Improve your shooting skills as we uncover
some of the industry’s top tips and secrets!
Becoming a good photographer takes time,
patience and above all practice. Once you’ve got to grips with the basics of
camera settings and composition, it’s all about honing your skills. Therefore,
finding a genre that you’re passionate about and that suits your shooting style
is an important part of improving your photography. Focusing on just one area
will give your work direction and help you to develop a better-quality
portfolio.
To help you get ahead, we’ve put together
the ultimate top tips guide, covering a range of popular photography genres. It
also features top tips and advice from experienced professionals, so you can put
their expertise into practice. Whether you’re already set on a specific genre
or looking to branch out into other areas, you’re guaranteed to find some
useful practical advice that you can apply to your own work. Follow along and
discover how you can improve your shooting skills!
Landscapes
Get to know the pro
This
professional shares his expert pointers for landscape photography.
Name: Bob Bittner
Website: www.blueonbluephotography.com
Photographic specialism: Landscape
Favourite location to photograph? The
Canadian Rocky Mountains
Best time of day to shoot? Sunrise is best,
but any time of the day can still give great results
Preferred kit? Nikon D700 coupled
with a 16-35 mm lens and a Nikon D7000 with a Tokina 11-16 mm lens
Mini bio: Bob started focusing on
landscapes several years ago. He has been featured in various international
photography publications, including five cover images
Landscapes
Bob Bittner’s handy hints
Take in your surroundings
Turn around, don’t become so focused on
what’s in front of you that you forget to take in all your surroundings.
Experiment with filters
If the situation is right, don’t be afraid
to ‘stack’ your grad filters to get a better effect. My Blue Canyon image was
created using a soft blue grad with an ND4 grad filter.
Follow the rule of thirds
Be mindful of ‘the rule of thirds’ when
framing your image. While there are a few times when it can be broken
successfully, try to stick to it, as it really does work.
Lead in with lines
If you can, try to position yourself and
frame your photograph with powerful diagonal lead-in lines – this will help create
an image with more of a ‘wow factor’. To do this, imagine an X and position the
axis in either the upper or lower third area.
Find a foreground focus point
Presenting something in the foreground of
your landscape shot will help to lead the eye into the image. Even if the shot
has been taken at sunset or in the afternoon, a well-composed image will stand
out, drawing the viewer into the scene.
Maximise depth of field
Long shutter speeds work well when shooting
a landscape or seascape, but will require small aperture settings. A large
f-stop number will not only prevent your image from being overexposed, it will
also ensure your shots are sharp by maximising depth of field.
