How to Photograph LandscapesKelly Heaton uses the Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD, SP 70-200mm VC and SP 28-75mm F/2.8 lenses to showcase both the big picture and the details that people might not initially see. |
Article by Jenn Gidman Images by Kelly Heaton |
One of Kelly Heaton's goals when she's photographing landscapes is to reveal the elements that people often pass by. Whether she's teaching a photo workshop out West with her husband, Ed, or scouting for sunflowers near their home in Atglen, Pennsylvania, Kelly looks for unusual details to complement the more sweeping scenery. To capture the full story, Kelly uses the Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD, SP 70-200mm VC, and SP 28-75mm F/2.8 lenses. |
"The range and versatility of those three lenses helps me effortlessly switch from taking in that bigger picture to coming in closer to photograph wildlife or the details of a log or leaf," she explains. "And the Vibration Compensation minimizes camera shake when I'm not on the tripod." |
Read on for Kelly's tips for photographing landscapes and the often visually appealing elements that dwell within them. |
Take advantage of your lenses to show the complete story of where you are. |
For instance, when we were out in the Grand Tetons, people were taking pictures of the landscape, but there was a little cabin that no one was really paying attention to. We scooted closer to it and I was able to show them how to use the cabin as an element in the foreground. One other time Ed and I visited a sunflower field near us - it was sunflowers as far as the eye could see. I was able to capture the larger scene and then come in close to take some pictures of individual and smaller groups of sunflowers, which made for a nice pictorial. |
Using longer lenses such as the 18-270 or 70-200 also allows you to stay a safe distance from any wildlife you might spot against the landscapes. Many of the animals we've seen during our photo adventures, such as horses, tend to move pretty quickly, so I'll use a faster shutter speed, bump up my ISO to 400 or 800, and just follow along with their movements. However, don't forget to put the ISO back down after you take your wildlife shots. Otherwise your landscape images will come out all grainy. |
The buffalo that we photographed in Wyoming during one of our workshops is a perfect example of getting two different perspectives with one lens. I had the 18-270 on my camera and took a picture of the buffalo off in the distance with the water in the foreground. Then when I swung around, I saw these two buffalo heading up the hill, so I quickly zoomed in, placed them on a diagonal for visual interest, and got the shot. |
Learn to take advantage of any type of light. |
You can find compelling scenes in the evening, too, that look completely different than they did during the day. We were down by the pier near us one evening, right before it was really dark and you could still see a bit of color in the sky. We saw this building with the light coming out of it and reflecting onto the water. After I took a couple of shots of the building, I was then able to zoom in to focus on three of the windows. I like adding elements in odd numbers like that - it's fun to do a series that you can make into a collage. |
Look for color to offset the drabness. |
The wheel leaning against the house, for example, reminded me of a scene out of Currier and Ives. You've got this kind of drab image, but then with the sun coming in from the side and the red roof and door and window, the whole image comes alive. The same thing happened when Ed and I were shooting in the Tetons: We saw this gorgeous scene in front of us against the lake, but then I zoomed in to get a bush full of red foliage into the shot to really make it pop.
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You can do the same thing by adding a person into the image for scale (if they're wearing brightly colored clothing, it adds that color contrast you want) or by placing something like a batch of red berries in the foreground and shooting at F/16 or F/22 to keep everything in focus. |
Find the natural lines of the landscape to draw the viewer in. |
You just have to train your eye to see these things. Sometimes when people see me looking at a scene, they can't figure out what in the world I'm looking at until I set it up in the camera and show them what I see. Then they're like, "Wow, that's awesome!" |
To see more of Kelly Heaton's work, go to www.kellyheaton.com. |