How to Take Stylish Landscape Photos

In our journey, we always can encounter charming and beautiful scenery that lights up our eyes. However, when we click the shutters with much enthusiasm, wishing to seize the beautiful scenery, the photos may not be all that we wish, that is, either blurry or not bright enough. Thus, we can do nothing but sigh before beautiful landscapes. In fact, it is not as difficult to take a stylish photograph as we think. It will be quite easy as long as you get the following five tricks.

1. Composition of a Picture：Golden Section Method- Perfect Law

What is the Law of Golden Section?

This is in fact a mathematical concept of proportion relationship. When you divide a line into two, the proportion of the shorter section to the longer one is 1:1.618 or 0.618:1, equivalent to the proportion of the longer section to the whole line. This is the Law of Golden Section (From perceptual analysis, Golden Section is perfect proportionally in vision, which is comfortable and balanced visually).

The fig. above is the conversion formula and diagram of Golden Section Ratio

The origin and application of Golden Section Ratio

The Golden Section Ratio was discovered by Pythagoras, in the 6th century BC. It was termed Golden Section by Plato. Golden Section Ratio is 0.618033988..., an irrational number with infinite magic. It plays miraculous roles not only in mathematics, but also in somatology, architecture, aesthetics, art, military, music, psychology or even speculative field.

What is Golden Rectangle?

As an important rule of form aesthetics, Golden Section Ratio has become classical rule for aesthetics passed on from generation to generation. It is still prosperous! Here I will recommend an aesthetic tool to you—Golden Rectangle. The ratio of length to width of a Golden Rectangle is 0.618, and you can get many such Golden Rectangles according to the ratio. This is an extension of the Law of Golden Section.

2.Exposure: If you want more layers and details, you can take photos in raw format.

Several factors of imaging are determined by exposure: 1. degree of color reduction of an object; 2. layers and details of the image.

What is exposure? To put it in simple terms, exposure is the process of imaging during which film or digital photographic components (CCD etc.) receive the light entered into the camera lens. Exposure science is the basis of photography. When we take photographs, if the scenery in the photo is too bright with no layers or details, we call such phenomenon over-exposure. On the contrary, under-exposure means that the photo is too dark to reflect the colors of the scenery. The mastery of exposure is a gauge by which the basic skills of the photographer are measured. Human eyes have broader perspectives than camera. Hence the details and layers of photos can be taken by lens filters or adjusted through post processing, which can also compensate the lack of photo layers caused by over light ratio. Here Xiao Bai recommends that we take photos in RAW format and bring out the details in post processing.

3.Shutter speed: Shutter speed determines the form of moving objects.

How to adjust shutter speed?

The adjustment of shutter speed depends on the relationships between focal length and shutter speed. Another thing to be considered is that you must learn to select shutter speed in accordance with the focal length of lens. When long focal length is used, faster shutter speed is needed in order to maintain stability of the camera. The general rules for maintaining stability are: the denominator of the shutter speed is bigger than the focal length of the lens. For example, if you have a lens of 35mm, the shutter speed can be 1/50. But if you have a lens of 100mm, the shutter speed may have to be 1/160.

4.Depth of Field: The key is to highlight the theme.

Formulas for shooting with depth of field

When focal length is the same as shooting distance, the smaller the aperture, the deeper the depth of field; the larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of field. When shooting distance and aperture size are the same, longer focus have smaller depth of focus than shorter focus. When focal length and aperture remain the same, the closer the scenery to the lens, the shallower the depth of field; the farther the scenery to the lens, the deeper the depth of field.

5.Color temperature: Color temperature decides the tone of a photo

How to accurately decide the color temperature?

From the aesthetic perspective, color temperature is the relationships between warm tones and cold tones of a photo. The lower the color temperature, the warmer of the picture’s tone, and vice versa. In noonday hour the sun we see is white, (its color temperature is between 5,300k-5,600k); the color temperature of news photography light is 3,200k; the color temperature of general tungsten lamps, tungsten lamps used in photo studios for taking black and white photos as well as normal lamps is about 2,800k. With low color temperature, the photos taken under such circumstances will look a bit yellow when they are developed. The color temperature of general fluorescent lamp is 7200K-8500K. Hence photos taken under fluorescent lamp will look a bit green. This is caused by the difference of the color temperature of the environment in which the photos are taken and the color temperature preset in the camera. Such difference can be adjusted in a projection printer under normal circumstances. But the matter will become more complicated if there are both fluorescent lamp and tungsten lamp when the photo is taken. This is what we call mixed lighting.

Different color temperatures of light sources results in the difference of light color, which brings different feelings.

Words & Photos / Zhang Xiaobai