow? That’s what you’ll find out below! 

In this landscape photography guide, we’ll share six landscape photography tips that will transform your photos from average to outstanding overnight. We’ll discuss topics such as knowing the best places to shoot beforehand, taking advantage of the best times of day for beautiful landscapes, printing high-quality images, and more.

Regardless of your experience as a landscape photographer, there are always ways to improve. So, whether you’re a professional photographer who shoots with a digital camera or a beginner photographer who takes pictures with your phone, join us as we explore the best photography techniques for capturing beautiful landscapes!

Check out the video above by Michael Shainblum to discover the one tip that helped him take better landscape photos and be more creative. 

Table of Contents

• Choose the Right Location for Beautiful Landscapes
• Understand Composition Principles for Beautiful Landscapes
• Maximize Natural Light for Landscape Photography
• Use Filters and Accessories for Beautiful Landscapes
• Experiment with Perspectives and Angles
• Complete the Process of Capturing Beautiful Landscapes By Printing Your Best Images
• Recommended Photography Gear

Choose the Right Location for Beautiful Landscapes

^{Photo by Sam De Nike via iStock} 

It used to be way harder to plan a landscape photo shoot, but thanks to today's modern resources, you can now do almost everything from the comfort of your home. You can research beautiful landscapes on blogs, survey them on Google Earth, and view other photographer's portfolios for inspiration. You can also check the weather online to choose the best day to go.

With that said, we also recommend getting off the beaten path and exploring lesser-known spots every once in a while. The landscape photography industry is full of images from the same locations, and you never know when you might stumble upon a hidden, beautiful landscape. 

Understand Composition Principles for Beautiful Landscapes

^{Photo by Antonio Correa d Almeida via iStock}

Composition is one of the core principles of photography, and while it’s important across all types of photography, it’s even more so in landscape photography. That’s because (in most cases) your subject matter is the landscape itself, and there are no people or objects to grab the viewer's attention.

Therefore, studying the basic rules of composition for photography and knowing how to use them to your advantage to capture beautiful landscapes is essential. The three main principles you want to master are the rule of thirds, creating depth with leading lines, and balancing elements within the frame for visual harmony. 

Maximize Natural Light for Landscape Photography

^{Photo by Igor Klyakhin  via iStock} 

Whenever taking pictures outdoors, you are at the mercy of weather and sun conditions. And while they constantly change, a little knowledge and planning beforehand can eliminate much of that unpredictability. For example, it’s best to shoot beautiful landscapes during either the “golden hour” or “blue hour” to maximize natural light.

Checking the sunrise and sunset times on your favorite weather app is the easiest way to calculate these times. Alternatively, two fantastic apps for tracking the sun and moon positions are PhotoPills and Sun Surveyor. Another lighting tip is to use shadows and highlights to add drama and depth to your landscape images.  

Learn More:

• Try This Landscape Photography Technique for Much-Improved Results
• Four Beautiful Ways to Display Your Photography Prints

Use Filters and Accessories for Beautiful Landscapes

^{Photo by Sam De Nike via iStock} 

Lens filters are your best friend if you can’t shoot during golden hour or blue hour (or sometimes even if you can). There are two popular types of filters: polarizing filters and ND (Neutral Density) filters. Polarizing filters reduce glare and enhance the definition of skies. Have you ever worn polarized sunglasses? It’s the same!  

On the other hand, ND filters adjust the amount of light that hits the camera sensor and are ideal for shooting in the middle of the day when the sun is most intense, for long exposures, and for creating motion blur. Other must-own landscape photography gear includes tripods, remote shutter releases, and a camera backpack. 

Experiment with Perspectives and Angles

^{Photo by borchee via iStock} 

Perspective and angle also play an important role in reproducing beautiful landscapes in photos. The best ways to experiment with perspective are adding foreground interest into a scene and using different-length lenses. Foreground elements add depth and context, while lenses (wide-angle vs telephoto) transmit different perspectives and add diversity to your compositions.  

At the same time, a landscape can look completely different depending on the angle it’s photographed from. Three common angles for landscape photography are eye-level, low-angle, and birds-eye-view. Tripods help with low-angle photography, and drones are amazing tools for aerial photography.

Complete the Process of Capturing Beautiful Landscapes By Printing Your Best Images

Finally, beautiful landscapes deserve to be displayed proudly on physical prints instead of hidden away on digital files somewhere in “the cloud.” We love printing our best landscape photos on metal. Metal prints add vibrancy and vividness to landscapes, making them even more stunning. On top of that, metal prints are super durable and can last a lifetime. 

If you want to transform your images into gorgeous metal prints, we recommend visiting Lumaprints. They are an innovative and dependable online printing company that delivers high-quality prints, fast nationwide shipping, a world-class team of customer service representatives, tons of customization options, and affordable prices. 

Besides metal prints, they also have canvas prints, framed canvas prints, fine art paper prints, framed fine art paper prints, and peel-and-stick prints. Furthermore, if you run a photography business, they offer services like drop shipping, online integration, and bulk orders. 

Recommended Photography Gear

Disclaimer: Just so you know, some of the cool stuff we mention comes with affiliate links, meaning we earn a commission if you buy (no extra charge to you!). Plus, we occasionally feature sponsored content, but rest assured, we only shout out products we genuinely stand behind.

Learn More:

• Four Beautiful Ways to Display Your Photography Prints
• How to Sell More Photos in 2024 (the Easy Way)