WHERE TO BEGIN WITH LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPOSITION

When it comes to nature photography, there are many components that make for an impressive photo: lighting, location, weather conditions, timing, camera gear, post-processing techniques.

- Eric Bennett

However, what I feel is more important than any of these is the way you see the world. I’ve found that for many photographers, composition seems to be a somewhat nebulous term.

But to put it simply, it’s through composition that we present the moments we experience and the things we see in photographs, deciding where we stand and how we place the frame around the objects that we choose to document. These are the kinds of decisions we must make when hoping to tell a story about a moment in time that we felt was meaningful. How well you are able to do this will determine whether or not the people that view your photograph will be able to see and feel what it is you wanted to show.

It would be an impossible task to try and explain every aspect of composition in a single article. After nearly ten years as a full-time nature photographer, I am still learning and refining my process every day.

But I hope that through the next few points I am about to make you will begin to think more critically and be more deliberate with your approach to making photographs in the field.

These are some things I have learned through years of experience–trial and error–that have now made photography simpler and more straightforward for me, and would have been very helpful to know when starting out. I feel this will only help you to better achieve your personal vision as a visual artist.

CHOOSING A SUBJECT

Before you can begin to tell a story through a photograph, you first need to determine what it will be about. Maybe you have already chosen your subject even before visiting a place, such as a certain mountain peak, tree, or iconic vista, and this is the motivation behind your visit.