Photography tips: landscapes and flowers
Spring and summer is the perfect time of year to dust off your camera and cultivate a passion for photography.
Beautiful landscapes, long daylight hours and vibrant flowers in bloom mean inspiration is everywhere; today we’re sharing our top photography tips to help you capture beautiful landscapes and in-focus flowers.
Choose sunrise and sunset
Even professional photographers take advantage of the beautiful light close to sunrise and sunset. The softer light not only brings out some beautiful colours, but it helps naturally create a more balanced exposure where you can see vivid details without harsh light and long shadows. The hours before dawn and dusk are often called ‘magic hours’ – get out there and see what you can capture.
Simplicity is key
Image composition is essential to good landscape photography. When it comes to landscapes, less is often more; resist the urge to include everything you see and instead focus on one or two elements. Remove anything that doesn’t add to the shot – you don’t need to include everything you see before you to create a sense of the beauty of the landscape.
Shoot RAW
To maximise the quality of your images and make editing easier later on, always shoot in RAW format. Be aware though – RAW images tend to be much larger than traditional JPEG files, which means fewer photos will take up more space on your camera memory card. Be sure to choose a large memory card or pack several with you to use throughout the day while travelling.
Get off of auto
While your camera’s standard auto focus setting is great for taking everyday shots, you can have much more control by playing around with the exposure settings and white balance on your camera manually. When it comes to landscapes, slow exposures and small apertures can help create a better depth of field, while long exposure shots can help create milky looking images of water and sea.
Use a tripod
Shaking and movement is the enemy of a good landscape shot. Bring a tripod with you to hold the camera steady and create the perfect photograph. It’s also worth investing in a remote release, so you can step back and take the photograph without the movement as a result of pressing down on the shutter.
Go macro for flowers
Using a macro lens or your camera’s macro mode will help you capture flowers and plants in vivid detail from up close. This setting lets you focus so closely that you can have a flower fill the entire frame and look life-size.
Add some dew
If you love the look of dew-covered flowers in your garden but never seem to capture them at the right moment, don’t be afraid to fake it. A few drops of water can really help bring your images to life and can easily be achieved by a light misting from a spray bottle.
Do you have any tips for shooting landscapes and flowers? Let us know in the comments below!
Rachel - Silversurfers Assistant Editor
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