Outdoor Photography How To

One “rule” many photographers learn when first starting out is to “always shoot with the sun at your back.” This advice may work well for “Kodak Moment” snapshots, or for predictable photos of average scenes, but a different approach is called for if you’re after eye-catching imagery that stands out from the crowd.

One of the few mistakes that can totally ruin a photo is failing to achieve precise focus on the primary subject in a scene. There are a variety of camera settings and shooting techniques for increasing your odds of success, and today we’re going to concentrate on one of the most helpful.

One of the most difficult challenges when photographing landscapes is balancing the wide range of tones from deep shadows to bright highlights that often occur in outdoor scenes. In fact, sometimes the density range is so great that’s it’s impossible to precisely exposure the image.

Remember the philosophical question, “If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound”? Put in photographic terms, “If nobody notices your photos, do they really matter?”

Let’s face it: Image sharpness is an essential component of great photographs, whether they’re portraits captured in the studio or a landscape image taken outdoors. No matter how gorgeous the model, or how scenic the destination; if the image is soft all is for naught.

So what exactly is an “Adjustment Layer” in Photoshop, and what does it enable you to do? According to Adobe it’s “a layer that lets you apply color and tonal values to your image without permanently changing pixel values.” In basic terms, you can use various layers to experiment with color, tones, and more.

The great thing about cityscape photography is that when you run out of ideas, there’s always a city or town nearby. By following the straightforward advice below, you’ll be able to capture “perfect” photos wherever you live.