Landscape Photography - After Light It's All About Composition in Landscape Photography By Jamie Paterson

You've heard time and time again that landscape photography is all about the natural light that nature provides to you at the time of taking the photograph. This is extremely true, but even if the light is perfect your photo won't stand out unless you composed it in the best way that you can.

Okay, so what constitutes great composition is always going to be extremely subjective and there are no 100% right or wrong answer and yes sometime you have to go against the norm to tell your story. However, there are four major things that I look for when I'm taking a photo.

The first thing I always try to follow is the rule of thirds, do a Google search to find out more but essentially try to avoid having your horizons going straight through the middle of your photos and definitely try to avoid putting your subjects in the centre of your photo. If you're taking a photo of a really impressive rock then don't put it bang in the centre of your photo. Perhaps you could take a photo with ¾ sky and the rock placed on the right hand or left hand side it would make for a different and interesting landscape photograph. Always try to think outside of the box.

If I'm taking a landscape photograph of something like a mountain range that is a little distance away I always ensure that I include something that qualifies as foreground interest. Here's an example, I want to take a photo of a hill that is perhaps 500M away, no just taking a photo of that hill would look pretty boring. If I managed to include a nice rock or tree in the foreground then that adds depth to the photograph and makes it significantly more interesting.

Using the same scenario as above another composition trick is to add leading lines into your photo to literally 'lead' people's eyes towards the main subject in your photograph. So how could we include this in the above photo? Well we've found our hill and we've found our tree, is there a fence for example leading up to the direction of the hill (this in itself is also foreground interest), is there a creek running down from the hill as this could be used as a leading line as well. Leading lines work really well if you get them right.

One of the last composition techniques when taking landscape photographs I employ is called framing. What do you think might be more interesting? Taking a photo standing on a beach or standing back in the tree line with a shot of a branch at the top of my photo 'framing' my photo? Again do a search on Google images from examples of this.

So using a combination of great light, the rule of thirds, foreground interest, leading lines and framing you'll be able to produce some stunning landscape photographs. If you have a look at some of my work you'll see where I have tried to use at least one of these techniques in each photo.

Photographers Can Increase Value With Collection Consultations By Vanessa Honda

The photography industry is ultra competitive. To compete effectively, a photographer needs to offer more value than other photographers. A photographer can increase the value of his offering by using his artistic and technical expertise to consult his clients on the creation of collections.

A collection is a group of pictures grouped together in an artistic way to increase the appeal of the room. Many people purchase the print by focusing only on the picture. They purchase a number of stunning images from their photographer and hang them to the best of their ability.

A successful photographer in this competitive industry will offer an alternative. If his clients are open to the idea (it is sometimes difficult to change a person's expectation) a photographer should work with his clients so they come away with a stunning wall or room and not simply an impressive image. The following is a list of value adding tasks a photographer can do to accomplish this goal.

1. A photographer should develop a library of collection configurations he can demonstrate to his client. Often clients do not yet know what would look good in their homes until they have seen some options. After seeing examples of how prints could be grouped they are better able to visualize what would look attractive in their home.

2. A photographer should discuss with the client what collection may look attractive in their home before the photo shoot. This will allow the photographer to shoot the session with the collection in mind.

3. If a client decides on a collection configuration, the photographer should make a proof sheet in the configuration of the particular collection with the client's images after editing has been completed. The photographer can offer the proof sheet in different colored and types of frames.

4. The photographer should be willing to frame the prints. It is a major inconvenience to a client when, after working with his photographer to develop a concept he likes, he has to relay the concept to a person at a framing company. If the photographer already shares the vision, he should provide the means of turning that vision into reality.

In the competitive photography industry, a photographer should seek to add value wherever possible. Providing collection consultation is one way to add value.

Vanessa and Stephen photograph weddings and family reunions. They are available to shoot in all OC locations including Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and Irvine. Vanessa is a Orange County Photographer who teaches photography classes. She also serves as a resource for OC Wedding Photographers