I’m sure all of you (including me) asked yourself this question already, how do I become a better landscape photographer?

If so, then that’s a good thing because it’s the main question you should ask yourself almost every days, to grow photography!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a pro, freelance or a beginner photographer! Only with the right thoughts, you’ll be able to move forward.

So whether you start in landscape photography for a couple of years or you just bought your first camera, my tips will help all of you to get better in landscape photography.

And guys, trust me, every little step counts

DON’T BE TO CONFIDENT

If you think that you’re better than everyone else and you think you can’t improve any more, then you are going on the wrong path.

When you read interviews of super talented photographer than you probably admire, about how they got where they are now, then you will see all have always the same answer. Hard work is the answer – every single day and open mind to learn from their mistakes to move forward! There is not another secret

Do the same, is the only way you will improve with your photography, and you will 100% evolve as a photographer and as a person in general!

CHECK THE WORK OF OTHERS

There are so many amazingly talented photographers out there, and we live in the perfect time to watch their work by simply using our phone.

You don’t have to visit any exhibitions or art galleries to see it. It’s so easy to get inspired, and this helps you a lot to improve your own photography.

Keep checking the work of your favorite landscape photographers you admire and analyze they work.

That’s something that always helps me with my own photography.

Ask yourself hw they make the composition and why they choose that foreground or leading lines.

What do you do when you are in the field?

Do you look for a interesting foreground to add on your shot?

Do you look for leading lines to guide the eyes on your images

What about the composition, is balance on your shot?

And what about the light?

Ask yourself those questions all the time and apply the answers to your own work.

Use and get ideas from other that don’t mean to be copycat, just get inspired by them that’s completely legitimate.

GO TO THE SAME LOCATION SEVERAL TIMES

Especially if you are a beginner is very important to visit same location over and over.

It doesn’t matter if you live close to a beautiful place or not. Practice and practice is the right way.

Is there a specific tree that stands out of the landscape? Are there some creeks and rivers in your area? Do you live close to the mountains? Do you live near the sea?

Whatever it is guys, it’s very important to practice and learn from your mistakes!

Pick a different perspective to capture the same subject. Maybe get low with your tripod or place the main subject in your frame using the rule of thirds. Or try to break the rules and do something different. You may be surprised with the results

When you’re back at home and choose the best images on your computer, analyze them, ask yourself, what do you like and which one look better and why?

What did you do wrong or right? was the perspective, to be very low with the tripod, the light, the leading line work?

Always when you visit the same places, try something different!

Repeat this process several of times, and you will realize how you can get better repeating and repeating.

BECOME A PHOTOSHOP MASTER

In my opinion, it’s essential to master in Photoshop as a landscape photographer.

It is true that a bad photo even if you are a master in photoshop the photo will continue to be bad, beautiful but bad. But a good photo if you know how to handle photoshop well, the photo after editing it will be very very good.

If you want to develop a unique style, then you simply have to know all the tools which help you to improve your images.

Photoshop can be very it can be very complex but little by little and with a good actitud in a short time you can learn the basics.

There are two ways you can stand out as a photographer, one is the composition and the other is the post-processing style and workflow.

I’m talking about the second part now. To be a master in Photoshop can take years, and you will probably never stop discovering new techniques or methods to edit your images. Photoshop can be infinite and there are always new things to learn. But it is also true that all roads lead to Rome. I explain. You will see that some photographers use different techniques to do the same or reach the same results at end.

My advice is to practice as often as you can. Try out how certain adjustments affect your image and what you like about them. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

That’s how I learned on the pass and how I still learning day by day.

Everybody does it differently, so there is always something to pick up, even when it’s just a new way to add local contrast or how to organize your workflow.

Don’t repeat over and over the same things. Force yourself to try something new, so you don’t get stack in the same editing steps over and over again!

Life changes and develops, the ways of editing and photography too.

It might cause you some headaches, but it still really worthy to improve.

Every single photo is unique, so it needs different adjustments than other images. That’s my opinion so you need to adjust your workflow to each photo.

You most certainly don’t need to know every single tool available in Adobe Photoshop, but it’s very important to know the ones helps you to get your perfect results.

Have a workflow and adjust it to each images it’s essential You want to learn how I do mine?

LEARN HOW I EDIT MY IMAGES OR GET INFO ABOUT MY 1 TO 1 POST PROCESSING LESSON!

RE-EDIT YOUR OLDER SHOTS

This topic is closely related to the previous one. If you want to become a Photoshop master, it’s essential to know which adjustment you need to improve your images.

As your taste and skills change over the years, it’s really helpful to develop your skills by editing again old images on your hard drive.

You will be surprised of what you will be able to do in a short time and how your old photos change

Pick some of your favorite older photos and apply your new techniques to them.

Trying new ways to editing your images is so important! The more you learn, the better!

Surely you like to edit the new and beautiful images that you have recently taken, than the ones you already discard on your hard drive. But I can say that this is a great exercise, it will helps you so much to get better in post-processing. Every time I finished re-editing one of my old photos, I watch side by side and analyze what I like better and what I did “wrong” on the pass.

You have to be critical of yourself and your work and ask people around you. That will help to improve yourself.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO TRY SOMETHING NEW

Whether you’re in the field trying to find a composition or at your computer editing your images, it’s always important to force yourself to try something new!

Don’t get in a comfort zone and force yourself and try new things on field and also when you editing images.

Don’t do always the same things, as every single photo is different!

It also applies to composition. If you never tried to get low with your tripod to capture a small ice pattern, a flower, little cascade with your wide-angle lens, just do it!

If you fail, try it again and again.

You don’t need to travel far. I’m sure there something close to your home. Take your telephoto lens and try to pick some small details and different compositions.

If you have never tried (Time blending) a blue hour shot with a milky way, just do it! Shoot your foreground during blue hour and wait until the milky way appears. Then blend the two images on Photoshop

If you’ve never placed yourself in the image, then just do it! Ask your buddy to click the shutter or put a remote control.

These are just simple examples than you can apply in your routine and day by day I’m promise, you will get better and better in landscape photography.

USE A DIFFERENT TYPES OF LENS

If you’re a wide-angle person and you don’t see any growth in your composition skills, simply try out a new lens!

Get a telephoto lens or zoom and get close to your subject in nature.

Maybe it’s a colorful tree on a mountain ridge which you can barely see with your own eyes or an unusual low cloud formation in the valley, or also a small flower which stands out as a beautiful contrast in the dark forest.

These are a many places where it makes sense to try out another lens than your wide-angle, and it will open your eyes for new ways to capture different images.

Get a super wide-angle lens to achieve crazy extreme perspectives.

Get super close to your foreground and make it appear huge in your frame. If you’re close to a flower, waterfall, small cascade, tree…, it will helps to make it look even more prominent and bigger and stand out in your photo.

There are so many different ways of how a new lens can affect your own landscape photography!

Non stop experiment and you will see the results very fast.

GO TO A LOCATION WITH PREVIOUS RESEARCH

In my opinion, there is a big mistake most photographers make when they visit a new location and trust me, I did it as well!

When you do the research for your photography trip, it’s very important to check the photos of other photographers to find out which compositions are possible in that area and which ones you like. Other things that help is Google Earth, or 500px

The problem with checking the work of other photographers is that your own creativity can get influenced, so be careful with this and try to refresh your mind before.

So when you do this kind of research, make sure to do it way ahead of your trip (I’m only talking about checking the work of fellow photographers), so you can arrive at the desired location with “fresh eyes” without having the work of others in your mind.

Walk around the area and check for what you like and what you don’t like and then come up with your own composition and angle of view.

Of course, there are many locations where it’s very difficult to get something unique, but that’s the challenge.

It doesn’t have to be a unique subject, but just a slightly different angle can make a big difference!

This makes photography so much more fun, and it helps you to create something you’re very proud of it!

Alright, guys, that’s it now with my tips about how to become a better landscape photographer.

Please keep in mind that every person is different.

I probably say things than maybe you already know but if not try it and let me know

Now ask yourself:

What is your favorite way to improve yourself as a photographer?

What do you need to upgrade your post-processing/composition skills?

Please let me down in the comments, and if you have any questions, I’m always here to help!

Cheers,
Jabi Sanz