Landscape shots tip

I'll give my main tip,

i told my student (yeah i have an understudy now :P ) this and it keeps me going right,

DO NOT SHOOT AT EYE LEVEL!!!

that is my main rule, if you shoot it at eye level, it will look similar/exact same to lots of pictures you already see from there.

Get up high and you will have much more distance appear, or get low and have it close.

Don't believe me?? do this then, this is what got me my student i said "do this and if you feel it makes no difference, text me and cancel next week, otherwise See you at 7"

Take 3 photos of anything you really want (it will still work just some won't work very well) (same thing)
1 photo from Eye level,
1 photo from knee hight,
1 photo from higher than your head (stretch your arms or stand on a chair)
then look and you will see a complete difference.

Some examples that height differences can make(even though they aren't landsapes),



This was taken from a fully extended tripod.

This is from a lower viewpoint,



This is lower as well,


This is taken from eye level





Ok my other point,

ANCHORS!!

make sure to have a foreground anchor or else the scene won't push you in!

for example,



as can be seen in this, its shot from lower than eye level plus the rocks in the foreground give you an anchor and lead you into the photograph and towards the sunset.

whilst



This photo has no Anchor, it still is an ok photograph but a tree or a rock would have made it more impactual.

Hope that helps!

Adam

Great tip Adam

nice one !

Cool tip

Great tip and lovely photo's too

I think this advice only really works on objects, rather than landscapes. It's really difficult to tell ( even in your examples ) whether or not the landscape has been captured at eye level or not, unless it's taken from pretty low to the ground.

The car shots however, show a good example of how this technique really only works on objects, especially objects that are close to the camera, and yes..the shot is suddenly interesting because the viewer is seeing the object from an unusual perspective. However, in the first car shot...had the car not been there, I don't think the viewer would know whether this shot was taken at eye level or higher.

In your snowy mountain shot, again it's difficult to tell whether this was taken at eye level from the ground, or from the top of another hill.

The example of your anchor shot also looks like it was shot at eye level, although you say it was actually shot at lower than eye level.




Please don't be offended Rawker, and I appologise if I have pee'd you off,


I'm just using your own examples to highlight that this technique doesn't always work for landscapes.




In fact, the very last picture you use to show us a shot with no anchor ( the Skye picture ) is the one that appeals to me most.




The reason for this is because it has both symmetry, and a vanishing point.
Look at the last picture again, and imagine a straight line, right down the middle from top to bottom.( You can even close one eye, and use your finger as the line. )
Now on either side of this imaginary staight line, in the foreground, you have 2 piles of rocks, and although not of equal size, they are still pretty much equally spaced from our imaginary line or finger.
Just behind them, again symmetrically spaced on either side of the line, you have 2 sets of rocks heading off into the distance in a diagonal line,
It's this symmetry, the diagonal lines, plus the curvature of the hills rolling from the outside towards the middle of the picture, that draws the eye inwards towards the Isle of Skye in the distance.
There is almost a hint of symmetry in the sky too, with those 2 patches of blue in the top left and right corners, again leading the eye into the centre of the shot.




So it's for all these reasons that I really like this shot.




Now I can't come on here, be slightly critical, and then not give my own advice on shooting landscapes, so...

My advice for shooting landscapes would be

1) Symmetry - as I've just mentioned above
2) Try to have a vanishing point - use objects in the scene to draw the eye into the shot



3) Use the rule of thirds - Not only try to have a foreground, middleground & background, but have any key objects in the shot ( a tree, a rock, a building, a person ) in a position where they fall into the rule of thirds



4) Horizon Line - Try not to always have your horizon line slap bang in the middle of your shot. Although this is an almost instinctive reaction, try having the horizon line slightly higher or lower ( rule of thirds ) for a more interesting shot.



And always have the horizon level ( unless there is a good reason for it being angled, like an object in the foreground, not unlike Rawkers second car shot above )

5) Sunrise & Sunset - Shooting landscapes at dawn or dusk, is best done roughly 30 mins before and after the sun has risen or set, as the subtle colours in the sky really lend themselves to the shot.




6) Weather - Don't be afraid to brave the elements, as some of the most spectacular landscape shots have been taken in the wind and rain, especially when you get some real thick, dark heavy clouds. These can look amazing when converted into black and white. On a clear day, try shooting AWAY from the Sun, and this will give you nice blues in your skies







Ok...that's my tuppence worth, hope it helps

Word Mandé Daguerre! Agree with everything you said here.

And Rawker, I think you should post the same shots in all three different views you're talking about to show the difference. You really can't tell on the landscapes. But like the first car shot and the sunset shot!