Angela Ackerman (The Bookshelf Muse) asked me for some landscape photography tips because she’s spending her vacation in Africa at the end of the month. I’m so jealous excited for her.
First off, I’ll admit that I’m not a landscape photographer—unless it’s being used in portraits. I prefer to do close-up photography. But some of the tips for the next few weeks are applicable to all types of photography. Plus, I’ll post some other tips specific to landscapes.
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The best time to shoot photos is during what has been dubbed “the golden hours”. This type of lighting occurs in the morning and evening (late afternoon in the winter) when the sun is low in the sky—the hour or so before sunset and after sunrise. The angle of the sun creates a directional light source that is soft and flattering for all subjects (including humans).
I shot the picture of the spider monkey around 10 am in February, too late in the morning for the same shot in the summer. The low angle of the sun imparted a warm glow to the picture, and the monkey seemed to appreciate it, too.
The best type of lighting is side lighting (the above shot) and backlighting (the below shots). The worse is when the sun is overhead. It tends to wash out colors and create deep shadows, especially under the eyes.
When the sun shines from behind the subject (backlighting), the glow created around the subject separates it from the background. Especially useful if the background is dark.
If you have any questions about lighting (or other helpful suggestions), please feel free to leave them in the comments.
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