Landscape basics

Put some of our top tips into practice to help the compositions in your landscape scenes work harder, Dan Mold shows you how

- Dan Mold

Landscape photography is one of the most popular genres with our PhotoPlus readers. It’s a brilliant way to get out in the great outdoors, explore new locations and practice your hobby with your favourite Canon EOS camera. So this issue we’ve started a new series aimed at helping you to improve your own landscape photos. We’re kicking off with composition and how to utilize what you have.

The great thing about landscape photography is that you can take your time to really perfect the composition of your shots, unlike wildlife or sports where you often have to compose your shot with lightning-fast reflexes. In part one of this series I’ll run through some of the key points to think about when composing your shots – from using the classic rule of thirds, to breaking away from this and trying different compositions. I’ll also look at how to make the space around your focal point work harder in your shot and how to look for natural lines present in your scene that can be used to gently guide the viewer’s eye towards your point of interest.

Pro landscape photographers will nail down their composition and then return to the location multiple times until they are presented with the perfect light, so don’t be disheartened if you get a good composition, but the light looks a little flat on your first try – go back for more! Without further ado let’s dive straight into it and master landscapes.

THE MISSION

Implement some simple tips that will help you to elevate your landscape photography

Time needed One hour

Skill level Beginner

Kit needed

• Wide-angle lens

• Tripod

THE SETUP