Digital Landscape Photography Tips
A few hours before sunrise and sunset are the best times for shooting landscapes. This is because the low angle of the Sun picks out shadows and textures. Place the horizon a third of the way down from the top or bottom of the frame is usually much better than having it in the middle of the scene - this is known as the rule of thirds and is probably one of the most important tips in digital landscape photography. Another trick is to choose an object to help to frame the scene and add a look of three-dimensionality. Frame the scene so that it contains the object that draws the viewer's eye into the picture.
Rule of two thirds
The rule of two thirds is a great guide for beginners. In simple terms you should divide your landscape vertically or horizontally into three equall sectors and make the sky or ground occupy two of those sectors.
In the landscape above the sky occupies two thirds of the picture, while in the photo below it only occupies one third.
It is important not to get hung up on the rule of two thirds, often it simply doesn't work and it is better to go for a more balanced composition.
Find a focal point
A good trick with landscapes is to find a focal point and place it off-center, in accordance with the Rule of Thirds will create a harmonious composition.
Scale can often be important to the understanding of a landscape, and can be achieved by including people, animals or other recognizable objects. Another important digital landscape photography tip is to use a tripod to ensure sharpness, this is especially important in low-light conditions often experienced before sunset and immediately after sunrise.
Watch for unsightly or unnatural elements such as overhead wires, hydrants, poles and garbage cans, especially in the foreground. If you cannot easily move them, reposition yourself to a camera angle that eliminates them from the frame. It you find it impossible to remove them you can always photo edit them out.
While as a general rule of thumb, the more expensive the camera the more likely it is to take great pictures you can still take great pictures with cheap point and shoot cameras given the correct light and good situation. That's why today, it is not unusual for keen photographers to have more than one camera.
Creating panoramas
Landscape photography is often more horizontal than it is vertical, presenting the opportunity to shoot a panorama. If you are faced with a wide vista and your camera has a panorama mode, this is the time to select it. Cropping afterwards can achieve a similar purpose.
When the wind is blowing or water is moving - waves, waterfalls, a tumbling brook - capturing that movement by using a slow shutter speed to create blur can add great interest to a landscape. When selecting a slow shutter speed, be sure you retain proper exposure by also appropriately adjusting your camera's aperture. Many cameras will do this automatically for you. To ensure as much of your scene is in focus choose a small aperture setting (a large f number) as the smaller your aperture the greater the depth of field in your shots.
Keep in mind that smaller apertures mean less light is hitting your image sensor at any point in time so you might need to use a tripod
Even when you use fast shutter speeds practice using a tripod with a cable or wireless shutter release mechanism for extra camera stillness. If you don't have a release cable use the 2 second timer usually built in to most cameras