How can a novice photographer take beautiful scenery photos?

Landscape photography has long been a hot topic for beginners. In addition to practicing and trying different camera settings, we can also help ourselves to take beautiful photos easily through some shooting experience and skills. Please read this article before you plan to start your next photography trip!

1, pay attention to the timing

If you want to take beautiful scenery photos, waiting is very important, because photos taken in the same place at different times of the day will look very different. This may seem old-fashioned? But this is the key to successful landscape photography. It is said that light is the soul of photos. If you try to shoot with perfect light, your photos will shine. For example, the light in the morning and afternoon will have a great influence on the appearance of the same subject with the change of illumination surface, and so will the night photos taken after dark or illusion, which is why it is important to choose the appropriate shooting time.

This photo was taken around 10 in the morning, and the soft morning light only illuminates the mountain peak in front, which is in contrast with the mountain peak without light in the back.

At around 1 in the afternoon, the same scene was captured again. The sun shines directly on the top of the head, and the hills are directly exposed, casting a heavy shadow, lacking depth and layering.

Generally speaking, it is better to take pictures in the early morning or evening with soft light than at noon. If it's your first time to shoot a destination and you don't want to stay in the same place for too long, you should do some research and plan the round trip route before you go, so as to re-observe the same place on the way, which will not only reduce the chance of getting lost, but also allow you to explore and take photos of the same place from different angles at different times of the day.

2. Pay attention to TINT

Tone also plays an important role in landscape photography. In order to create photos that look harmonious, pleasant and balanced, we can use "complementary colors" or "similar colors" on the color wheel. "Complementary colors" are colors that are opposite to each other on the color wheel, such as yellow and blue. Because most city lights are yellow and orange, we can use the white balance setting and add blue tones when taking night photos to get more prominent themes and pleasant photo effects.

On bad days, colors look dim and pale, so we can use "similar colors" (that is, colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel) to get a soft and delicate photo effect.

Step 3 shoot with a telephoto lens

Usually, when taking landscape photos, wide-angle lens is the first choice, because its exaggerated perspective can create a better sense of space and show the magnificence of the landscape. However, when shooting close-ups, telephoto lenses can also be used to show interesting patterns hidden in the landscape. In addition, the powerful perspective compression effect of telephoto end (above 200mm) can produce special effects that the human eye can't perceive. This photo was taken at the telephoto end of the telephoto lens. The hikers on the top of the mountain in the photo are close to sunset.

4. How to take good photos in bad weather?

There is no doubt that the photos taken on a sunny day look clear, bright and vivid. However, hazy, cloudy and rainy days are not uncommon in Hong Kong. Instead of stopping shooting, why not take advantage of the bad weather to enjoy the unique scenery? Cloudy scenery can be very atmospheric and worth taking pictures.

When shooting in smoke, the exposure level will be slightly reduced to capture only the outline and depth of the building.

Reduce the exposure level when shooting on cloudy days to capture the light beam that penetrates the clouds.