The Essentials of a Good
Landscape Photo
Landscape photography has the ability to take your
viewers into another place without actually being
there. Anybody can pick up a camera and take a photo
of an interesting place, but it takes a careful and
mindful photographer to take a landscape photo that
is truly compelling. Most of the really impressive
landscape photos that you will see have a few common
elements. They have some type of foreground element,
some type of framing element, and they all comply
with the rule of thirds in some way.
 Foreground
Elements
In order to show the depth of a landscape it is very
important to include some type of foreground
element. Without something in the foreground, the
viewer has no way to distinguish distances or sizes;
everything looks more flat and closer to the camera.
A foreground element adds a substantial amount of
improvement to what would be a drab amateur photo.
But when using foreground elements in landscape
photos make sure you use a very narrow aperture
(high f/stop) so the whole scene will be in focus.
Just about anything can be used as a foreground
element but of course some things work better than
others. For example, when I am taking landscape
photos in the Napa Valley I always include some
grape vines close to the camera leading off into the
distance. That way, the viewer’s eye is drawn into
the photo more effectively because the grape vines
lead the viewer’s eyes deeper into the photo. The
vines also perform the function of providing the
viewer with some idea of the size of the Napa Valley
because the vines in my photos go from being large
when they are close to the camera to being tiny as
they lead off into the distance.
Some photographers like to use foreground objects
that are really more like subjects. One example of
this would be a boat sitting on a long beach or a
car staring down a long road. Other photographers
like to use simpler foreground elements such as long
grass with large fields in the background or a rusty
railing with a city standing in the distance.
Sometimes when foreground elements and background
elements don’t seem to fit together the result can
be even more compelling. A good example of this
would be photos taken from Central Park in New York
City with grass and trees in the foreground and
massive corporate buildings in the background.
 Framing
Elements
Framing is the tactic of using natural surroundings
to add more meaning to your subject. It could be
anything such as bushes, trees, a window, or even a
doorway. A good example of this would be tree
branches that occupy the top part of the frame
pointing out at your landscape. I once saw a great
photo of the Eiffel Tower in Paris; the photo was
from a distance and it had tree branches covered in
pink flowers in the foreground all pointing towards
the Eiffel Tower that was off in the distance.
Framing elements commonly either add more meaning to
the subject by surrounding the subject or by simply
pointing in the direction of the main subject.
In the process of doing this you need to be careful
that you don't only focus on what's framing your
subject. Make sure you focus on the main subject,
and also it is a good idea to use a narrow aperture
(high f/stop) to achieve a high depth-of-field. It
also wouldn't hurt if the part of the scene framing
the subject was darker so make sure you take your
light reading on the main subject such as in a
shadow filled archway leading into a large
courtyard.
 Rule
of Thirds
The rule of thirds might seem overused and
artistically unnecessary, but the photographers who
hold true to the rule tend to create the nicest
landscape photos. Since landscape photos are so
broad they need some type of structure that the rule
of thirds provides. The rule of thirds means that
the frame can be divided into three horizontal
sections and three vertical sections and therefore,
where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect
makes an ideal location for the more important parts
of your picture. For landscape photographers, the
divisions can also be very important in setting up a
picture; they can for example, help you determine
that only 1/3 of the photo should be foreground or
horizon.
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