How To Create A Good Landscape Photo

Earlier this month I was on a photography retreat up in Balquhidder, Scotland. Out of all the photos I took (nearly 1,500 of them!), this photo at Loch Voil on the penultimate day seems to be all my friends’ favourite.

As a beginner photographer I am also very pleased with this photo. It is a culmination of getting up at 5am everyday and practicing everything I had been taught on the week away!

Please leave me a comment on flickr if you like this photo.

What Can You Learn From This Photo?

I’d like share some photography tips with you in how I created this photo:

• To be a good landscape photographer you need to get up early! I was in position by 5:30am for this photo, which involved climbing over barbed fences in the dark!
• You need to be in possession of some gradient filters, I’ve since learnt! These help with achieving slow shutter speeds to achieve ‘glass like’ water which nicely reflects the sky.
• You need to search for a foreground interest and marry this with a stunning background.
• Focus a third of the way into the image. I found focusing difficult whilst using the filters as there was a lot of switching between auto and manual focusing, so that the camera didn’t focus on the filter itself!
• Wait for the right lighting. And I mean WAIT! You’ll need patience and good observational skills. There were only a few seconds when the sun had lit up the trees before it had moved and lit up something else.

The Enjoyment Of Landscape Photography

To get up early and see the sunrise everyday was one of the highlights of my week away. It was also very beautiful to be in silence a lot of the time and immerse oneself fully in the surroundings. I also liked combining the large vista shots with the close-up plant photography I did. I’ll post more on this another time.

If you would like to know more about going on a photography retreat you can contact the Dhanakosa Centre.

Tags: dhanakosa, landscape photography, photography retreat, photography tips, scottish photography