34 DigitalSLR PhotographyOctober 2019
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FOCUSANDCOMPOSITIONComposeyourshotaccordingtotherule-
of-thirdsusingthegridguideontheLCDscreenorin theviewfinder.
Positionthecamerasothatoncestandingin theshot,yourfeetwillbe
oneitherthebottomleftorbottomright‘powerpoints’– thepoints
wheretheverticalandhorizontallinesintersect.Manuallyfocusa third
of thewayintothescenein frontof whereyou’llbestandingto ensure
a large depth-of-field once camera settings are dialled in.2
CAMERASETTINGSShootin aperture-priorityormanualmodeand
settheaperturetof/8andISOto200.Usingf/8willprovidea large
enoughdepth-of-fieldbutallowsonemorestopof lightin thanf/11in
casethesceneis lowin light.Themainaimhereis tokeeptheshutter
speedabovehalfa secondtomakeyourhitratemoresuccessful
becauseif it is tooslow,thefigurewillbecapturedwithmovementblur
and you’ll likely need to take more shots to get one that’s sharp.3
USEFILTERSTOCONTROLEXPOSUREFilterscanbeinvaluablefor
controllingtheexposureof theskysotheseshouldbeusedif you’ve
a figurein thelandscapetoo.Positionthemasyouwouldnormally
beforeyoubeginshooting;a polariserandNDgradswillbeallyou
need.If youshootHDR,youcanapplythetechniquetothistypeof
shotbutsuccessratesareextremelyhitandmissaseventheslightest
movement can cause severe ghosting of the person in the scene.4
APPLYEXPOSURECOMPENSATIONAfterattachingfilterstothefrontof
thelens,it’scommonfortheexposuretochangeasa resultof the
reductionin lightenteringthelens.If you’reshootingin manualmode
thismostoftenwon’tbeanissuesinceexposureis effectivelylocked,
butif you’reshootingin aperture-prioritytheremaybeanexposure
shiftthatrequiresthatyouapplyexposurecompensation.Usethe
histogram to ensure shadows and highlights aren’t clipping.L
ANDSCAPEPHOTOGRAPHYISN’T the
mostsocialformofimage-making.It’s
usuallycreatedalone,haseye-catching
viewsvoidofpeople,in isolatedareasof
naturalbeautyoruniquefocalpointstaken
at inhumanehours.But,occasionally,setting
asidethistraditionalapproachfora more
‘social’onecandeliversignificantlymore
interestingresultsandexperiences.
Whenoutshootinglandscapes,it can
becomealltooeasytofocusjustonthe
practicalitiesofphotographyandforgetto
takea breathandappreciatetheview,not
through a viewfinder or in relation to goodphotographicforms,butasa travellerwith
nointerestin photography,onlydiscovery.
It’ssomethingsocialmediafrequently
remindsusofin photospostedonInstagram
thatshowpeoplepresentandenjoyingthe
landscape,in a compositionally-considered
wayofcourse!Bysteppingintotheshot
you’renotonlyprovidinghumaninterestand
scalebutyouforceyourselftoeithershoot
withsomeoneelseorslowdownandenjoy
thelocationyou’rein.
Photographyhastheabilitytoconsume
ourattention:in manysituations,youhave to
think quickly to respond to changingconditions,orshootasmanycompositions
aspossiblebeforetheperfectlighthasgone.
But,whenthere’stimeanda scenecallsfora
focalpointorforegroundinterest,a person
canhelpleadtheviewers’eyeintothescene.
Theeasiestwaytoapplythistechniqueis
toaska friendtostandin theshotforyou
becausethiseliminatesanycomplexitiesin
settingupthecomposition,firingtheshutter
andpositioningyourselfeffectively.Butif
you’reshootingalone,asmanylandscape
photographersoftendo,it’snotoverly
difficulttostandin theshotyourselfusing
the simple techniques explained here.