Surefire Landscape photography tips (excerpt)

[rab3rd]

There comes a point in your photographic development when all of your images seem “pretty good”. Whether you are a professional or an amateur, this is the place where you like what you create, and even if there are a few little things that you would change, you’re ok with the results.

There is no better feeling for an artist than to love and enjoy the art you create. This is a wonderful place to be – so long as it doesn’t keep you from progressing in your craft.

Art is something that is developed over time. It is grown. It is reborn. As you are deliberate in the art you create, your craft will go to new heights.

So how do you work on your skills as a photographer? How do you “evaluate” what you need to change? What techniques you need to work on? How do you learn see new artistic possibilities?

One word: Critique.

Here’s a challenge. Schedule a portrait shoot. Push yourself to get “outside the box” with your perspective. Don’t accept what first catches your eye – look beyond it and refine the shot. Then afterward, take your images, and conduct an official “critique”.

It can be very difficult to critique your own images, but force yourself to be objective. Take several minutes to review each image. Remove yourself from the experience you had taking the picture, and look at the photo from an outsiders perspective. As you are reviewing, consider a few points:

Exposure – Do you tend to overexpose your images or underexpose them? How does this affect your post processing?

Focus – Is the picture sharp and clear, or is it soft – or worse, blurry?

Composition – Do all the elements of the frame support the subject, or are there distractions that take away from the strength of the image?

Story telling quality – Can you tell your subject is a part of something larger, strengthening the interest of the picture?

Emotional Impact – How well does your audience identify with the picture? What emotions captured in your portrait will cause the audience to respond positively?