Nature Photography How To

Are you new to landscape photography and disappointed with your results? If so, the tutorial below will set you straight. Even experienced shooters will pick up a few helpful tips for improving their images.

What makes landscape photography so challenging, especially for the uninitiated, is that most scenes include a variety of interesting objects as well as a wide range of tones from deep shadows to bright skies. In this straightforward explainer you’ll learn exactly where to focus and how to expose an outdoor scene for optimum results.

The tutorials we share from Anthony Morganti typically involve expert tips for editing images in Photoshop and Lightroom. But as you’ll see, he’s also an accomplished shooter with solid advice for getting things right in the camera.

Morganti begins with a quick look at the best ISO settings to use, explaining that for landscape photography, “You usually want the lowest native ISO possible, while avoiding extended ISO settings.” And in low-light situations, where higher ISO settings are necessary, he recommends avoiding the two highest settings your camera provides.

Next up are aperture settings, and Morganti explains why stopping down to small apertures like f/22 doesn’t provide optimum sharpness—despite misconceptions to the contrary. The culprit here is lens diffraction, a pitfall of every lens. The trick is using the “sweet spot” of your lens, and Morganti explains how to easily determine what that is with whatever lens you use.

Moving on to focus techniques, Morganti says, “There are actually three focusing methods you should consider, and the scene you are shooting dictates which approach to take. He walks you through the basics of all three methods to create sharp landscape photos after selecting the proper focus point for different types of scenes.

Morganti explains everything you need to know about the foregoing exposure and focusing technique, and by following his advice you will definitely be far happier with landscape images you shoot in the future.

You can find more helpful shooting and editing advice on Morganti’s YouTube channel, so head over there after watching this video. And be sure to check out the tutorial we posted from another outdoor photography expert, explaining how to shoot stunning cityscape photos on vacation or at home.