5 landscape photography mistakes & how to avoid them
"mistake" 1
corked horizon
Most landscape photos will feature the horizon – a dead giveaway to
the picture's overall perspective. If the line dividing land and sky is not
perfectly straight across, the whole picture looks totally out of whack.
There are a few ways to make sure your horizon squares up right:
Grid Overlay
On most DSLRs (and some compact cameras), you can overlay a
grid on either your viewfinder, your live view screen, or both. Align
your horizon with one of these lines.
Electronic Horizon
Newer, higher-end cameras often have a built-in electronic level.
When turned on, it will gauge the camera's position in space and
tell you when it is evenly aligned.
Bubble Levels
Some cameras have a bubble level attached and some tripods will
have one as well. If you don't have one built into your gear, you can
purchase one that affixes onto the camera's hot shoe. Just like a
spirit level in construction, this will help you straighten your
camera out.
Post-Processing
If all else fails, every major photo editing software will feature a
“straighten” tool which allows you to draw a line tracing the
horizon. Using this, the program will automatically crop the image
on an angle to make sure that the line is perfectly horizontal.
Mistake 2
Everything in the Center
Beginning photographers have a tendency to put the horizon in the middle of the image cutting the image in half. In some situations, this is okay,
but for the most part, compositions are more interesting when the horizon is either in the top third or the bottom third and not in the middle.
Similarly, placing your main subject right in the middle is not as interesting as when it is placed off center.
The one time when you should intentionally break this rule is when a subject is perfectly symmetrical
Mistake 3
Eye Level Perspective
Most people photograph from an eye-level standing position producing photos that look as you would expect to see things if you
were there. For a more interesting composition, try climbing on top of something, or getting close to the ground to achieve a
different point of view
Mistake 4
No Focal Point
Skies and mountains are lovely, but a picture can't be all background. Your photo needs a focal point to hold the viewer's
interest. This can be anything – an interesting tree, a boat, a pier, a log – but no landscape photo is complete without a
main subject.
Mistake 5 & Last
Cluttered Backgrounds
The opposite also applies – be careful not to focus too much on the
subject and forget about how the background comes together.
Pay attention to what is behind your main subject.
If the background elements don't add to the composition remove them
if possible. Be careful that you have separation between each element,
and don't let them visually blend together (ie. two or more trees
merging into a greenish blob). This is especially problematic when the
objects are back light or silhouetted
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@mistersteem
Thanks for the tips! I knew most of these, but some I needed to be reminded of. May I suggest that you include examples of the mistake as well as the good correct version? Seeing the mistake in action helps make it easier to learn, and of course, your correct examples do to! ;)
@benmora
thanks
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