Community for Improving & Educating Photographers

4 Must-Have Tools for Landscape Photography

4 Must-Have Tools for Landscape Photography

October 26, 2016
|
Comments off
|
waterfall
 
(Photos by instructor Jordan Roberts)
 

If you love to shoot scenics- here are the 4 tools every scenic/landscape photographer should have and carry with them:

1. Sturdy Tripod
A sturdy tripod will allow you to shoot any shutter speed you desire. Often longer shutter speeds are used in landscape photography to capture rushing water with a motion blur, the movement of clouds, to make choppy water look glassy or to open a longer window of opportunity to capture a lightning strike. Combine it with a remote switch so you don't push the button and shake the camera (or use your camera's timer mode). We recommend, Benro, Manfrotto, Mefoto and Really Right Stuff.

2. Circular Polarizing Filter
A circular polarizing filter is the type of filter that really can't be replicated in Photoshop like others often can. It will polarize the light entering the lens so that you can tame reflections and glare on foliage and water as well as wet rocks. It will also help you maximize the blue color in the sky. I prefer the Lee brand but there are plenty on the market.
 

3. 9 or 10 Stop Neutral Density Filter
When you want a slow shutter speed during daylight hours, often there is simply no way to achieve it without over exposing your image. That's wear a filter such as the Lee Big Stopper comes in. This type of filter is simply "sunglasses" for your camera and will block the unwanted light. 9 or 10 stops is ideal for mid day and would be the difference between shooting at 1/100 vs. 10 seconds! This will allow you to achieve beautiful motion blurs in midday sunlight.

4. Cable Release with Timer
When your camera is on a tripod, the last thing you want to do is defeat the purpose of that added stability by pressing the button and shaking the camera as you take a photo. In a pinch, your camera's built in timer delay mode will be a good solution, but a remote switch with a timer has some added benefits. Its much more convenient when taking a number of  bracketed shots in a row, it has a timer you can observe when shooting in bulb mode (shutter speeds lengthier than 30 seconds), and some models come with an intervalometer for time lapse photography. I prefer the corded versions which are more reliable and hassle free. Canon makes an excellent full featured model. Finally- and we always recommend this: Don't stop learning!  Your education is the best thing to invest in as a photographer if you want to improve. Scroll down to see our latest landscape photography class offering......

ice

See more of Jordan's work at http://www.jordanrobertsgallery.com/

Sign up for Jordan's class herehttps://localphotoclasses.com/events/landscape-shoot-edit-workshop/

(use coupon code landscape15 for 15% off)

 

 

 

 

 

s2Member®