There are many techniques and skills to develop when you want to become a successful landscape photographer. Many think that taking beautiful pictures is easy, but mastering the craft takes time and effort. Here are five tips to learn landscape photography and improve your skills:

  1. Study the greats
    The majority of landscape photographers use film cameras, so if you want to learn landscape photography, you must also do it with a film camera. Find the best books about landscape photography and read them over and over again until you understand everything. Also, watch as many interviews with photographers as you can. You’ll probably copy some of their methods at first because that’s how we all learn — by copying those who came before us. If there is one photographer whose work you really love, try to emulate his work before developing your own style. Of course, keep in mind that this won’t always be possible and perhaps even unfavorable (if not unethical). But as a landscape photographer, you can take inspiration from as many photographers as possible.
  2. Study the rules of composition
    Many people think that photography is all about capturing random views and hoping to make them beautiful later in post-processing software. But it’s not real photography because those who master the craft go beyond other people’s expectations and create breathtaking images straight out of the camera. To do this, you should learn how to visualize before pressing the shutter button — knowing what will happen when taking a picture at a particular moment. Practice compositions on locations where you find yourself often (e.g., home, workplace, etc.). Imagine the scene in your head; imagine how you would like to crop it. Then try different compositions and compare results after taking the picture.
  3. Master exposure
    With digital cameras, many people are under the impression that they can afford to experiment with exposure because they can always correct everything later on a computer. But if you’ve already taken a shot, there’s no reason not to do it right from the start! Lighting conditions constantly change, so keep your camera ready by carrying it all time or investing in a good camera strap. Practice taking pictures of your home before going out to take landscapes shots — just remember to pick spots where lighting conditions are similar (i.e., cloudy day home must be repeated on a cloudy day in nature). Find out what the histogram of your camera is and try to reproduce it in all your pictures. That will ensure that you are not losing any detail or brightness information because of incorrect exposure.
  4. Explore different techniques
    Don’t just think that landscape photography means capturing nice places with mountains, greenery, blue sky, etc. There are many ways to create enchanting images without photographing anything existing in real life! You can photograph waterfalls using long exposures even during the day (or at night) or photograph patterns made by shadows at different times of the day (e.g., early morning light on wet sand). Perhaps black and white photography are more appealing to you? Or maybe you would like to make it surreal.