With years of experience and a number of award winning photographs Nigel Waters is a UK landscape photographer based in Worcestershire. With a passion for the great outdoors and continually chasing the light to capture beautiful photographs his landscape, seascape and nightscape photography will give you inspiration to get out and explore the best British landscapes have to offer.
One of the most rewarding and challenging photographs to take is a night landscape illuminated by just a sky full or stars which for me personally is one of the most enjoyable although frustrating at times especially here in the UK due to the weather. If you are into nightcapes, photographing the night sky over a beautiful landscape then you would have heard of the “Rule 500 in Photography” also known as the “500 Rule” or even the “Rule 600” which works on the same principle.
If you read my blog posts regularly or have been out on a photoshoot with me you will know my personal thoughts and dislikes to defined rules in photography but this is a good starting point in helping you capture those beautiful night landscapes that will wow your audience and give you photographs to be proud of.
What is the 500 Rule in Photography?
Basically it is a method that astro-photographers use to determine the length of their exposure time to maintain points of light given off by the stars to minimise blurring and star trails caused by the rotation of the earth.
The rule is very simple for full-frame equivalent cameras where you divide 500 by the focal length to give you the maximum exposure time in seconds to use. For example the maximum exposure time for a 24mm lens based on the 500 rule would be 21 seconds (500/24=20.8s).
You can still calculate the maximum exposure time for APS-C crop sensor camera following the same principles but need to take into account the crop factor of the camera 500/(crop factor * focal length).
For example Nikon DX cameras have a crop factor of 1.5 therefore if using the same 24mm lens on one of these cameras the maximum exposure time would be 14 seconds 500/(1.5*24)=13.9s.
It very important to point out that this method is just a very simple rule of thumb guide and will still produce blurring and trailing on larger prints where I use a value of 400 instead of 500. This will still produce star trails on large prints but I find it more manageable than using a value of 500.
Maximum time in seconds before stars begin to blur using the both rules
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For best results using the above values round down to the closest available camera shutter speed. The exact shutter speed can be used via an intervalometer.
Using a value of 400 will give 20% less blurring than what you can expect from using the 500 rule and where I always start from when setting my shutter speed exposing for the night sky. If you are shooting multiple images to stitch them together later as a panorama then I find using a value of 500 adequte due to the final image being so much larger than a single image taken with the same focal length lens.
To illustrate the difference between the rule values here are 2 RAW files of the same image taken at both 30 seconds and 25 seconds zoomed in, although the difference is slight you can see that 25 secs is better with the stars less blurred and smaller trails.
The trick to getting the best exposure for the night sky is a balancing act between shutter speed and ISO knowing your camera limitations and how far you can push the ISO while still maintaining a workable final image. Knowing the noise suppression ability of your camera and the ISO cut off point which you feel comfortable with will quickly narrow your choices and which value is best to use.
Even though the noise suppression in my camera is very good I very rarely go above an ISO of 3200 unless in extreme circumstances. My starting point is always with a ISO value of 2500 and using 400 to calculate my shutter speed I can very quickly get close to my optimum settings. I then review the histogram and make any minor tweaks required for my desired exposure.
Your photo editing technique will also be a factor here on what amount of noise you feel comfortable with removing. You can read about the noise reduction techniques I use and what I feel are best here How to reduce noise in Photoshop
There is one final factor that can play a part in the decision of what rule value to use and that is maximum print size you will be printing at. If your final print is only going to be 16″ x 24″ then you will hardly see any difference between the two but it will become more apparent as you increase the print size. I personally never want to limit my print size due to notable star trailing and always try to use the shortest exposure time I can get away with and why I always use 400 not 500 but it is something worth bearing in mind.
Use the 500 Rule as a guide, get out, experiment and capture some awesome images
Think of the 500 Rule in photography as a rule of thumb guide to roughly give you a required exposure time and then tweak as necessary depending on conditions, equipment and what level of Noise and Star movement you can live with. Like everything in photography the best way to nail those killer shots is to get out and practice where you will very quickly hone in on the best settings for you and your camera setup.
While reading through my favourite photography magazine looking at all the latest cameras and gadgets on the market that I could spend a small fortune on I wondered what are the most expensive cameras?
Camera Technology these days moves so fast it’s hard to keep up and while reading about the latest cameras I decided for a little fun to do some research and find which is the most expensive camera on the market today. To my surprise I found that the Phase One XF IQ4 150MP currently takes the top spot as the most expensive camera in the world today and will set you back a whopping £49,299.
What make this camera so special and how does its price and specification compare to other cameras on the market? I compiled a list in order of the most expensive so let’s find out.
The most expensive cameras on the market in 2021
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1. Phase One XF IQ4 150MP £49,299.99
Taking the number one spot on the most expensive cameras to buy today is the IQ4 Infinity Platform medium format camera by Phase One. This camera utilises the highest full frame medium format sensor available with a whopping 151 Megapixels and uses Sensor Backside Illuminated (BSI) sensors with efficient pixel design resulting in uninterrupted capture of light within each pixel. I would love to get my hands on this camera and take it for a road test, I can dream but Phase One if your reading this then feel free to send me a camera to do an in-depth review (Big Grin!).
Maximum Resolution: 14,204 x 10,652 pixels
Sensor: 53.4 x 40.1mm CMOS
Shutterspeed: 1/4000 sec – 60mins
ISOsensitivity: 50-25,600
Weight: 1890g
Dimensions: 152 x 135 x 160mm (with prism finder and without lens)
2. Hasselblad H6D-400c MS 100 MP £43,500.00
In the number two spot is this latest offering from Hasselblad which is a Medium Format Camera and can output 400MP images. Yes you read that right a mind blowing 400MP image can be produced by way of its 100MP sensor and utilising the latest sensor-shift technology. An absolute beast of a camera as you would expect from its price tag and another I would love to get my hands on to carry out some testing of my own.
Maximum Resolution: 11,600 x 8,700 pixels
Sensor: 53.4 x 40mm CMOS
Shutterspeed: 1/4000sec-60mins
ISOsensitivity: 64-12800
Weight: 1678g
Dimensions: 153 x 131 x 122 mm (Excluding Protrusions)
3. Phase One XF IQ4 100MP £37,100.99
At number 3 we have another Phase One camera which is the brother to the camera occupying the number one spot and is still built around the XF IQ4 platform. This camera has a smaller resolution to its big brother but still packs a huge punch with 101 Megapixel resolution. One key factor to point out on this version is that it has no Sensor Backside Illuminated (BSI) sensors unlike the IQ4 150MP.
Maximum Resolution: 11608 x 8708 pixels
Sensor: 53.4 x 40mm CMOS
Shutterspeed: 1/4000 sec – 60mins
ISOsensitivity: 50 – 12800
Weight: 2196g (including Batteries)
Dimensions: 152 x 135 x 160 mm
4. Hasselblad H6D-100c £31,100.00
Maximum Resolution: 11,600 x 8700 pixels
Sensor: 53.4 x 40mm CMOS
Shutterspeed: 1/2000 to 60 Minutes
ISOsensitivity: 64 to 12800
Weight: 1633g (including Batteries)
Dimensions: 153 x 131 x 122 mm (Excluding Protrusions)
5. Mamiya Leaf Credo 80MP Digital Back Kit £22,100.00
Maximum Resolution: 10,320 x 7752 pixels
Sensor: 53.7 x 40.3 mm CCD
Shutterspeed: 1/10000 Second to 120 Seconds
ISOsensitivity: 35 to 800
Weight: 562 g
Dimensions: 98 x 80 x 61.5 mm
6. Leica S3 £16,500.00
Maximum Resolution: 64 Megapixel
Sensor: 30 x 45 mm CMOS
Shutterspeed: Mechanical Shutter 1/4000 to 120 Second
ISOsensitivity: 100 to 50000
Weight: 1260 g (Body Only)
Dimensions: 160 x 80 x 120 mm
7. Hasselblad H6D-50c £13,999.00
Maximum Resolution: 8272 x 6200 (50 Megapixel)
Sensor: 44 x 33 mm CMOS
Shutterspeed: 1/2000 to 60 Minutes
ISOsensitivity: 100 to 6400
Weight: 1633 g (Body with Battery and Memory)
Dimensions: 153 x 131 x 122 mm (Excluding Protrusions)
8. Fujifilm GFX 100 £9,999.00
Maximum Resolution: 102 Megapixels
Sensor: 43.8mm x 32.9mm CMOS
Shutterspeed: 1/16000 – 3600 seconds
ISOsensitivity Native: 100 – 12,800
ISOsensitivity Extended: 50 – 102,400
Weight: 1,400 g (Body with Battery)
Dimensions: 156 x 164 x 103 mm
9. Leica M10 Monochrom Digital Rangefinder £7,250.00
Maximum Resolution: 7864 x 5200 (40.89 Megapixel)
Sensor: 36 x 24 mm CMOS
Shutterspeed: Mechanical Shutter 1/4000 to 8 Seconds, 1/4000 to 960 Seconds in Aperture Priority Mode, 0 to 16 Minutes in Bulb Mode
ISOsensitivity: 160 to 100000
Weight: 660 g (Body with Battery)
Dimensions: 139 x 80 x 38.5 mm
10. Hasselblad 907X Special Edition £6,989.00
Maximum Resolution: 8272 x 6200 (50 Megapixel)
Sensor: 43.8 x 32.9 mm CMOS
Shutterspeed: Mechanical 1/2000 to 4080 Sec, Electronic 1/10000 to 4080 Sec
ISOsensitivity: 100 to 25600
Weight: 865 g (Body with Battery and Memory)
Dimensions: 102 x 93 x 84 mm
11. Canon EOS-1D X Mark III £6,499.00
Maximum Resolution: 5472 x 3648 (Actual 21.4 Megapixel)
Sensor: 36 x 24 mm CMOS
Shutterspeed: 1/8000 to 30 Seconds
ISOsensitivity: 100-102400 (expands to 50-819200)
Weight: 1440 g
Dimensions: 158 x 168 x 83 mm
12. Nikon D6 £6,299.00
Maximum Resolution: 5568 x 3712 (Actual 21.33 Megapixel)
Sensor: 35.9 x 23.9 mm CMOS
Shutterspeed: 1/8000 to 900 Seconds
ISOsensitivity: 100 to 102400 (Extended: 50 to 3280000)
Weight: 1270 g (Body Only)
Dimensions: 160 x 163 x 92 mm
So if you have deep pockets and want to spend your hard earned money on a very expensive camera you have a list to choose from of the most expensive cameras available to buy on the market right now.
There are not many editing techniques I use frequently when I process my images and instead I prefer to follow a simple workflow of making basic corrections to White Balance, contrast and colour. However one of the very simple techniques I do use regularly and what I recommend you to try out and learn is How to create Orton Effect in Photoshop.
The Orton effect is a fantastic way of adding an etherial glow effect in photoshop and with many different ways to create it I find this method the best. It is very fast and simple to implement with the final result customisable so it can be easily tailored to give the look you want to your photographs.
What is the Orton Effect
The Orton Effect is one of the most popular editing techniques used in Landscape photography today and was developed by Michael Orton in the 1980’s. The original technique was born out of his efforts to imitate watercolour colour paintings by laying two or three transparencies over each other of the same composition. The first being in focus and over exposed with the others being colour components which are out of focus and over exposed.
This technique has developed over the years with the introduction of digital photography and sophisticated software editing packages such as Photoshop which has lead to many different ways in creating the look but something anyone can create quickly in a non-destructive way creating that etherial dream like glow to an image.
When to use the Orton Effect
Artistic licence these days gives you the ability manipulate images to create work that realises your vision and depending on the style and look you are after the Orton Effect maybe a technique you find yourself using time and again.
Although there is nothing wrong with creating strong etherial dream like images I prefer to keep it subtle within my own photographs where I work on the premise that if you can tell that a technique has been applied then for me it is too strong. I like my images to be natural and as close to the original scene as possible and use a technique only if required to accentuate parts of an image to convey a message to the viewer.
Todays cameras and lenses are so good that sharpness and contrast becomes an issue because I don’t see a scene as well as a camera does, maybe its due to my eyes deteriorating with age but sometimes I look at my raw images and they just look so unnatural and distracting. This is especially the case in my Forest and Woodland work where a scene is naturally chaotic and key elements that I wanted to capture can easily get lost in a sea of distractions.
So you could say I like to use the Orton Effect as a subtle highlighter brushing over the areas of a scene I want to identify and dampening down the elements I don’t want to catch a viewers immediate attention. This works extremely well in forest scenes simplifying a scene removing that crunchy chaotic feeling and why I use it sparingly most of the time on these types of images.
How to create Orton Effect in Photoshop
1. Duplicate your original image background layer and rename Orton Effect to keep your process flow nice a tidy. Then from the main menu goto Image/Apply Image.. and select Bending Mode ‘Screen‘
Leave Layer as Merged, Chanel RGB, Opacity 100%, Preserve Transparency and Mask unchecked.
2. Duplicate Orton Effect Layer then with the new layer selected from the main menu select Filter/Blur/Gaussian Blur..
Select desired Radius value in pixels you require. I always use the megapixel size of the camera I was using to capture the image, therefore if you used a 24 Megapixel Camera then select a value around 24. This does not have to be exact but a good rule of thumb I find to create your blurred layer.
3. Select both of the Orton Effect Layers and merge them together.
4. Select the merged layer and change blending mode to Soft Light.
5. Once you have created the Orton Effect adjustment layer adjust Opacity to vary the amount of Orton Effect to apply and create the overall look you are after.
The final amount will vary to taste but I personally never exceed 25% as I like it look realistic and not obvious that the Orton Effect has been applied.
You can see how easy and quick this method is to create the Orton Effect in Photoshop in just 5 simple steps but like I said earlier there are a number of different methods you can use. This technique is great for creating mood and giving your images that etherial soft glow and soften the overall look of your final edited photograph. If you would like to know any of the other methods then let me know but I find this simple method creates the desired subtle look I want and find it the best method overall for my workflow.
Recently I was asked a question which when I originally read it I thought was a very simple question to answer. Only after writing a lengthy reply I suddenly realised that actually I don’t know what I was being asked. The question was:
Portrait vs Landscape. Which do I prefer and why?
It turned out that I had totally the wrong end of the ‘camera’ and was answering in response to genres when I was actually being asked in relation to composition and picture orientation. Yes, I felt like a complete plum but it got me thinking about the various ways it can be interpreted for each meaning so decided to look at each in detail at answer the question.
Portrait vs Landscape – Humans vs Nature
To sound like a politician I will start off answering a question with a question. What makes a photograph Portrait or Landscape Photography?
Portrait photography or portraiture by its definition is the art of capturing a person or a group of people, capturing their personality, the essence of their identity and attitude artistically. It is a whole lot more than just pointing the camera at someone and clicking the shutter which I would term as a headshot.
Landscape Photography on the other hand in my opinion is very difficult to define as it means different things to different people. If I had to try and put it into words and define it I would say its capturing the spirit and emotion of the great outdoors through photography.
That is pretty much how I see it but obviously there are many spin offs as you can imaging for such a general statement such as Seascapes and Coastal, Forrest and Woodland and Nightscapes to name just a few.
Then there’s the grey area in between such as a model within the landscape and I think this should be characterised by the subject intent. If the photograph is about the model and they are the key subject showing their personality and identity with the great outdoors for me its Portraiture. If the subject is the landscape with a model to add scale or used as an anchor in the image then I think it can be classed as Landscape.
So to answer the original question which do I prefer and why? Well I am useless with people and have the utmost respect for portrait photographers who can work with their subjects to enable them to show their character on camera and have the ability to capture it. I don’t have that issue with Landscapes they don’t move and I can certainly not position it and love pitting my wits against mother nature and enduring whatever she decides to throw at me.
So obviously I prefer to practice Landscape photography but in terms of art I can get just as much pleasure from looking at a stunning portrait as I can form a great landscape photograph and appreciate the artistic value of both.
Portrait vs Landscape – Camera modes
Most cameras will have portrait or landscape modes which can be selected by use of the mode selection dial on the camera body or selecting scene mode and then selecting portrait or landscape from the menu.
These program modes tell the camera to use pre-programmed settings along with aperture and shutter speed tailored for the type of scene you are shooting. Depending on camera model the predefined settings vary so for an entry level camera this might just change shutter speed and aperture but on most DSLRs these days it may also alter clarity, sharpening, contrast, brightness, saturation, and hue (coloration).
These settings other than shutter speed and aperture are often missed and not understood when you read information online about program modes and todays generation of DSLRs are very sophisticated crammed full of amazing wizardry to get the best from the camera. I highly recommend learning to understand your own specific camera by simply reading the manual and understand what settings are being changed.
Portrait Mode selection tells the camera that you have a subject in the foreground of your frame relatively close to the camera. This will create a shallow depth of field to de-emphasise the background, maximise sharpness and produce flatter skin tones by using more of a neutral base.
If your camera has a built in flash and the scene is dark it will automatically add fill-in flash to try and lighten the subject unless you have it overridden.
Landscape Mode is used for distant scenes where it will selected a smaller aperture (High f/number) to increase the depth of field and may add extra sharpness and richen colours. If the camera metering sees a dark foreground it may try to use a fill-in flash but again this can be overridden if required.
There is one big thing that needs to be understood here and that is that these program modes do not affect RAW files in anyway but it does affect the way the photo looks on the back of your camera screen! Extra care needs to be taken if you use the histogram or have blinkers turned on for exposure because the program mode may add contrast and make whites appear completely white sooner than what they actually are.
This is why it is important to understand exactly what the different program modes do on your camera and the alterations it makes to its settings. The best way to see how they work is get out and practice and check your images in a photo editing suite.
To answer the question on which do I prefer, well none because I always shoot RAW and in manual mode. Don’t get me wrong these modes are a great way for quickly selecting different camera settings and a good starting point for someone picking up the camera for the first time.
If you are new to photography don’t get bogged down with all this jargon and settings just yet, grab your camera use the program modes and just shoot. You will learn much quicker doing this than faffing around with settings until you get a good feel for it. It is much better to capture adequate images in the beginning rather than blurred or totally under or over exposed images that are out focus where you will quickly get frustrated.
If your camera can shoot both RAW and Jpg I recommend to do this straight away and then later when you have a better understanding of editing you can go back over your original RAW files. Once you get comfortable with RAW files and can recreate the look of the JPG files you can switch to just RAW.
Portrait vs Landscape – Image Orientation
Deciding to frame a Photograph in portrait or a landscape orientation obviously has a huge influence on how your final image will look. Most photographers are comfortable shooting portrait due to the way our eyes naturally are use to seeing the world.
Humans have horizontal binocular vision which is made up of approximately 120 degrees of binocular field of view with two uniocular fields of approximately 40 degrees either side. Binocular vision meaning having two eyes and able to perceive a single three-dimensional image of its surroundings.
This leads us to have natural eye movement with the brains desire to scan an image from side to side with a slight reluctance to scan up and down and why it can be difficult for photographers to frame scenes in portrait mode at first and can feel unnatural.
Reasons for choosing between the orientation of an image can be broken down into two main reasons in photography, the intended use of the photograph and based on composition.
What will the photograph be used for?
The intended use of the photograph will have a big influence on the orientation a photographer frames the image. Printed media companies mostly favour portrait oriented photographs due to the normal format of books and magazines. This is not always the case though as a publication might want a double page spread which suites a landscape image. They may also require space within the image to put large text or advertisements so offsetting a subject in an image creating space is much easier in a landscape orientation than portrait.
Social media is also a key factor, try using a portrait photograph on Facebook, Instagram or even displaying it on your own webpage it can be difficult to make them look right and extremely difficult to show off images to their full potential. Pinterest on the other hand loves portrait images where a portrait orientation is much better suited to their platform.
This is why most professional photographers make the effort to shoot both Portrait and Landscape images so they can keep their options open and cover all their bases.
Image orientation based on composition
We all know that composition is a very important aspect of photography to aid the viewer to identify key elements within a scene creating balance, harmony and photographs that are pleasing on the eye. Making the correct choice in frame orientation is a an essential ingredient to composing and creating compositions that work and one of the simple tools we all have at our disposal.
Your brain is very good at quickly identifying the distinction between width and height which allows the eye to quickly settle in an image knowing whether it is horizontal or vertical and giving intended direction of eye travel through the image.
I don’t shoot square format very often for this very reason unless there is a very predominant key element within the scene as I find its hard for the eyes to settle knowing where to start and finish giving it direction through the scene. Don’t get me wrong they have their place used on the correct subjects but I much prefer to have clear direction in my images.
If you have a subject that is moving such as a person running you may want to leave space to provide awareness of movement where the mind can imagine the person moving into the space which again gives your image direction. If a person is moving in a horizontal direction it would make sense to frame horizontal however if they are moving away or towards you then a Vertical frame would be better suited as your eyes would naturally know the direction of travel.
The scene does not need to have a moving subject but orientation as previously mentioned is a key way to give your eyes direction through the scene. Take this image here I took of a lighthouse, my intention was for the eye to travel from the bottom of the frame to eventual rest at the lighthouse. This keeps the eye moving through the image making it more interesting and perfectly suited to a vertical portrait frame.
Seascape Photograph of the gorgeous Strumble Head Lighthouse in Pembrokeshire
An easy way to simplify a scene is to fill the frame with the subject and why Portraits best suite vertical subjects and likewise horizontal subjects in the Landscape orientations. This way the subject can fill the frame minimising distractions within the image unless there are other elements you want to capture.
Horizontal landscape frames are not well suited for vertical subjects such as tall buildings or trees but under the right circumstances work well by again creating eye movement through the image. This is why you typically see tall subjects offset from the centre of the frame such as a tree offset to the right of the frame with a golden sunset to the left. The image is balanced by having elements on both sides of the frame and creates movement for the eye to travel through the scene between both points of interest.
There are always times when you can just break away from the convention like I have here with this picture of a lone tree. It works well with it in the centre of the scene or to the left and right like I have chosen here as I wanted to emphasise the fog and isolation of the tree in relation to its surroundings.
Photograph titled Solitude of a lone tree in dense fog back illuminated by the winter sun
So as you can see there are quite a few reasons that can influence your decision to shoot Portrait or Landscape and like anything try shooting both until you train your eyes and mind to be comfortable with both horizontal and vertical compositions.
Grab your camera and get out and shoot whenever you can, enjoy your photography!
In this digital age of photography it is easy for photographers to be driven by the demands of social media where we upload our images to our favourite social platforms and websites then archive them away where they become lost and forgotten barely seeing the light of day again. Creating Photography Portfolio Books from your best work is an excellent way to record and showcase your best photographs and something I do yearly.
Creating portfolio books from your work will
Allow you to showcase your work in style
Help promote your work to potential galleries
Increase revenue by wining new customers
Record you best images with any formal notes
Let you review your own work more often with ease
Create a sense of achievement
Give you inspiration and new ideas
Create a new product for sale to your customers
Present your work in a beautiful format
Allow family and friends to critique your work
There are many positives to creating photography portfolio books and they can be relatively cheap to produce depending on the style and format you want. I personally create yearly volumes where I use them as a way of documenting my complete life’s work making it easy for me to review my own images and improve my photography.
Why not create a book for different genres to showcase your work such as landscapes, seascapes, woodland or astrophotography or if you focus on areas create geographical portfolio books. We photographers spend thousands on the latest gear, travel, software and books so why not invest a little back into your own work to showcase it?
Portfolio book types
There are many styles and formats of books to choose from dependant on the manufacture but excluding the esthetic look you can break them down into a couple of types.
Binder Style Portfolios
This style of portfolio book uses a binder mechanism usually either a ring or screw post style which is ideal if you print your own work and allows your to swap and change the content at will. Dependent on your target audience if it is going to get a lot of handling you can also use protective wallets for each photograph but I find this can look a little amateurish.
Using this type of book you have control over how and in what order your work is being seen and how you present it which can be tailor to each perspective customer to tell a unique story.
Bound portfolio photo books
My preferred type is to create portfolio photo books which give a very professional look where you can edit the layout and design to create a stunning book to showcasing your work. These types of books can be relatively inexpensive these days with most companies offering their own software where you just upload your images, edit each page and layout and once complete just process your order.
You can chose from many different sizes, cover types, paper types to change the feel and look of your book to create something visually stunning. Not only is this good for yourself but you could also offer this as a product for sale to generate new customers and revenue for your business.
Box portfolio photo books
You may want to present photographs mounted and prefer to have your images handled where they can be laid out flat on a surface to be viewed rather than in a book. If this is your preference then Photography Portfolio Boxes will be the way to go.
I use these to sell a collection of images as box sets which makes a fantastic gift and looks beautifully stunning. This way the customer can keep them in the box or get the collection mounted and displayed however they choose.
Create a Portfolio its worth the effort!
Creating portfolios really is worth the effort and investment in your own work not only just to win over new clientele but also a fantastic investment in your own photography development. One of the best things we can do as photographers to improve and grow is to review and critique our own work and study it closely.
Sitting in front of a computer screen trawling through images can get tedious and why most photographers don’t do it enough and neglect their own hard work. There is nothing better than just grabbing your portfolio off the shelf, putting your feet up, relaxed with a nice beer and review your own accomplishments.
It really is a great way to keep you focused when you are down and feel that nothing is going right or you can’t get out with the camera and will improve your photography by asking questions of your own work.
I hope this has given you some food for thought and I highly recommend getting your beautiful images presented by way of Photography Portfolio Books to woo customers, friends and showcase your photographic art the way it deserves.
Photography Portfolio Book Suppliers
There are many companies out there who produce stunning portfolio products and photo books where the price can vary hugely depending on the quality and feel you want for your portfolio.
My advice is don’t go for the cheapest but find the right fit for your photography that compliments your style. These are some of the companies that I have used and produce professional top quality products.
If you would like to get more inspiration or just fill your bookcase with stunning beautiful artwork I would highly recommend the following books full of beautiful photographs.
Scotland’s Fifty Finest Mountains: A Photographic Exploration by John Parminter
National Geographic Dawn to Dark Photographs – The Magic of Light
Capture Lakeland Volumes 1 & 2 by James Bell
Treasured Lands -A Photographic Odyssey Through America’s National by Dayton Duncan
The Causeway Coast by Steven Hanna
This Land: Landscape Wonders Of Britain by Roly Smith
Landscape Photography on location with Thomas Heaton
The World’s Wild Places by Colin Prior
Outdoor Photographer of the year series
Landscape Photographer of the year series
Wildlife Photographer of the Year series
Masters of Landscape Photography – Collection by various artists
Whenever Instagram becomes a topic of conversation when talking to fellow photographers you usually find that they fall into two camps of either lovers or haters. I am certainly in the lover camp and think it’s a great way to get your images out there, so I have compiled a list of Landscape and Nature Photography hashtags to help improve your audience and get you noticed.
Why should photographers use Instagram?
To increase you audience and get you images seen
Increase your photography brand awareness
Increased eyes on your work could lead to increase in sales
Develop a fan base and personal engagement
Make new friends
Gain new fresh and exciting ideas
Discover new locations to explore
Get inspired by fellow great photographers
These are just a few reasons off the top of my head why a photographer should use Instagram but there are many more. I have found that since joining Instagram it has certainly increased my profile as a photographer and I love chatting to fellow like-minded people and over the years have made some great friends.
There are not that many good social platforms out there these days for photographers and I find Instagram a much better platform for my images than Facebook. Let’s face it Instagram is designed and built for displaying and sharing image content and the platform is great for this.
I have certainly fallen out of love with Facebook as a platform for my photography and certainly don’t appreciate every time I post something up I just get emails from them saying hey for £10 your latest post can reach 5000 people! Let’s just hope that Instagram doesn’t end up going the same way, but I have a horrible feeling eventually it will.
With more than 800 million monthly users you can see how Instagram is a great marketing platform and my advice is present your best work to give you the best chance of being spotted.
I would encourage any photographer to use Instagram, especially while you can but don’t become a slave to it at the sacrifice of more important platforms for your business such as your own website which you will own forever.
How can a Photographers use Instagram?
There are many ways in which you as a photographer can use it and I know several photographers that actually own more than one account, one for their best images and the second for a more frequent what they are up to behind the scenes sort of thing.
I think either or both are great ways of gaining exposure for your business, but I personally use Instagram to show just my latest work and although I know I don’t post often enough I find it works great for me.
What is an Instagram Hashtag?
As you begin to scroll through the thousands of images on Instagram you will notice straight away that hashtags are everywhere but you need to know how to utilise them correctly to get the best out of them.
It can be so tempting to just throw a dozen random hashtags on your images to quickly upload them and hope for the best but it is worth taking that extra time to build a hashtag strategy. If your business has a brand name take the time to think of something original and recognisable that can easily identify your brand.
Hashtags will make your content easier to find
Think of a hashtag as a keyword that identifies your content that relates to its topic and what it represents. It is not good enough to create beautiful images with killer captions if no one can find it amongst the millions of other images.
This is where the hashtag comes in sort of like the index page of a book where you could just search for say #Nature and it will display all the content that has been posted against that hashtag to filter out everything else. The more specific the keyword the more specific the search results so you can use something more specific like #NatureWalks or #NationalParks you get the idea.
Rather than just identifying your beautiful photographs with content identifying keywords it is also a good idea to use a hashtag of the location and name of the subject to make it easier for people to find. Say you have a beautiful photograph of a mountain landscape but rather than just use #mountain you should also be specific like #Snowdon and #Snowdonia.
The best thing to do is try it yourself and think if I want to see content like mine what hashtag would I use to search for it? Think of it being similar to typing in a keyword into your favourite search engine to find the content you are looking for.
Why you should use Instagram Hashtags
Using a hashtag makes your content easier to find and will put your content in front of an audience that wants to see it making it discoverable.
Now it can be discovered by people that are interested and will encourage and increase engagement on your posts. Hashtags increase audience engagement that is fact and a lot of people that use Instagram will follow popular hashtags that they are interested in. So like the previous example if you love the mountains and the national park of Snowdonia in Wales you can quite simply set Instagram to follow the hashtag #Snowdonia so your feed always displays fresh content postings from this hashtag.
Word of caution here though don’t just blindly fill your content with the most popular hashtags because if it is getting thousands of images using it your content maybe only displayed in top new posts results for a very short period sometimes just 30 seconds on popular tags due to new content constantly being uploaded. It is all about finding the perfect balance so a less popular hashtag is worth serious attention.
Instagram does use algorithms to gauge popularity and will try and promote the most popular content so as your followers grow the more like a post gets in the first 10 minutes the more popular instagram will think your content is.
Like many social platforms unfortunately it is a business and people forget that instagram makes money through engagement and advertisement so if they think your content will be just skipped over and not worthy of peoples attention they won’t push you to the front of the queue of more popular content. No one truly knows or understands Instagrams algorithm and in my eyes pointless to even try! Just post great content and be sensible in choosing hashtags and you will increase your exposure no problem.
How to get featured on other popular accounts
This is a great way to get your images out there in front of thousands of interested people and something I highly recommend you to do which will accelerate your audience and followers.
There are many such accounts out there so I would certainly do your homework and these range from location such as #ukpotd (UK Pic of the Day) which has over 40K followers to something like @woodlandtrust which has over 200k followers.
All you have to do is simply check what a specific account is looking for which is usually their unique hashtag and tag them in your image. For instance @woodlandtrust simply use #WoodlandTrust and if you manage to get featured they will publish your image on their feed giving you an instant 200k+ exposure boost!
My advice is that you find a list of accounts that you would like to be featured on and work on these. Be mindful that these accounts probably have hundreds of images a day to search through so there is no guarantee you will be listed but don’t be disheartened because once you can get featured you can definitely reap the rewards of gained exposure. You can find various feature hub lists at the bottom of this post to get you started.
How many Hashtags can I use?
You can currently use up to 30 hashtags on a single Instagram post but I would be wary of using all of them otherwise it can look a little spammy. Also don’t use hashtags just for the sake of them, keep them on topic and related to your content. I find anything from around 5 to 15 works just fine.
What is Instagram Stories?
Instagram story is a way of sharing photos and videos with your followers for up to 24 hours. This is great to use while out on location or for anything that you don’t want to stay on your main feed until you delete it.
I have to admit I don’t use this feature as much as I should but it can be a great way to get and keep your audience engaged in between posting epic images.
To add media to your stories it’s as simple as Tapping the ‘+ Your Story’ in the top left hand corner of your homepage. From here you can simply capture new content within the app to post or select it from your photo library.
Within the app itself there are a number of multiple editing options to add filters or text so you can get in touch with your creative side and make something interesting stand out.
What is the best time to post on Instagram?
Well there are many schools of thought on this and guess it depends on where you are located in the world. My personal thought are that you want to post when most eyes will be on your content so 7:30 – 8:00 am or 6:30 – 7:00 pm seem to work best for me with my logic being that most people will either have just travelled to or from work and having a quick catchup checking their feeds.
So here is a list of top Feature Hubs for different genres of photography and popular hashtags to get you started.
Feature Hub Accounts which will feature your content
Aching after a long hike in the mountains I thought it was about time I started to scale down my camera gear, unfortunately I am not getting any younger and these long hikes carrying a heavy rucksack is really starting to take its toll. With that in mind my greatest weight saving is to reduce my lenses which got me thinking what are the best Nikon lenses for landscape photography?
I have been shooting with Nikon cameras for over 10 years and have tried pretty much every lens going and to my wife’s great displeasure own many of them. The trouble is I am a great believer in the right tool for the job and lenses are the most important tools a photographer has at his disposal to capture those quality landscape images we all crave but if I have to choose only one which Nikon lens would it be?
First of all I have to point out that there is no one lens that fits all and you have to match the lens to a scene and how you want to capture it. What I am talking about here is what I believe to be the best all rounder and if I could only purchase one lens then which would I choose above all others. What lens is best for me might not necessarily be the best lens for you as this all depends on what you want to capture and your particular style.
Here I will go through all the Nikon Lenses I have used or still use regularly, when and why I use them and give you my overall thoughts on each after years of using them in the field. It is worth bearing in mind that I shoot full frame so will focus on Nikon FX lenses and not DX APSC or Mirrorless lenses in this post.
The lenses that I will be focusing on are in order of focal length and not preference are:
I thought it best just to give a brief summery of exactly what the letters and numbers on each lens means as I know for some this can be confusing.
A-FS: Auto Focus Silent
Focusing on these lenses is driven by what is known as “Silent Wave” motors within the lens rather than a focusing drive motor within the camera body. AF-S lenses will give you faster focusing than standard AF lenses and almost completely silent. Do not get this confused with AF-D where the D means the lens can report focus distance information to the camera body which the camera can use for for determining exposure which most Nikon lenses have.
Nikkor
This is simply the Nikon branding for their lenses that are produced by the Nikon Corporation
Focal length and Angle of View
The next set of numbers you will see on a lens such as 14-24mm is the distance between the lens and the image sensor on the camera when the subject is in focus which is usually stated in millimetres. Here in this example there are two numbers and this is for zoom lenses giving both the minimum and maximum focus lengths.
The angle of view is how much of the scene is captured by the image sensor and stated as an angle. Simply put wide angle lenses capture larger areas of a scene than a smaller angle lens. This is important because changing the focal length changes the angle so a Wide angle lens such as 14mm will capture more of the scene than a 50mm. Therefore the longer the focal length the smaller the angle of view which leads to less of the scene captured by the image sensor. One final key factor to understand with focal length is that as the the focal length increase the subject appears larger to the image sensor.
Maximum Aperture – Minimum F Number
This number such as 1:2.8 on a lens identifies the maximum diameter of the lens opening referred to as its maximum aperture or minimum f number. The f number is the minimum f number that can be selected for the lens. This is also often referred to as the speed of the lens where a larger diameter with a smaller f number is faster than a lens with a smaller diameter with a larger f number. For example a f2.4 is faster than a f4 lens.
If a lens has two number markings such as 1:3.5 – 5.6 this indicates that the lens has a variable aperture which will change as the focal length changes indicating its minimum and maximum aperture on some zoom lenses.
‘G’ Abbreviation
If you see the letter G (Gelded) on a lens it means that it does not have an aperture ring like on the old Nikon lenses. All modern Nikon lenses are G simply because the aperture ring is only needed for old manual focus camera bodies.
‘ED’ Abbreviation
This stands for Extra-low Dispersion glass which is an optical glass that Nikon developed to aid the correction of chromatic aberrations. Most modern top of the line Nikon lenses contain ED glass, which also claims to delivers better sharpness and colour fringing in photographs.
‘VR’ Abbreviation
VR stands for Vibration Reduction which is image stabilisation technology to minimise blur by camera shake. This is used for static subjects in low light condition and mostly used when shooting handheld. In landscape photography where a camera is fixed to a tripod this should be turned off however I have used it in extreme weather condition with large lenses that are getting buffering from the wind to remove camera shake.
1. AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8G ED Lens
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The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 AF-S is an ultra wide zoom lens intended for use on FX and 35mm cameras. There is no reason why you can’t use this on DX format cameras, I have done in the past but its a whole lot of lens to just use the centre and the Nikon 12-24mm f/4 AF-S DX would be a much cheaper option.
This lens I have to say is pretty incredible with superb image quality and sharpness and is one of best lenses for producing high quality images that I actually own. In my experience of using this lens over the years it nocks the socks of prime lenses within it focal range such as the Nikon 14mm f/2.8 AF-D ED. The edge to edge image sharpness is crazy and has no coma or softness throughout its entire aperture range. Under extreme scrutiny you could say the lens is slightly softer at the extreme edges of the frame at f2.8 but definitely something you would never notice.
So after me singing its praises and in my opinion probably one of the best ultra wide zoom on the planet it does have its drawbacks. The first issue is its price but it has come down now and you can get it for £1,479 or cheaper if you shop around and this is certainly not a deal breaker for the quality of images it produces.
Due to its design it has a huge bulbous front element which has always made me extremely cautious when using it as not to damage it. The biggest drawback due to this design is not having the possibility to use filters and although it is possible a specific system will need to be purchased and also the actual ND filters required are large, cumbersome and very expensive.
The greatest issue of this lens for me above all is its physical size and weight. This is a huge lump of a lens with the front element measuring 98mm in diameter and overall length coming in at 132mm. Weighing 970g this is not a light lens you wouldn’t want it in your rucksack trekking 6 miles up a mountain no matter how good it is and for me is its greatest issue.
I still use this lens as I can’t find it in myself to part with such a magical piece of engineering but the uses now have become limited due to other lenses I own. Its greatest use now is astrophotography if I don’t have far to walk and even with a maximum aperture of just f2.8 I find this sufficient in most cases. If I have a long hike to my destination then I leave it at home and take my Samyang lenses which are brilliant and although produce fantastic results they can’t live with the quality produced by the AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED.
2. AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f4G ED VR Lens
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Now after my glowing reference of the last lens you would think that it is impossible to get any better but the AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR is a very special lens indeed. There has been numerous comparison tests between the two with lab results showing that this lens is actually sharper than 14-24mm.
I am not a big fan of lab tests in all honesty but comparing images I have took out in the field with both lenses it would be very difficult to spot the difference if anything I would say that the 14-24mm was slightly sharper but that’s just splitting hairs and certainly nothing worth noting in comparison. I also like the extra zoom of 35mm over the previous lens at it gives me that little bit of extra reach which has saved me on several occasions.
This lens is ultra sharp, I do notice a little fall off at the edges down at 16mm and also distortion is noticeable at 20mm and below but all easily fixed within a photo editing suite. The VR is great so it will give you an extra stop or two in low light with static subjects.
The weather sealing on this lens is superb and anyone who follows my work will testify I use and abuse my gear by exposing it to the elements. I have never had an issue with this lens even out in torrential rain and it has become one of my most used lenses.
ND filters and Filters systems can also be fitted to this lens with its attachment ring of 77mm which is a huge improvement over the 14-24.
Weight and size of this lens is fantastic with a front flange diameter of approximately 82.5mm and overall length 125mm. Weighing in at 680g it feels great in the hand and fits into a camera bag with ease.
I use this lens extensively in my landscape photography and I find myself using it over and over again. Due to the zoom range and quality of this lens it totally removes the requirement for me to carry prime lenses below a focal length of 35mm when out shooting landscapes. Yes it would be great if it was faster like f2.8 but beggars cant be choosers and f4 is fine for most of my photography other than Nightscapes.
This lens I would have absolutely no problem in recommending to anyone due to its versatility and quality of the images it produces and also come at a reasonable cost of around £1000.
3. AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED VR
AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8G ED VR Lens
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Where do I start with this lens, well maybe by the nickname I call it “The Tank”. I can well and truly say I have a love hate relationship with this lens simply because it is my most unluckiest lens by that I mean I always seem to have mishaps when using it!
I have dropped it, had tripods blown over in severe winds whilst using it and got it absolutely soaked in torrential rain too many times to count. Obviously no fault of the lens but something always seems to happen whenever I use it but after all the abuse it has had it still works without a problem and why I call it the Tank.
Nikon strengthened the construction of this lens over its predecessor and added fluorine coating to the front and rear elements of the lens to actively repel water, dust, and dirt without compromising any image quality. This coating is designed to make cleaning easier without scratching the glass.
Image quality and sharpness is second to none over its focal range producing amazing clarity and sharpness edge to edge of the frame on my copy. I say my copy because I have read reports where other people are finding it soft in the centre but I do not have this issue with mine.
I do find that there is quite a bit of vignetting with the aperture wide open and even at f8 there are slight signs of it at the extreme edges of the frame. This is not much of an issue for me though as I find that photo editing suites do a very good job of removing it with their built in lens profiles.
It has a front filter thread of 82mm which makes it compatible with ND filters and most Filter systems which is a great plus and something you would expect in this day and age.
The VR (Vibration Reduction) on this lens is fantastic with Nikon’s latest version giving you up to 4 stops and have hand held it shooting down to quarter of a second without issue.
However, this lens is not small and certainly not light at a size of 88 x 154.5mm and weighing in at 1070g again another lens that is fantastic but a burden to carry on long demanding treks.
The only other chink in its armour is its price, although it has now come down in price slightly it still carries a hefty price tag of around £1749 but its like everything you get what you pay for.
If you want a robust, fast, sharp wide to medium telephoto lens and can cope with the weight then there is no need to look any further at other Nikkor lens within this focal range as this lens is so sharp care needs to be taken not to cut yourself. It seriously is that good!
I use this lens as and when required from grand vistas to coastal and woodland work and find it extremely reliable and one of my main lenses I use often.
The one thing about this lens is its pure versatility due to having a maximum aperture of f2.8 which means it is also great in low light and for fast moving objects so caters for many different photography situations you might find yourself in and reaching for the camera.
4. AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8G ED Lens
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This lens could be a more cost effect option to the newer f/2.8 VR listed above and although a much older lens in my opinion still an option worth considering.
The lens had been the main choice for many Nikon photographers for years until the new version came out in 2015 which does not make this a bad lens and still produce top quality pin sharp images throughout its entire focal range.
With most of my Landscape photography being carried out with the camera firmly fixed to my trusty tripod and rarely using VR when taking my landscapes unless in extreme conditions having no VR is not necessarily a deal breaker. Therefore the lack of it on this trusty old friend is really not a problem for me and I would not upgrade to the newer version unless I needed it.
I will say I do find the newer version marginally sharper and produces deeper colours than this lens which I can’t really explain but it is noticeable when I place the same image side by side taken with both lenses.
This lens is slightly smaller and lighter than the newer version at 83 x 133mm and weighing in at 900g so has this as an advantage.
Obviously being older and not having VR it is cheaper where you can pick one up for under £1300 if you shop around.
Again this is a solid lens with weather sealing but does have a different filter thread of 77mm and is fine with most FD Filter kits and reducer rings if required.
All in all like a say it is still a good lens and you could probably get a good second hand example to really cut the cost down so for anyone on a limited budget I certainly would not dismiss it. However if I had the choice and could afford it then I would purchase the latest version for all round performance improvements and the added VR.
5. AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f4G ED VR Lens
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Yes that’s right its a consumer lens but don’t let lens snobbery put you off this is truly a fantastic lens!
This lens is a highly popular lens due to its focal range of 24-120mm and fixed aperture of f4 and let me just say is pretty damn sharp too. I do see a small amount of light fall off towards the edges of the frame at 24mm with the aperture wide open at f4 but it is much more manageable at f5.6 and above.
I say pretty sharp its not at the level of the other pro lenses mention but neither would I expect it to be but it is sufficient and has never caused me any issues in the years I have been using it.
The build quality is as good as you would expect from a Nikon consumer lens but obviously not at the level of all the other lenses I have mentioned here and has a complete plastic outer body with a mixture of plastic and metal internals. My biggest gripe with the lens is the zoom tube with the 1st extension being metal but the second that fixes to the lens being plastic and on full extension this is the weakest part of the lens.
No surprise, but I have damaged mine during a big storm at the end of last year where it got blown over and took a knock. I now get pixel shift when I focus in and out and the front element is a little loose so I need to get it off to be repaired when I get round it but it is still usable.
Although not weather sealed to the level of the pro grade lenses it does have a dust/rain gasket at the mount and I have used it in some pretty bad weather without any problems but I do try to use a rain jacket where ever I can.
The filter thread is 77mm so there is no problem in fitting HD filters and most filter kits with use of reduction rings if required although I would be cautious of hanging heavy filter combination on the end when fully zoomed in while it gets buffered by high winds.
This lens also has VR II with two setting Normal and Active which is claimed to give up to 3.5 stops and on the limited times I have tried it I have been very please with the results. Usually I would take the AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED VR if I know I am going somewhere to shoot static subjects in low light handheld.
For size it’s a peach of a lens measuring approximately 84 x 103.5mm and weighs just 700g which is great for putting away in your camera bag whether attached to your camera body or not.
Price wise you can get it below £1000 which for what your getting and the options it gives you as a photographer I think it is great value.
This lens is still one of my main goto lenses and pretty much always in my bag simply because of the versatility the 24-120mm zoom gives me and I have found this invaluable over the years.
6. AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II
AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 ED VR II Lens
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Most photographers probably would not mention Telephoto Zoom lenses as a typical Landscape Lens but I do use mine quite extensively. It is one of those lenses that you don’t think you need until you do and once you have it in your bag will open up extra dimensions to your photography.
I will say right here that this wouldn’t be my choice as the only landscape lens you need but while I am running through the lenses I uses for my landscape work I thought it worth bringing them to the table.
The AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II is a brilliant lens in both build quality and the images it produces. Image colour is amazing and sharpness awesome through its range. If you couple this with VR II and a fixed f/2.8 you have an amazing lens that will cater for any needs needing these focal lengths.
This lens is weather sealed and I have used it in absolutely atrocious weather and it has performed flawlessly.
Size and weight wise well it is a larger lens in length to the others at approximately 88.5mm in diameter and 202.5mm in length, weighing 1430g. Yes this is a big lens to be logging round on long treks as you can imagine and I have done it countless times and it takes its toll on you believe me.
One major factor in anyone decision for this lens is the price and it will set you back around £2000 at the time of writing. Yes it is an astonishingly good lens and I wouldn’t discourage anyone from buying it if you need a fast telephoto zoom lens with its fixed f2.8 maximum aperture.
But we are talking landscapes here and for this you don’t need f2.8 so I would highly recommend you look at my final lens the f4 version.
7. AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR
AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f4 G ED VR Lens
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I love this lens and if you want to buy a telephoto zoom 70-200mm purely for landscape work then do yourself a favour and buy this one. I can’t say it any other way but comparing this great lens to the superb f2.8 equivalent there’s not a lot in it.
This lens is razor sharp and I have seen lab test even though I am not fan where it compares to the f2.8 if not even surpasses it. The colour reproduction is stunning and will give you everything you need providing f4 is fast enough for your needs and in terms of landscape photography is absolutely fine.
Weather sealing is great and again I have used this in all weather conditions and once during a hurricane I got swept off my feet by a huge rouge wave and the lens got soaked but it was absolutely fine. Its taken knocks and bashes and pretty abused but still keeps giving.
The filter thread is 67mm and again fine with HD filters and filter kits by way of reducer rings if you need them.
You can get a removable tripod collar for the lens if you require one but I find it fine on large bodied DSLRs such as my Nikon D750 and D850 and rarely use one unless in extreme weather.
Size and weight is also an improvement over the f2.8 measuring 78 x 178.5 mm and weighing a conservative 850g. Although not compact and super lightweight the weight to quality ratio of this lens in my opinion is superb and well worth carrying it around in my backpack when I need to.
Last but not least the price, I managed to buy mine offline for £1000 but typical price is approximately £1349 which I think is an absolute steal at even these prices £750 cheaper than the f2.8.
I use this lens for all types of landscape photography where I need to get in close to a subject and isolate it from its surroundings and is a lens quite frankly I could not live without.
My Choice for Best Nikon lenses for landscape photography
So that’s a rundown on what I feel are the best Nikon lenses for landscape photography but what if I could choose only one, which would be the the ultimate lens.
Like I said initially there is no lens that fits all and if you were starting up in landscape photography and asked me what Nikon lenses are best to get then it would be these 3 focal lengths, the holy trinity of lens.
AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED VR
AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR
This would cover pretty much all your needs I say pretty much as you will always find instances when you will be wanting more!
So ok, without further a do and no longer sitting on the fence if I had to leave the house with just one lens which covered all my landscapes, seascapes and woodland photography the lens I would chose is:
AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED VR
OR
AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR
Sorry I couldn’t resist and would have to make my decision based on what I was going to shoot. I know its easy for me to say because I have them both BUT if I had no lenses and could only buy just one lens then it would have to be the AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR due to its versatility and quality from just a single lens.
I hope you find this useful if ever you are looking to find the best Nikon lenses for landscape photography, happy shooting!
In these very difficult times for us all at the moment being locked in isolation and not being able to get out with the camera I have been doing quite a lot of soul searching and asking tough questions of my own photography. One question I have been giving some thought too is if I could put the genre of my photography into a specific bucket I enjoy the most which would it be?
I eventually came to the conclusion that my aspirations and desires were not the normal popular genres but instead I opted for a totally different one in Capture the moment photography.
Sounds a bit strange right but I love photography and even though I have a burning desire to be out in the mountains I also love just as much photographing the ocean, woodland and nightscapes. The more I thought about it I realised that its not just about a beautiful scene but more the pursuit of those magical moments in time. My passion for photography is driven by always pushing myself to do better, to learn from experiences and try to produce Photographs that truly capture the moment.
Photograph of fallen veteran tree in mist illuminated by early morning light in Worcestershire
Whenever I am out with fellow photographers one of my favourite sayings I find myself repeating over and over again is Capture the moment and this got me thinking do they fully understand what I mean?
See whenever you say capture the moment in photography people naturally think you mean reach for the camera and just shoot the scene that presents itself in front of you. You wouldn’t be wrong after all moment by its very definition is a point in time at which something happens.
After using these words many times over even though I knew what I meant by the saying it I never really thought about it in much detail and always subconsciously thought moment was the key and the most important word of the three in relation to my photography. When I thought about it in more detail I realised that in fact it was the word Capture that was the most important word that I was trying to express to other people.
Lets take a second to look at the definition of the verb Capture:
If something or someone captures a particular quality, feeling, or atmosphere, they represent or express it successfully.
When you capture the moment in photography it is so much more than just pointing the camera at a scene and clicking the shutter button. It is about understanding that moment, identifying the elements that make up that moment and just as important elements within a scene that don’t.
Fundamentally some of the most important elements in photography are learning to read and understand what makes up a moment and just as importantly what doesn’t. Once you understand and have identified these key elements and understand your own emotions and feelings of what you are trying to photograph you can begin to capture the scene in a way to express these key points to the viewer.
The face of Ciara rising from the ocean during the Storm 2020
A simple and common example is to use a slow shutter speed to create motion of water in a scene using the movement of object to capture a moment in time and express this to the viewer. Under exposing an image is another very simple way to change the mood and feeling of an image along with simple white balance changes from cool to warm. Here you can find more of my thoughts on How to create meaningful photographs that evoke emotion and feeling.
So what is Capture the moment photography?
Well it is successfully expressing atmosphere, feeling and emotion at a point in time as it happens through your photography.
In my opinion creating photographic art that captures atmosphere, feeling and emotion should be the work that any photographer aspires to produce. It is what separates a good photographer from a great one and good photograph from a timeless world class piece of art.
So next time you get asked what genre of photography you enjoy the most, think about it, do you love landscape photography? Coastal Photography? Astrophotography? Or maybe…Capture the moment photography!
We have all done it at least once and if you haven’t you most likely will at some point and that is accidentally deleted photos or videos you didn’t mean to. So here I will explain how to recover data from formatted SD cards and the software I use.
I know this sounds stupid right? How can you accidentally delete photos or videos? This would never happen to me!
Well this is exactly what happened to me recently at 3:00am in the morning, tired in total darkness while photographing the milky way I swapped out a full memory card and replaced it with a fresh one. Well at least I thought I did but instead I put the card in the wrong pocket of my camera bag and and when I reach for a fresh one it was actually the same SD card I took out. In a total moment of madness while rushing not to disrupt my series of images I formatted what I thought was a fresh memory card without even checking what was on it!
As soon as I selected format and the Format complete flashed up on the back of the camera I suddenly got that sick sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don’t know how I knew what I had done I just had that horrible feeling so I swapped out the card and loaded another just in case hoping if I had deleted all my photos that somehow I could recover them when back home.
I am ashamed to say it but I had deleted all my photos which left me scouring the internet to find some software that could possibly recover my images.
You think it would be easy to find decent reviews and software for a Mac to recover deleted Photo files but I found most were written by people that had obviously never even tested the software they were reviewing or stating software was free when it was not.
Here is my unbiased review on the different software packages I tried and I give you my thoughts on which I feel is the best and why.
My Testing Method
In order to carry out a true review of these software packages I performed the same test on each one of them where I tried to recover image and video files from a Nikon D750, D810 and Mavic 2 Pro.
SanDisk Extreme PLUS 128GB Micro SD containing 59 .DNG files & 13 .MOV Mavic 2 Pro Drone files
For each memory card I carried out recovery tests after both formatting each SD card on their respective devices and then carried out the same test after a full format using the Mac DiscUtility Tool.
All the tests were carried out using Mac versions but there are PC windows versions available for all the software reviewed here but please bear in mind results may be different.
First software on my list is Disk Drill which is claimed by many review sites to be the top free recovery app for the mac OS. So first of all let me just put this right to recover files from a formatted memory card the application is not free! Most people will be searching for software after they have accidentally deleted their images after formatting and to use this software in this scenario you will have to pay to recover your files.
Disk Drill does have some great functionalities such as image preview capabilities which I found great so you can drill down and just recover the images you want rather than recovering the entire card content. This is extremely useful if you have a large storage device to speed up the process of recovery.
It also has Recovery Vault and Guaranteed Recovery, lost partition restoration and a boot disk maker so you can utilise the software in a number of different ways.
Disk Drill – Installation
The installation process for Disk Drill is certainly not overly complicated where you just install the software like any other .dmg file and drag it to your applications folder. There is an additional step that needs to be performed in the setup process which is granting access for the software to your hardware. This is very simple though as it has a quick link button in the setup procedure which guides you through the process to authorise access and grant the necessary privileges.
Disk Drill – Test Results
It took around 8 mins to perform deep scans of the SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Memory Cards where it found all of the Nikon Raw files that had been deleted by both types of formats and more old previously deleted files. The total size of recovered data was 39.43 GB in a total of 3267 files.
Disk Drill Recovery Results after SD Memory Card Format
To recover the files once you have a licence is to simply select the files or directory you want to recover, set where you want to recover the files to and hit recover.
Depending on the file sizes and quantity will dictate how long the recovery process will take to get back your files. In my case it took around 15 minutes.
I then performed the exact same test on the SanDisk Extreme PLUS 128GB Micro SD containing 59 .DNG files and 13 .MOV files. This took around 32 minutes to perform a deep scan of the memory card but it performed excellently and found all the files ready for recovery plus others from previous formats.
Disk Drill Micro SD Card Recovery Results
Overall performance was good and it recovered all files and more from all memory cards after carrying out both types of formats. As I like to say it did exactly what it says on the tin although not for free!
Labelled as a professional data recovery package for Mac, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard claims to retrieve photos, videos, music files, documents, emails, and more from Mac-based devices: HDD, SSD, fusion drive, Time Machine backup drive, SD card, memory card, USB drive, camera, etc.
This software is not cheap though and the company offer 3 types of licensing ranging from $89.95 per month to lifetime membership with upgrades at $169.95.
So how does it fare in my tests let’s find out.
EaseUS Data Recovery – Installation
To install the software is as simple as downloading it from their website and installing it like any other .dmg file. It took around 2 minutes to install then I was up and running.
The first thing I noticed about the software is that it has a very simple interface which is simple to use and intuitive.
EaseUS Data Recovery – Test Results
It took around 6 minutes to perform deep scans of the SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Memory Cards where it found all of the Nikon Raw files that had been deleted by both types of formats and more of the old previously deleted files. The total size of recovered data was 37.38 GB in a total of 3245 files.
I then performed the same tests on the SanDisk Extreme PLUS 128GB Micro SD containing 59 .DNG files and 13 .MOV files and pleased to say it also recovered these without any problems and took around 30 minutes to perform the deep scan.
The total result was 358 files found totalling a size of 66.98 GB.
A fantastic part of the software interface is that you can very easily change the file view to thumbnails which makes searching for the files you want to recover a breeze and one thing that I really like about the software.
Overall results were good giving me an effortless file recovery process with a good interface to hone in on the specific files I was looking to recover. Top result!
✔ Recover camera RAW image files – CR2, ERF, RAF, K25, NEF, ORF, SR2, etc.
✔ Recover video clips & movies – MOV, MXF, AVI, ASF, WMV, MP4, 3GP, etc.
So let’s test how good the software is and see if it really does what it claims. For these tests I have been using my Standard version of Stellar Photography Recovery for MAC OS and will perform the same tests with the exact same formatted SD memory cards for Nikon and formatted Micro SD card containing DJI Mavic 2 Pro video files.
Stellar Photo Recovery – Installation
The same as EaseUS the installation of the software was very simple and straightforward by simply downloading the .dmg file and installing the software. Hassle free with no issues I was up and running in a couple of minutes.
Stellar Photo Recovery – Test Results
The one thing I do like about the Stellar software is that is very simple and straight forward to use. Upon launching the software you simply select the drive you want to scan, I found that you need to have deep scan select and then hit go and the software will work its magic.
I found it took around 12 minutes to complete all its scanning phases of the card to find the files to recover. Bear in mind this will be much longer if you are scanning larger drives such as hard drives or large memory stick.
So how did it do? Well it recovered 2175 files in 9 folders totalling 41.64 GB data.
To recover your files you simply hit the Recover button and it will ask you where you want to recover your files to. Select or create a new folder and then select recover. At this point I would go make yourself a nice cup of coffee as this took around 20 minutes for this 32GB memory card.
Stellar Recovery Tool recovering files
The result was 1058 .NEF Raw files recovered along with 1058 matching .JPG files. This included all the original 44 Raw files and more which open perfectly in Lightroom and Photoshop as if they were never deleted. Performing the same test using the MAC DiskUtility Tool to format the memory card I got the same results and the software fully recovered all of the deleted files.
For my final test I wanted to check how good the Stellar Recovery Software was at recovering video footage from my DJI Mavic 2 Pro micro SD card once it had been formatted. Hopefully I will never have to use it but it is something that I do regularly so it will give me peace of mind if ever I make a stupid mistake in the future.
Same as the previous tests for Disk Drill and EaseUS I formatted the SanDisk Extreme PLUS 128GB Micro SD containing 59 .DNG files and 13 .MOV files all taken by the Mavic 2 Pro Drone.
So how did it perform? Miserably!
This is where I ran into serious problems! I thought I would try it again with slightly different settings but when I went back to the storage device screen the card was no longer visible. If I selected ‘can’t find device’ it could see the card but it would not let me perform a deep scan and gave me the same results. It basically found no files.
I then inserted the other SD memory card that had worked previously and it could no longer see it and once again if I selected ‘Can’t Find Device’ it could see it but not allow me to perform a deep scan. The results were also that it could no longer recover any files!
Thinking that it could be a problem with my Mac hardware I did a complete reboot but this still didn’t rectify the problem. In the end I resorted to totally reinstalling the software which fixed the issue with the SD memory and it was now showing up in the device screen correctly.
So I thought I would give it another go and swapped out the camera SD card for the Micro SD card from the Mavic 2 pro with exactly the same outcome, it totally messed up the software and I was back to square one where it could not recover any files.
I have since sent two emails to Stellar explaining the problem in-depth and asking them if they had any thoughts on why this could be happened. I have had an acknowledgement to my emails explaining it is taking them longer than usual to look at the issue due to Covid19 which I think is perfectly acceptable and will update this post once I get a resolution.
Which is my software of choice and overall winner?
Installation: For ease of installation I would say that both Stellar and EaseUS are on par with each other and its simply a case of running the downloaded file and then dragging across the .dmg file into your applications folder like any other piece of software. Disk Drill has an extra step in the setup where you have to configure your security settings to give the software access to your hard drive. There is a link in the setup window and takes just seconds to do so it certainly is not a deal breaker, just an extra step.
User Interface: The most attractive interface to use is Stellar it looks good and very easy to use. I don’t feel that this is a major factor though as both Disk Drill and EaseUS have more than adequate user interfaces which are very simple to use. Overall from a user perspective I would say that EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard wins purely down to its file preview front end. This is really nice and makes browsing through the discovered files a breeze enabling you to easily select the files you want to recover without the need to recover everything.
Overall Speed: Well EaseUS just edges it for me over Disk Drill and again there is not a lot in it but I found EaseUS marginally quicker. Stellar Photo Recovery came 3rd in my tests taking the longest to deep scan the memory cards and recover the files overall.
Overall Performance: I couldn’t really split the difference between Disk Drill and EaseUS as both recovered all the files I was after and more. Stellar failed miserably and although gave good results for the SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Card it totally fell over when using the SanDisk Extreme PLUS 128GB Micro SD Memory Card. In my tests both Disk Drill and EaseUS totally out performed Stellar.
Software Costs:
Stellar Photo Recovery Tool comes out the cheapest with 3 options Standard, Professional and Premium.
Disk Drill comes in second with 3 different cost options, Basic, Pro and Enterprise.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard came in third with 3 options, 1 Month, 1 Year and Lifetime Subscriptions.
Overall Winner:
My overall recommendation goes to Disk Drill and my deciding factor in this is purely down to cost. I like the EaseUS data recovery wizard, it looks great and performs well but it doesn’t warrant the extra outlay in my opinion.
I really wanted to like Stellar Photo Recovery but it just did not perform well on the micro SD memory cards at all when trying to recover my Mavic 2 Pro video footage. At a sensible price with a beautiful simple to use interface Stellar could be a winner if they manage to resolve my issue with the Micro SD Card and I will update this post accordingly once I get a some more information.
I hope you find this useful if ever you accidentally delete your prize winning photographs. Feel free to let me know in the comments below if you have any other software recommendations.
There are thousands of great photographs out there across all genres of photography taken by photographers ranging from someone taking holiday snaps to photographers with a wealth of experience and expertise. Out of all these images how many convey meaning or feeling without words?
By asking the question How to take meaningful photographs? as a photographer you are about to embark on a journey of self discovery almost spiritual like and hopefully take your images to the next level. I say hopefully as believe me this next step is something that many have trod before you and very few succeed in the quest of consistently producing Photographic Art with meaning that evokes emotion and feeling.
I don’t want this post to sound biblical and as a photographer myself I am also walking the same path as you but you need to understand that there are no shortcuts, there are no wrong paths and no matter which direction you take the path will never end! What I can promise you, is through all the hardships and frustrations along your journey you will improve your state of mind and personal well-being, improve yourself as a person and take your photography to a new level. You will begin to produce photographs that you never thought possible that will be the envy of many and admiration of more as your images evolve into works of art!
What is a meaningful photo?
There are many answers to this question dependant on the context it is asked and the person you are asking, what is meaningful to one can be different to another. This is where you start your journey by asking yourself what the definition of a meaningful photo is to you? Once you understand your own feelings and desires you then have a vision and goal of where you aspire to be.
I split my thoughts on meaningful photographs into two categories but you can have as many as you see fit.
Personal meaningful photographs
These are images that to most don’t appear meaningful at all but to the person who took them could be the most meaningful photographs they have ever taken. This could be the obvious such as your child blowing out candles at his birthday party, family members or the place you met your partner for the 1st time. To anyone other than the person that took them they might mean nothing but to the families involved would mean everything.
Notice how I said might? This is because there are no hard rules and it certainly is not black and white as someone could look at those photos who has just lost a child which would mean many different things to them personally and stir emotions of happiness, sadness or even regret.
What I am saying here is understanding the differences of meaningful photographs and what it means to you as a photographer. For that I personally class it as taking an image with intent where it was intended to capture a mood or emotion and speak to the audience without words.
Every photograph ever taken will mean something to someone and provoke feeling and meaningfulness in another and why I believe it is so important to ask yourself the question to give yourself clarity and direction.
Non personal meaningful photographs
Some days the weather can invoke a feeling of sadness, on others it can create joy and happiness but every now and then the sublime can simply take your breath away!
These are photographs that are not just meaningful to me but photographs that convey meaning, feeling and emotion to others. These are the images I strive to take every time I venture out with a camera to try and portray my thoughts and feelings at that moment in time with intent. This for me is as I like to call it The Art of Photography.
Many will disagree but this just brings me back to what I originally said about self discovery and what it means to you as a photographer. Photography over time has become theorised based on theories of composition and light and all is needed to make a good photo but this is simply not true. Of course they all help and by creating colour harmony and balance in an image you can create something visually stunning and truely beautiful photos. Guess what though, I am not talking about just visually stunning photos here I am talking about images that have a soul!
What I am talking about is not just beautiful photographs that you hang on a wall because it looks nice that you may quickly glimpse at every now and then as you walk on by. My focus is to try and capture images that you can immerse yourself in that asks questions, creates emotion and feeling and are timeless.
When you can produce work like this I really do think that you are at a level that most can only aspire to be and sadly a lot of photographers will never achieve. I am certainly not in that bracket and would never claim to be but it is my desire and aspiration to hopefully one day get there and it is what drives me to keep searching, developing and enjoying the art of photography.
Here you will find key pointers on how to start your journey of self discovery and start create meaningful Photos that evoke emotion and feeling.
Gain valuable experience first – Learn your craft
This is for anyone relatively new to photography who is reading this and although I hope this will give you inspiration on where you want to go with your photography you first need to learn your craft.
You maybe one of those rare totally gifted photographers who just has a natural gift (I am certainly not one of them!) but for most you have to learn the craft of photography. You need to be able understand and know how to create what you are trying to say.
This comes from experience, trial and error and understanding the different techniques and tools at your disposal. What I am saying here is don’t run before you can walk as you will get frustrated and hinder your progress as a photographer.
Be realistic
This is an important one for me, every photograph you take is not going to produce the results you want. As a landscape photographer mother nature also has to play her part and some beautiful images you take just won’t be able to speak to you the way you want them to.
Only the other day I was photographing a panorama tower on the top of a hill after weeks of terrible weather. The forecast was looking promising for a nice sunset so I decided to go and take an image of a place I had never been before. The sky lit up and bathed the tower in a lovely golden glow but I had no foreground and was halfway down the hill looking up at the tower as any other angle the light just wasn’t right.
It is a nice image, I like it but does it speak to me and have meaning? Not really but that doesn’t make it a bad image. It was a panorama tower built in 1812 as an observation point to take in the wonderful surrounding area so an image capturing a beautiful sunset over the surrounding hills with the tower beautifully illuminated would tell the story of the tower much better. Now surrounded by a network of roads, villages and a motorway it is an image that will always be difficult to portray it as I would like.
There are many photographs of this particular spot but none that I have seen that portray the meaning of this tower but imagine mist masking the roads and villages reflecting light on the tower with the hills in the distance at sunrise? It would tell a different story and one that may take me years to get if ever but it is certainly one I will try to capture over the years ahead.
The key here is that I am not petered by my results, I don’t see it as a failure. I am realistic and know that I can’t always produce work as I would like but instead learn from the experience and have an idea on what I need to succeed.
Ask questions before you reach for the camera
This leads me onto an important question you need to answer before you grab your camera and your tripod begins to grow roots!
Why do you want to take this photo?
Whenever I ask this question to people on a workshop with me they usually look at me blank for a few seconds and reply with errrr…
You have to know what it is about the scene in front of you that makes you want to capture it. This is so important and so often overlooked and such an easy thing to do. If you slow down and take the time to ask yourself this question it will improve your photography tenfold.
You will read time and time again photographers telling you to get on location at least an hour before sunrise or sunset but most miss the point. It is usually always written around allowing yourself time to find a good composition etc which is fine and something we all have to do but the most important step is what are you photographing? Sounds simple right but ask yourself how often do you do this?
What I do is take a seat poor myself a coffee and just sit there taking it all in. I collect my thoughts take in the view and ask myself why am I here? How does the scene make me feel? What do I like about the scene and what are the points of interest?
Once I have connected with my emotions and feelings and know what I m trying to achieve I will begin to walk around to find the best location to capture my feelings before I even take out my camera. Then I can begin to work with the camera to find a pleasing composition once I am set on what I want only then will I reach for the tripod.
I know that this is not always practical and you might just have to grab the shot there and then if you are chasing the light but if the conditions allow, take you time, slow down and connect with your surroundings!
Remove Pressure – Just Roll With It!
Probably the one I struggle with most of all and that is putting too much pressure on yourself to capture that perfect image. This is where I should follow my own advice and certainly in landscape photography you just have to accept whatever mother nature throws at you and just roll with it!
It can be difficult, frustrating and demoralising after a 3 hour drive and long hike to get to your location to find that mother nature has her own plans and you find yourself in dense fog, flat light or driving rain. Deflated you get angry tense and ask yourself why the hell do I bother? You are not alone it happens to me more often than not but you know what? Who cares?
Take the opportunity if you can to explore, take a different route back, take reference shots and just enjoy the great outdoors. Plan for your next visit while you are there, stand and think to yourself what do you want from these images and what would make it perfect? Be positive and say next time I am going to get that image!
This is the same as taking your time if you are rushing or putting excessive pressure on yourself it will reflect in your images and you will not be able to connect with the environment or you audience. You have to be in the correct frame of mind, calm, clear headed and focused on what you are trying to achieve.
Stop worrying about perfection!
Again and again I watch people over thinking and over complicating the process of trying to capture an image. You have so much information thrown at you on a daily basis whenever you are watching your favourite photographer on youtube or reading post like this from people like me.
I see so many blogs and vlogs titled the rule of this that and the other that less experienced photographers try and follow and totally over complicate their thinking in search of this idea of perfection.
This means they spend so much time searching for something that just isn’t present in a scene at the sacrifice of thinking about the very important elements they are trying to achieve and portray.
If there is one thing to take away from what I am saying here it is:
Stop worrying about perfection! In photography perfection does not exist! Composition and the like are not rules, photography has no rules and are purely just tools!
Correct Exposure
In terms of creating meaning with intent in your photographs the correct exposure is key to success. This is where most people struggle because getting the correct exposure is so complexed and effects everything within the image and how people see it. This is why people should be careful with using general practices such as ‘Exposing to the right’.
Learning exposure is way beyond the scope of this post but I highly recommend this as the first area to concentrate your efforts on. Understanding exposure is a must and by this I don’t just mean being able to read the Histogram tool and know if an image is over or under exposed and has any clipping.
What I am talking about here is understanding both How and Why exposure in your images is important and how it works. There are a number of very good in-depth books which I highly recommend you to read and study and practice this key element of photography. This will enable you to create images correctly right from the start as you intended without the need to start over processing your images later with software.
Colour Theory
This is another key factor in creating any beautiful photograph. Understanding colour theory, what works and what doesn’t and being able to focus on key colours within your scene to gain the correct exposure is tough to master.
It is essential to train the minds eye looking for warm and cool tones to give your images that tonal contrast. Without it images can be flat without dimension and key points of the image become lost in a sea of vibrant colours.
I see this most of all when people start getting into post processing by simply over saturation and over processing their images. Colour tones do not have to be vibrant and saturated the harmony of an image can work just as beautifully with very subtle warm and cool tones. It’s about using colour to emphasise what you are try to portray and set the correct mood of the image.
Think about it, you are standing at the top of a mountain in driving snow freezing cold and can’t feel your fingers but you process your image with a warm white balance so your overall image takes on warm tones. What do you think that is saying to your audience? Now go the other way and head into subtle blue cool tones your image will take on a different feeling.
Another example is your taking the same photographs of snow capped mountains and its freezing cold but the sun is illuminating the mountain tops with a beautiful alpine glow and you can feel the beautiful warmth on you face and hands as it rises above the horizon. Where would you push the colour tone of your image, warm or cold?
I am talking about the overall feel of an image here and trying to emphasise your thought process of what you are trying to get your audience to see. There are selective techniques which you also have at your disposal such as luminosity masking to target key areas of an image to emphasise what you are trying portray.
My big tip to help with this in post processing is once you think you have finished editing your image convert it to black and white. This is dead simple using most photo editing suits then go make yourself a drink. Come back sit in front of the screen stare at it for 30 seconds then disable the black and white preview. How do the colours look now? Is this what you wanted to achieve?
When we are busy staring at an image editing you become colour blind where it is so easy to over process. Using this very simple tip will help you check for the correct colour balance in your image. Simply adjust and repeat until you are happy with your final edit.
Don’t be afraid to be unconventional and try different things, push colours around this way you can see what works and what doesn’t and gain valuable exerience.
Critique your own images, review them and learn!
You have most likely already started to do this and this is what has lead you to ask the question How to take meaningful photographs? in the first place. If not then start doing it now!
As great as the latest and greatest cameras are these days in my opinion the worst thing about them is how it has pushed us down the route of digital images. Now don’t get me wrong of course there are so many benefits and the digital age is fantastic but the trouble is no one ever reviews their images anymore.
For those old enough like me will remember the good old days when your parents would get out the good old photo album to embarrass you in front of friends and family and go through old photographs. This just doesn’t happen anymore and we are all guilty of taking images, edit them, publish them to social media or own websites and forget about them. We end up with terabytes of digital images which never ever see the light of day again.
The best way to improve your photography is be honest to yourself and critique your own work especially after a lengthy period since you took the image. This way you have lost that initial emotional attachment and can look at the image, study it then ask a yourself a few very simple questions.
How does this photograph make me feel?
What is it saying to me, what is it about?
Does it achieve my original vision and portray what I wanted? If Yes, Why? If No, Why?
Do I still like this image, if Yes why? If No, why?
How could this image be better?
You get the idea so think about it yourself and write these questions down then start going through your own Portfolio and Galleries. This learning process is so important as you are beginning to ask questions of your own work and then start thinking about what you like or dislike about it.
One thing that is often overlooked is that we all continue to develop as photographers and our ideas of the perfect image and type of images we want to produce changes over time.
You learn new techniques, you will see images similar to yours which you like better and asking tough questions about your own photos, you will subconsciously think about things slightly different the next time you are in a similar environment.
The next phase in this is then go and browse through your old images, the ones that you didn’t like or thought were not good enough. You will be amazed how many photographs you find that you now think are better than the published original or totally disregarded first time round.
When I follow this up with photographers who have done this exercise most images were discarded due to what was originally though to have the wrong exposure.
Back then they didn’t fully understand exposure and its impact on feeling in relationship to what they wanted to portray. This simple technique which cost you nothing can seriously take your photographs to the next level.
One final thing on the subject of critique and that is also analyse the images that inspire you. Get out your list and ask the same questions, study them.
If you feel that a particular photo is better than yours find the answers why! Don’t just think oh they are a much better photographer than me if I only I was that good. You need to understand why the image is better and then you can carry this across into your own photography, learn from others!
To Summarise
To find the answers to How to take meaningful photographs? you have to ask yourself a number of questions to find what meaningful means to you!
To help you find find the answers and aid your photography take on new meaning:
Find out exactly what meaningful means to you and your photograph
Gain experience first and learn your craft as a photographer
Be realistic and understand that you will not create meaningful pictures every time
Slow down and ask questions about why you want to photograph this before you reach for the camera
Remove pressure from yourself. Just roll with it!
Stop worrying about perfection. Photograph what you feel not see!
Study and learn Exposure and its effects upon an image
Explore colour theory and its connections with emotions and feeling
Critique your own images, be true to yourself and understand what you need to do to improve
This may sound strange but I hope after reading this you have found more questions than answers. I started by saying I didn’t want any of this to sound biblical but the truth is, it really is about the road of self discovery. To cut away from the norm and really push yourself to new levels this is where the magic of photography really begins and you start to produce works of art.
Your work will become more unique and you will discover new areas and different directions you will want to explore. The possibilities are infinite and this is what makes photography so unique and rewarding.
Remember these words “Don’t shoot how something looks, instead shoot how it feels”
Also remember that everyone is different, everyones opinions are different. This is your work and if you love what you are producing other peoples opinions do not matter! They are just their opinions!
Answer the question and discover yourself, set your photography free!
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