Photographing Landscapes, Cityscapes and Other Scenic Views

Taking pictures of landscapes and cityscapes is very easy when you keep a few tips in mind. There are several ways to approach a beautiful scene and take its picture. You can be like everyone, walk up, center your camera on the first thing your eyes see and take a picture. You will end up with a lovely snap shot of something, with the same view that everyone sees. Or you can look for something new in something that has been seen many times over and perhaps come up with a one of a kind image. But no matter what kind of landscapes, cityscapes or scenic pictures you wish to take, there are some basic steps.

Use a tripod. Using a tripod in any light level will just push your clarity over the limit. Part of having a scenic view is the crispness throughout the whole image. When you hand hold you camera, even with a wide angle you risk getting some camera shake in there. Putting you camera on a tripod be it a SLR, DSLR or a P&S will ensure that you have clarity throughout your whole image.

Manual settings. I cant stress enough how important it is to learn your manual settings on your camera and how to use them. The basic pre programed settings are great to learn your camera, but as soon as you can, you should practice using your manual settings .For a crisp sharp image front to back you need to use the settings A-DEP which is depth of Field. Meaning it can focus on parts of the images that are closer and farther away at the same time. Or you need to use your F stop feature, setting it as high as it will go to get as much in focus as you can. You can do that by using M for manual, in which case you will need to set your own shutter speed too, or using Aperture priority mode, which you set the aperture or f stop, and the camera chooses the correct shutter speed. There are however, times when this is inappropriate. See Photographing water and waterfalls for more information here.

Watch your horizons. This gets me about 50% of the time. I take a picture, i think BAM its spot on, but when i open it up in photoshop or gimp, the horizon line isn't straight. It goes in a slight diagonal. While it is fixable in your post processing. Its easier to correct it when you take the pictures. The easiest way to do this is use a tripod with a level on it. Too expensive? Then be sure to carefully frame your image with your horizons straight.

Look for something that other people overlook. When you see something beautiful or interesting, you stop and take a picture, Chances are that hundreds of people have stood in the same place you have and taken that same photo. You might not care, but then again you might. If you don't care, then by all means, take the photo, it will look fantastic.If you don't want something everyone else has seen, walk around your subject. Move around it, get closer, farther away, climb something, get closer to the ground. Find a different angle. Things that take a bit more time at each stop. But you will find something beautiful and interesting.

Play with perspective. You walk up to a mountain scene, or a cityscape and you are wowed the the vastness before you. You take a photograph but when you look at it to edit, it doesn't seem quite so huge. Well mostly thats because of perspective. When you walk up to things, you see how large they are. You have yourself or other objects as perspective. You can see the larger images against the smaller images. Adding in a simple object that everyone can relate to, size wise, will give your images that huge feeling. A picture of the grand canyon shows how big it is, but unless you have been there, you might not truly understand that by looking at a photograph. Add in an object for perspective and you get a feeling for how big it really is. Something as simple as rocks or flowers in front of your subject can give your photograph perspective.

Filters. I use several filters on my DSLR. I use a polarizer, which makes colors seem more vibrant, more alive, and a neutral density filter which is a filter that is darker on one end. It allows to bring more color to part of the image while keeping the other half in proper exposure. Often times if you expose for the sky, you loose your foreground, and vice versa. sing a neutral density filter will help keep both parts of your image in proper exposure. It takes some practice to use.

Find the light. Light makes a picture. Natural light, is the most beautiful lighting there is. But even using the sun takes some practice, there are times of the day where the light is better then others. In the evenings and mornings, light is softer, and often much more beautiful then other times. During the middle of the day, when the sun is highest in the sky and strongest, it creates harsh shadows, the light itself is harsh and unrelenting. It is better to wait for the softer, beautiful light of mornings and evenings.

For cityscapes, its often best to take your photographs after dark. Getting the city lights in your picture make for a beautiful composition. While daylight pictures are beautiful too, night time images really stand out. To take a picture at night, you need a tripod, Set the proper exposure and shutter time, and use a self timer or cable release to get a clear photograph. It can take some experimenting.

Taking landscape, cityscape nd scenic shots isn't difficult if you keep a few basic tips in mind. And practice as much as you can. All the hints in the world wont make you understand what to do. Practice and using what you have learned will teach you what you need to know to take beautiful scenic pictures.