Eight Composition Techniques of Landscape Photography

Composition is regarded as an important part of creation in photography, and a master with outstanding artistic attainments is bound to be a master who flexibly uses various photographic composition techniques. Here are eight composition techniques in landscape photography that I have compiled for you for your reference!

Among the eight composition techniques of landscape photography, framing is the most widely used.

How to take a plane photo full of three-dimensional depth? In fact, you only need to take some real or invisible frames as the foreground in the picture to frame the theme you want to express, which will make the picture have a strong perspective effect. For example, you can frame a person with a door and live in a building with a window frame. Of course, you can't use this trick in all situations. If the picture frame itself has no certain aesthetic feeling or is irrelevant to the theme, don't use it. However, when some pictures are closely related to the theme, can enrich your picture content, or help to express the atmosphere of a scene, you can boldly use them.

Sometimes, the frame is not only a simple visual element in composition, but also carries more functions and meanings. The foreground we use most often is frame objects, such as doorframes, window frames, branches, arches, and the edges of buildings, which can form a sense of composition. There are also many commonly used foreground elements, which are very useful in expressing the relationship between depth of field and perspective, such as large-area colors and moving flowers and plants, which can set off the atmosphere by blurring.

This photo was taken at the site of Ali Guge Kingdom in Tibet. The main building of this site is in the shape of a pyramid on a soil forest. If you show it alone in the picture, it is not bad under the light blue sky in Tibet, but it always feels less interesting. Using a hole in the earth wall as a frame, the audience's eyes can easily focus on the theme behind the frame. This frame composition is very suitable for showing such historical buildings.

Simplicity —— Minimalism with blank space

If painting is addition, then photography is subtraction, especially in landscape photography, only by removing messy scenery and redundant elements can we get natural scenery. Blank space was originally the most commonly used creative language in China ink painting, and it still works when transplanted into photography. A large area of blank space, because of the proportion of simple scenery, appears ethereal and lonely, just like the picture of a tree on this snowy field. Blank can better reflect the beauty of oriental artistic conception in silence than in sound, and is often used in photo photography. Everyone may wish to try this method when creating landscape photography, which will make your photography full of artistic conception and express different emotions. When composing a composition, pay attention to choosing specific and formal scenes to set off the blank space. Minimalism is not empty, but it can also be rich.

Most symmetric-mirror symmetry

The mirror effect is very charming, as if it is magical, and it is also a composition effect that photographers often use when shooting landscapes. Perfect and symmetrical mirror effect is very aesthetic in form. There are many scenes in nature that have specular reflection effect, and the calm water surface is the most common one. I even found the perfect mirror effect on the car body. Symmetry is necessary when taking a mirror photo. The perfect symmetry effect of dividing the picture into two makes the ordinary scenery like a fairyland. When taking mirror photos, we should pay attention to balance the light ratio between the actual scene and the water reflection scene. Generally, the brightness of the actual scene in the upper part of the picture will be brighter than that of the reflected scene. Generally, the gray gradient mirror can be used to balance the light ratio and achieve perfect symmetry effect.

Most fuzzy-fuzzy occlusion

In fact, blurred foreground should be a manifestation of picture composition. By using a large aperture or telephoto lens, the foreground can be blurred, and color blocks or spots can be formed, so that the original ordinary scene can become an element of composition and contrast atmosphere in the picture. In the picture below, the photographer blurred the colorful flags in the foreground into irregular blocks, focused on the distant snow-capped mountains, and combined two important elements of Tibetan areas into a picture, which also improved the two levels of the picture, so it is said to be two levels, one is the depth of field, and the other is the taste and aesthetics of the picture.

Farthest visual angle

A photo is flat, but the scenery can have depth. How to express the depth of the scene? This requires the perspective principle. There are many perspective lines in natural scenery that guide people's eyes to the theme of the picture, such as this picture of a snowy mountain river. The winding curve of the river leads the viewer's eyes to the distant snow-capped mountains, which well reflects the depth of the scenery and makes the whole picture look very deep. The combination of wide-angle lens and larger aperture is generally used to shoot such a picture, so as to obtain greater depth of field.

The most fullness-the composition of the trichotomy

Triangular composition may be the most commonly used composition method in landscape photography. Many good landscape photography works are composed of foreground, middle scene and background, or foreground. This composition method can well represent the level of the scene and fill the picture full. This photo was taken in Tianshan Ranch, Xinjiang. The photographer cut out a large piece of nature with a telephoto lens and divided the whole picture into three parts. The wild flowers in the grassland in the foreground are bright yellow, which is different from the scene and background in the middle. Cattle and sheep on the green grassland in the middle scene become the eyes of this painting, and the grassland in the foreground is mottled with light and shadow, which has a certain perspective effect. This way of composition is clear and full. It is always an important step to make full use of the lines and colors existing in nature to find points, lines and faces.

The most interesting-diagonal composition

In landscape photography, you must exercise yourself and try to look at the world with abstract geometric eyes. You will find that nature itself is a bit, line and surface. Imagine if you look at a photo, all the lines in the photo are horizontal and straight. Although it can bring you a sense of calm and balance, it will also make the picture boring and tired. So look for curves and diagonal lines to destroy the picture and make it interesting. Diagonal composition is a very common way, allowing the edges of lines or scenes to be separated by diagonal lines. The following photo was taken on a section of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway. In the alpine valley, the brown mountain is cut off by a black asphalt road, and the winding road extends from the lower left corner of the picture to the upper right corner of the picture, that is, the plane divides the picture, forming a good visual guide line, which makes the whole picture have a sense of perspective. Pay attention to the motorcades on the highway. These cars look small against the big mountains. They play a role in expressing the proportion of scenery in the picture, and also add a little vitality to the desolate scenery.

Essential skills and quality problems of novice landscape photographers

Using the best technology possible is a wise choice to get high-quality pictures. If your goal is to take high-quality photos, then don't be technically vague. Now, there is a serious problem, because people think that the later software can change the shortcomings of the previous shooting, so people's mastery of technology is universal. Although software has many wonderful functions, they can't change everything. No matter what you do, the out-of-focus picture is still out of focus. Moreover, the pictures with serious overexposure will not change anything with the later software.

Relying on a lot of software for post-processing is not a good start for taking pictures. My goal, and I hope your goal, is to take the best photos on the spot. You should try to make every photo taken at the scene rarely need post-editing. There is a saying that has been said many times before, but now I can't help repeating it: garbage goes in, garbage comes out.

Only strict technical requirements can make beautiful images. Everyone can learn how to take excellent photos, but they need to master certain skills. Only by practicing constantly can you succeed.

Use excellent equipment

It is important to buy a good camera. Of course, you don't need to buy the latest top match. I have a lot of equipment, because I want to find a better way to get high-quality pictures through these equipment. I'm not a fan of equipment. Like you, I am also trying to learn new photographic equipment. A machine suitable for nature photography is really easy to use, so it is important that your camera has the functions you need. I will tell you exactly what equipment I use and why, but I will also give you other suggestions to save money or make it easy to carry.

Develop good shooting habits

No matter what kind of camera you use, it will always be updated quickly. This is especially true today with the rapid development of digital technology. You will always be tempted by the latest and best body and lens. But the camera itself will not take excellent photos, so don't rely too much on these devices. The key to becoming a truly excellent nature photographer is to develop good shooting habits and adhere to the quality of photos. Try to use a tripod as much as possible, find a suitable subject, make good use of light, focus carefully, have a thoughtful composition and a creative angle, all of which are essential elements for shooting an excellent picture. When you embark on a photographic journey, the machinery and equipment are updated so quickly, but the shooting technique will not be improved so quickly, so you don't have to invest too much energy in updating the equipment. Learning to pay attention to the artistic knowledge of nature photography is far more important than cameras and lenses.

Become a better naturalist

The more you know about nature, the better photos you take. To be a good naturalist, you don't need a degree in biology. Many people who love flowers and birds are self-taught. Many professional guides also provide very detailed information. Many nature research centers, local universities and parks will classify natural history courses, which can broaden your knowledge of nature. The more you know about nature, the more you will enjoy outdoor time and find more things to shoot. The best nature photographers try to learn more about nature like naturalists while learning digital photography.

Professional and amateur nature photographers

How much better will a professional nature photographer be than an amateur nature photographer? I only know a few professional nature photographers, some are better than amateur photographers, and some are not as good as amateur photographers. Professional photographers only look at whether you make a living by photography, while amateurs only have other sources of income. Professional or amateur, in fact, has nothing to do with knowledge level or skills, but only shows the source of income. Allen Charnley is one of the best photographers I know, and he can undoubtedly rank among the top ten nature photographers in my mind. You shouldn't have heard of him, because his paintings are never sold. He has been my dentist for 30 years. The photos he took are too good to be true, but he doesn't need to use these natural photos to make money. He only takes pictures because he likes them. Many amateur photographers like Allen are as good as professional photographers. Everyone can be an excellent nature photographer as long as they are willing to spend time and energy looking for wonderful things and then shoot them.

The best place for nature photography

The most wonderful thing about nature photography is that you can finish your shooting anywhere, and you don't need to travel around the world. Even if you are in a big city, there are still natural areas nearby. Maybe you should start shooting from your own home. If you have a lawn at home, maybe you can plant it as a garden. In this way, you will have many opportunities to photograph flowers and insects attracted by flowers. Feeders and baths attract many different kinds of colorful birds. Any grassland full of wild flowers is also a place to shoot, especially in the cold and dew morning. The forests, lakes, swamps and beaches around you provide many opportunities for nature photography. In addition, there are many public land that can also be used.

Step on this land carefully.

It is very important to respect your theme and its environment. Minimize your influence on nature. Although it is difficult to never influence, you can minimize your influence. Don't destroy the object to be photographed. Don't pick wild flowers. Try to stay in the path or open space, and don't trample on fragile flowers. Don't disturb wild animals.

For example, I like shooting wild orchids. I can't destroy the flowering orchids. How to identify whether they are in flowering period is very important, so that orchids will not be hurt. Every year, I shoot several nesting birds near my home. I always choose the angle that is the easiest to shoot. Birds are used to the angle I shoot them. But some easily frightened birds will even give up their nests when they are disturbed, so it is too risky to photograph them.