5 Ways to SIMPLIFY and IMPROVE your Landscape Photography

Improve your landscape photography by simplifying your images. In this video I give some tips to help your composition skills and we think about what is important in an image.

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When working with clients on a workshop, the single biggest thing people are looking to improve is their composition skills. I discussed recently that this can often be because there is such a focus on worrying about the camera settings. This can be solved through hard work and practice, but once the camera has been mastered, what should we do next. Finding a good composition will often result with a photographer being told they have ‘the eye’. This is fine, but it also implies it is a divine talent that cannot be improved on. I do not believe that is the case. Certainly some are more creative than others but there are still skills and knowledge that can be learned to improve photography composition.

Although it may play a part, simplifying an image is not just about removing items or objects from the picture. What we are really talking about is simplifying the story. For this we must first understand what the story actually is. What are you trying to convey to the viewer? What emotions are you trying to evoke? What is the story? Without this, an image will be a purely technical exercise and will be left lacking. The story can only come from you so there is no prescriptive method. However, standing in front of scene, think about how you are feeling, what does the landscape say to you? Is it a beautiful scene? If the answer is yes, then why? Being in touch with your own feelings is vital in making the work personal to you and telling the story from your own point of view.

Once achieved we can now start to explore the composition of the scene in front of us. Rules of composition work. They are often a good place to begin once a subject has been established. Identifying a subject is not always easy but look for the good light and things should become easier. Subjects can include anything from a rock in your foreground, a tree, a distant mountain or cliff, a sky full of colour or even the whole scene itself. An image can also include more than one subject if the story flows from one to another. Leading lines are also good for the narrative. They tell the viewer where to begin and guide them through the scene and the story. The rule of thirds is worth considering until you find something better and the rule is broken.

To simplify the image we simply focus down onto the story and use composition and technique to achieve it.

In this landscape photography tutorial we look at the follwing five factors and look at how we can use them to improve.

Long Exposure

Negative Space

Isolate the Subject

Simplifying the Image VS Simplifying the story.

Cropping

My video photography blogs are designed to entertain and document how I go about capturing my work. If it provides landscape photography tips and inspiration along the way then please share it with your friends so more people can benefit from the content. If you enjoyed this photography vlog I would really appreciate it if you subscribed to the channel so you can come along for the journey.

[DWEccles]

More helpful tips. Enjoyed this as usual Adam. Well done!

[itachialltime]

04:40 What an amazing photo, true work of art

[gebsrus]

Excellent advice Adam. Very inspirational and very much appreciated. Love the images too... Thank you...

[AndrewDawes]

Great tips Adam. I particularly liked the examples of isolating. That image variation with and without light was a great showcase.

[emadali]

Great thoughts that make things easy and simple ...it's all about giving imotions and story telling out of shooting .
Thanks so much for your time and efforts.

[johnwaters]

The best ideas and tutorials I've ever found on the internet

[Snowcatnz]

Great video Adam. Some awesome tips. I'll have to revisit some of my images and see if I can improve them using your principles of simplification!!

[ramonluna]

Great stuff, really enjoyed this episode, as a novice some times I don’t see that great image that is on the simplicity. Thanks for sharing and teaching with examples!!!

[RobOutenPhotography]

Great tips Adam as always. Thanks for sharing your wisdom!

[johngraham]

Great vlog, and some great tips there.
Many thanks
John

[timscanlanphotography]

Hi Adam. Loads of good info here. Composition is a huge subject (and very subjective !) but you've covered a great deal here and it's really helpful. Like a lot of the folks who've left comments here, I revisit my images fairly regularly and often change something, so it's good to get a clearer understanding of how composition can possibly transform a good shot into a keeper. Really enjoyed the video Adam. Many thanks for sharing.

[acsolares]

I love how you teach composition....more like this would be great. Awesome work!

[ijrobert]

Very useful, very practical.. Thanks Adam!

[billonthehill]

Hi Adam... Before I watch this video I feel compelled to comment on your final sentence of the 3rd paragraph before I lose track of my thought! ( Breaking the Rule of Thirds rule...) That is a profound statement for a whole lot of different reasons when framing a subject...Okay, I got that out of my system, now I'll watch the video presentation!
Great bunch of tips here Adam, really enjoyed it...
Those long exp. images were especially lovely... Very well done...
Thank you,
Bill Farr, Vermont, USA... :-)

[clansman]

Wise words and sound advice, good to hear the back story on a few images I hadn’t seen before.

[wiffer]

Another great, informative video. I just need to get out there and practice.

[MrKrupp]

Superb video mate, thanks very much, always great advice!!

[Eti]

Great video Adam, obviously the wind does inspire you in a different way. Thanks for the tips!

[theampedlife]

Hi Adam, your tips and shared experiences are helping me to take better pictures every time I get out into nature. Thank you, and please keep 'em coming!
Regards, Chris (South Africa)
PS - why don't you swing around to SA - I'll take you on an unforgettable photographic tour!

[darrenbooker]

Great video Adam, I too have found several images hidden within my images after after I have cropped them again. So now I get in the habit of looking at several cropped versions and tweaking them a little until I find the strongest version. Love your B&W long exposure at the beginning of the video, you can't beat a nice long exposure, particularly if it is B&W. Keep up the great work mate.