Landscape Photography

• Shoot early in the morning or late in the evening. Bright, overhead sunlight will leave your landscape photos covered with harsh shadows and washed-out colors, but the soft, golden light of early morning and late evening is perfect for getting picture-postcard images.
   
  
• Use a narrow aperture for a deep depth of field. Try shooting at f11 or higher in order to keep everything in sharp focus from the foreground to the horizon.
   
  
• Use a wide angle lens in order to capture as wide a view as possible.
   
  
• For puffy white clouds against a rich blue sky, screw a circular polarizing filter onto the lens.
   
  
• Try to select a single focal point for the image. It can be a tree, a large rock, a mountain peak, a pond - anything really. And don't place the focal point in the center of the picture.
   
  
• Compose your picture using the rule of thirds. Try to make either the sky or the ground out to the horizon take up 2/3 of the image.
   
  
• Don't go for the easy shot or the common shot (these are often the same shot). Instead, climb a hill, lie on your belly - find some way to get a shot that's different from the ones everyone is taking.
   
  
• To capture breathtaking images of waterfalls and rushing water, use a tripod and set your camera to use a slow shutter speed to blur the motion of the water. If it's very bright outside you might need to use a neutral density filter to reduce the amount of light entering the lens.

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