If you have a passion for photography and a love for nature, you may want to bring those two interests together by photographing landscapes. If you practice and look for tips on honing your photography skills, you can create some truly mesmerizing images. Here are a few tips to help you start with this fascinating and rewarding hobby.
Adjust the Aperture
The aperture is a setting on your camera or in your camera app that allows you to adjust how much light gets through the lens. There’s a f/2.8 to f/22 range, and the default setting is usually towards the lowest end of that range. To get a clearer and sharper image, you should adjust this setting to the middle of the range. Usually, f/8 is the optimal setting.
Adjust the ISO Setting
Before you start taking any landscape photographs, you should also adjust the ISO setting. This adjustment will help you control the gain. An ISO that’s set too high will result in grainier photographs that can be difficult to discern. Unless this is your intention, it’s better to maintain a lower setting. Ideally, an ISO between 100 and 400 is best, but you can experiment to see what ISO level gives you the results you prefer.
Invest in a Tripod
While shaky hands can ruin a photograph, your shutter speed can compensate for this action if it’s set properly. As you set the aperture, make sure the camera has been set to aperture priority mode. This setting will force the camera to choose the best shutter speed to accompany your aperture setting. If you still feel uncertain about your ability to take clear photos, or if you just want the extra support, you can invest in a good quality tripod. A tripod will help you take clearer photos from a distance, or they can be useful in helping you zoom in on smaller objects.
Another thing to consider is the time of day at which you choose to take your pictures. The hours just before dawn or dusk are commonly called the “golden hours” because these are times when photographers can get the best images. As the sun sets or rises and its rays are less intense, the lighting is ideal for taking photographs. Choosing these times will help you get more alluring landscape photographs.