Perspective Made Easier: Landscape Photography

We all want to create better images. What's the secret photographers possess to consistently create great images? There are many facets to creating a great photo but let's concentrate on composition. If the composition is wrong the image will always suffer, whereas, sometimes there can be leeway in the other areas if the composition is strong.

The secret to improved composition is perspective. Perspective is the tool used to structure your composition. 

We need an easy way to think about composition, and the easiest starting point is the Rule of Thirds, which is basically a tic-tac-toe grid mentally superimposed over an image. Some modern cameras have this feature built in, but most of us have to visualize the grid mentally. The point of the grid is to place the subject and important elements of the image on the intersections of the grid. 

Don't forget your heart. Many famous photographers believe the camera sees both ways, which means it also sees backwards into our heart and soul. We need to feel and experience everything in the scene and become one with the scene, then allow our inner selves to dictate the placement of the elements within our mental grid, even if it violates the rule of thirds. This is precisely how photographers learn to break the rules. So often I see wonderful imagery but get confused because all of the rules were broken, yet the photo is stunning. 

Perspective made simple: If you stand in the middle of the road and snap a picture, the sides of the road will narrow in the distance of the image. The straight lines of our reality become diagonal lines in photography. Another example would be if you stand front and center of a restaurant and snap a picture, the bottom of the building will be a level horizontal line, if you move 30 feet to the right, the image will show the horizontal line shift to a diagonal line. How far you move right will dictate the extent of diagonal. This is the basis of perspective.

A composition is a series of lines. Landscape photographers love leading lines, and you can create or alter the composition by the placement and direction of the lines. The subject and important elements of the image are then placed on the intersections of the grid. When things don't line up as you wish, make adjustments such as moving left or right in the scene, changing lenses, or isolating to bring elements into alignment with your mental grid. 

Another way to change perspective is to shoot at ground level or varying heights. Drone photography has added a fresh new perspective by shooting from high above, but because many areas are now a no drone zone, this genre unfortunately is being limited. To combat this, I purchased a Gitzo GT5563GS 10 ft tripod and Little Giant Flip-n-Lite 4 ft step ladder so I can add a higher perspective to my own photography. Below are 2 examples. The 1st is a shot I took laying on my stomach with the camera on the ground, and the 2nd is taken from my step ladder with the camera at 10 feet. Each brings a different perspective through height.

Using perspective to change and create pleasing lines in the image and placing elements within the rule of thirds grid will greatly improve your landscape photography. 

Good luck and good light to you.

About David Williams: I specialize in LDS Temples, Landscape, Wildlife and Indigenous Cultural Photography. See my work at https://www.davidwilliamsphotography.com or follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/david_williams_photography_