Landscape photography basics: light, composition and sharpness

Landscape photography rewards planning and patience. The same place can look dull at noon and magical at sunrise.

Light comes first

Plan around sunrise, sunset and the hours around them. Use apps like PhotoPills to see where the sun will rise and set relative to your scene. Clouds and weather make skies interesting; clear blue skies are often the least dramatic.

Composition

• Include a foreground element for depth.
• Place the horizon on a third, not the middle.
• Use leading lines like paths, rivers and shorelines.
• Simplify: decide what the photo is about and leave out the rest.

Settings for sharpness

• Tripod, ISO 100, aperture f/8 to f/11
• Focus about a third into the scene, or use focus stacking
• Two-second timer to avoid vibration
• Turn off stabilization on a tripod if your lens recommends it

Lens choice

Wide lenses like the Sony 14mm and 20mm capture big skies and foregrounds. A telephoto like the Tamron 150-500mm isolates distant details and compresses layers.

Shoot RAW and bracket

High-contrast scenes benefit from bracketing three exposures for HDR blending.