56 - AsianPhotography - http://www.asianphotographyindia.com
Selecting the right place
The first thing one needs to conduct
before starting to shoot anything,
is research. Research is extremely
important when it comes to landscape
photography specially because
landscapes change every second. The
right sunlight or the right cloud cover or
the right vantage point can make or break
an image. Sometimes having previously
visited the area helps. When that isn’t
possible, asking a local photographer or
tourist guide can be of some use too. But
the best way for a photographer to select
a particular location is to visit it himself
or herself. Since every photographer has
their own shooting style, deciding on a
vantage point or the correct time of the
day to shoot would vary from person
to person. It is a little bit like shootingwildlife photography where you recce a
place, wait for hours for the perfect frame
and then shoot it. If it is a place where
you have never been before you can also
call the local tourism department and ask
for help regarding the right time to visit,
nearby hotels to the location where you
wish to shoot (specially in-case you plan
to shoot early in the morning) etc.Selecting the right camera and lens
While most know-it-alls will tell you
that if you know how to take pictures,
you don’t need equipment, equipment
is absolutely as important as knowing
the technicalities of photography. You
may know that you need to get a close
up of a tiger, but it is definitely unwise
going close to that tiger with a phone
camera instead of using an extremetelephoto to shoot the image from afar.
So, equipment is absolutely a must. Yes,
it isn’t everything, but it does have its
value. Selecting the right camera body
and lens is also very important. See if you
can buy a camera with self timers and
intervalometers built in, in-case you wish
to take time-lapses of a landscape. Pick a
camera that performs well in low light as
well. Dynamic range is also an important
factor in landscape photography. Make
sure you can shoot RAW images as
this will help you to expose for the
highlights without losing too much
detail in the shadow areas. A higher
megapixel camera guarantees less loss
of pixels when cropped at post but this
isn’t as necessary if you frame the image
correctly when shooting. Most mid range
to high level DSLR or mirrorless cameras