Do Your Research and Get There Early

When you’ve decided which mountains you want to photograph, it’s time to do a bit of research. Which trail or route are you going to take? How long will it take you? What should you wear? How much equipment do you want to carry? Then, once you think you’ve answered all these questions, remember to give yourself extra time, in case you see something else you want to photograph too!

If you’re already a seasoned hiker, you’ll find it much easier and faster to get out into the mountain wilderness compared to someone who is new to it, and you’ll be able to plan a more advanced trip that may involve wilderness camping.

Are you more accustomed to a stroll in the park or on a path, than a tough mountain hike? Then you’re hopefully going to start with mountains that are not hard to reach. There are many beautiful destinations you can reach by the side of the road, but, don’t let that stop you from dreaming of seeing jagged peaks up close.

With a telephoto lens, you can even shoot some mountains from the side of the road and make it look like you’re a lot closer than you are! You’ll want to get to your chosen location early so that you can find the best compositions before you start. This will save you time when you start taking your mountain photos.

Find Good Mountain Landscape Photography Ranges

“Do your research” is great advice, but where should you even start looking? Don’t worry, we’re here to get you started and inspired.

Right in the middle of the US, any good list of ranges to start your mountain landscape photography will include the Rocky Mountains, with over 300 miles of hiking trails. Spring and summer offer fantastic wildflower blooms which can be used as a foreground for your mountain photos.

Going back East, the Great Smoky Mountains offer a different look, with the fog that hovers around the tree-shrouded peaks giving these mountains their name.

Out West, the California Coast ranges include the iconic Big Sur region, and you can drive the Pacific Coast Highway if you don’t want to hike. Of course, there is the most famous mountain range in California, with the highest peak in the contiguous USA: The Sierra Nevada.

Those looking for a more remote and lesser-traveled mountain landscape should check out the Alaska Range, which includes Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America.

If you want to travel further afield, and are ready to travel internationally, the Italian Dolomites as well as the Patagonia area of Chile offer the most jagged mountains in the world and always make for some amazing images.

The Scottish Highlands provides the Cairngorms, and also Black Cuillin on the isle of Skye, while Norway has the beautiful Lofoten mountains. In Australia, there are the stunning Snowy Mountains, which include Mount Kosciuszko.

Use Different Focal Lengths

There are two main ways to photograph mountain landscapes: creating wide-angle images using the mountains as a backdrop to a foreground scene, and/or using a telephoto lens to zoom in on the mountain peaks themselves, or other alpine detail photos.  The most common is the wide-angle approach, but for a different flavor try using a tripod with a  telephoto zoom lens from around 100mm to 500mm to get much closer into the mountain itself.

Getting closer to the peaks means you can capture the winds blowing snow off the edges, or the light playing over the textures of the rocks. Sunrise and sunset are great times to capture mountain photos with a longer focal length. Zooming in can also help when the weather and light isn’t working well for your mountain images as a whole. (Just be sure you have a heavy-duty tripod for shooting at telephoto focal lengths in windy conditions! Otherwise, your sharp, exotic tele zoom lens will give you nothing but soft images.)

Find Light That Creates Shape and Texture to the Mountain

In portrait photography, flat and soft light is often the most desired light to use.  In mountain landscape photography, however, flat and soft light can actually lack interest and character.  Unlike a person’s face, we generally want to see all of the detail, the bumps, and the shadows of a mountain.  Sometimes, this means that the most interesting light can come from the left or right sides of the frame.  Also, the light doesn’t always have to be soft or diffused to look interesting.

Use the Foreground for Strong Composition

It doesn’t matter what time of year you choose to do your mountain landscape photography, there will always be opportunities to include plenty of foreground interest.   We mentioned using foregrounds in our general landscape photography tips article, and we’re mentioning it here again because foregrounds are especially important in mountain landscape photography.  Foreground elements help provide scale for the mountains in the middle ground and background of the image.

Use the foreground to lead the viewer’s eye into the mountains. You can use grass and wildflowers in the spring and summer, ice and snow in the autumn and winter.  Foregrounds should ideally be there to help your main subject – the mountain – stand out. With this in mind, try to avoid too much distraction in the foreground, and look for leading lines and color contrasts to give your image depth and interest.

Try Bracketing Your Exposures

The bane of the landscape photographer is surely the massive range of landscape shadows and much brighter skies that can throw off your exposure. Add in stormy weather, or even just a good sunrise or sunset, and the level of contrast present in a scene can easily be more than even the latest digital camera sensors can handle.

Graduated filters are often used in landscape photography to solve this problem by darkening down the sky, however, because mountains tend to be jagged the GND filter solution doesn’t work well with them. The transition zone of a graduated filter is in a straight horizontal line, and any bits of mountain sticking up into the darker area will become darker compared to the rest of the mountain.

Therefore, bracketed exposures are a way around this problem for your mountain photos. Bracket between three to five images at different exposures that capture good detail from shadows to highlights, and merge them into an HDR image in your image editing software. You can also use luminosity masking in Photoshop to create your image so that you get a balanced exposure for both sky and shadows.

Watch Your Crops

Just like you wouldn’t crop off a body in a random place in a portrait, ensure that you don’t crop the mountain range haphazardly as well.  Leave ample room above the mountain range to give the top of the mountain some breathing room.  And ideally, find and good place to crop on the sides as well.  For example, try having part of the mountain range lead in from the top corner of the frame, like in the image below.

Use Juxtaposition for Scale

Capturing the immense scale of mountains can be challenging. To effectively portray their grandeur, consider including a human figure, a structure, or a plant or tree in your shot.  This provides context and a relatable sense of scale via juxtaposition. However, it’s crucial to introduce these elements with purpose, not merely as afterthoughts. Here’s how to do it:

Position with Clarity and Purpose – Ensure the subject is positioned where they are easily discernible. A hidden figure amidst dense foliage won’t aid in conveying scale.  It could just look like a mistake

Ensure Contrast –  Make sure the subject stands out.  If it’s a person, dress him or her in colors that stand out against the mountainous backdrop. Vibrant colors enhance the visual appeal and emphasize the scale effectively.  You can also make the subject pop off the mountain background with light, using flash or natural light in the scene to bring them out.

Final Thoughts

Mountain landscape photography can be one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, types of photography. You need to be adaptable to the constantly changing weather and light conditions, so it pays to be patient. There are many great spots where you can take awesome mountain photos just a few feet from the comfort of your car, but for those who want to get more adventurous, hiking the mountains is the way to go. Or, to reach even more remote mountain destinations, try backpacking overnight!

If you’re planning on doing some trail hiking, you need to be safe and aware of your surroundings. Use a GPS device to help you keep to the right trail. Ensure you have a way to contact help in an emergency (a satellite phone, for instance), and always keep an eye on the weather.  As the great climber Ed Viesturs said: “Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.”

Use (and Break) The Rule of Thirds!

The rule of thirds is all about balancing lines, subjects, basically anything! Divide your composition horizontally and vertically into three equal sanctions, creating nine equal-sized boxes. Many cameras now have a grid overlay to make this even easier.

This may have been the very first rule you learned in photography, but it really does work! However, it is also a very general, vague rule, one that is easy to bend or break. In fact, if you “nail it perfectly” with 3-4 strong lines that fall exactly on the rule-of-thirds lines, your landscape composition might actually start to look too forced and uncreative. So, don’t try too hard to follow this rule perfectly, just keep it in mind and remember to vaguely consider the different zones of your image when placing subjects.

Understand the Golden Spiral and Golden Triangle

These are the Golden Spiral, and the Golden Triangle. The Golden Spiral is also known as the Fibonacci Spiral, after the man who invented it. The Golden Spiral looks like a Nautilus shell, and to get the most effective composition you should place the areas of most interest within the smallest area of the spiral. It’s hard to describe, so the best way to understand is to look at it superimposed over an image:

The Golden Triangle is another way of arranging composition to open up the image and draw the eye along diagonal lines. Again, the best way to understand this is to look at an image overlaid with it.

You’ll find that Photoshop and other image editing programs have crop overlays that include the Golden Spiral and the Golden Triangle, as well as others. Use these when cropping an image to give the best composition depending on the overlay you choose. There are other methods of composition that simplify things further, like the Quadrant System, which divides the image into four equal parts.

Look For Leading Lines

Nothing draws a viewer’s attention into a scene like literally having a line to follow through the image. It could be a distant curving river, or an up-close rock formation; either way, if you have something that can lead the viewer’s eye from the bottom edge of the photo (usually) and directly towards a distant subject, then you’ll have a successful landscape image.

Create Balance and Symmetry

There are many other aspects of an image that can add to its impact. Not just leading lines, but also strong textures, prominent shapes, or very vibrant colors. All of these elements can really help your landscape photographs stand out!

However, if your image contains too many of these elements, or if they clash with each other and create imbalance, the viewing experience can start to feel overwhelming. Sometimes, therefore, you might want to just simplify your image! If the colors are clashing or causing imbalance, try converting the image to Black & White. If there is too much of a particular texture in your landscape composition that is distracting a viewer from the main subject, try re-composing the shot to create better balance and/or emphasis. With practice, you’ll instinctively know when to compose your image to emphasize a certain color scheme, texture pattern, or other shapes, lines, or objects.

Add Depth With Dynamic Foregrounds & Backgrounds

Maintain as much of a visible connection as possible from the foreground through the image to the background. Even if there isn’t a strong leading line, it still can be incredibly powerful for a viewer’s eye to actually see how a foreground connects to the rest of the scene. Otherwise, it might just look like two random subjects unnaturally forced together. (This is, of course, yet another great rule to break, once you are aware of how the visual tool works!)

Think Outside The 2:3 Box – Know When To Crop And Stitch

Your viewfinder’s framing isn’t the only way to frame a scene. Sometimes, cropping from the native 2:3 aspect ratio to another common ratio such as 4:5 or 1:1 is a perfect way to remove distractions and/or accentuate a main subject! Other times, cropping (or stitching) to a panorama, such as 16:9, 1:2, or even 1:3, is the best way to view a scene.

Create A Sense Of Scale With An Identifiable Subject

Have you ever looked at a photo that was so full of subjects, shapes, lines, and textures, that your eye didn’t know what to look at? ‘Busy’ photographs tend not to keep the viewer’s attention very long, so including a clear subject in your landscape photo goes a long way towards creating a good image.

Decide what you want the viewer to focus on when you choose a composition. Think about the brightness, size, color, and contrast of that subject, and what you want to be the main attraction. Oppositely, look for any distractions that might draw the viewer’s eye away from the main subject, and try to frame the shot to exclude them! Oftentimes, when you see a perfectly “clean” landscape composition, what you don’t realize is that there is a tree or rock or something else just out of frame.  We dive deeper into this concept in our minimalist landscape photography article.

Stick Around After Sunset (Blue Hour)

One of the most exciting (and challenging) times of day to capture landscape photography is known as “blue hour.” That is, after the fiery colors of sunset have faded, and the stars are just starting to come out.

If you have the patience, and a sturdy tripod that allows you to capture photos at shutter speeds measured in whole seconds or even minutes, you can capture some really unique images.

Get Closer to the Ground

For an interesting perspective, get your camera down closer to the ground. This lets you include more foreground without having to crop out the sky or the background. This works brilliantly if the foreground has texture, like sand, and it also works well for photographing moving water.

Sometimes, you can even blur the background of your scene to increase the emphasis on your close-up, low-down subject, however, you can also try your hand at focus stacking, if you’re up for a real landscape photography challenge!

Explore Without Your Camera

This sounds counterintuitive, but one of the best things you can do to improve your creative eye is, actually, leave your camera behind! Of course, this works best if you can arrive to a location early, and go on a scouting hike/walk well in advance of the best light or photography opportunity.

Just soak in the views. Make a mental note of any strong subjects, other potential elements that you might be able to add to a landscape composition, and take some time to actually ponder how to work everything together.  Hopefully, by the time the light gets really good, you’ll have one or two solid ideas of which photos you want to capture, and you’ll be back with your tripod and camera ready to go!

Check For Celestial Alignments

You may be constrained to a specific date or time if your landscape photography trip is also a family vacation or business trip. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Always check apps like Sun Surveyor, PhotoPills, or The Photographer’s Ephemeris. These apps will tell you exactly where and when the sun and moon will rise and set, and even where the Milky Way will be if you stick around late at night.

You might not get the perfect moonrise at sunset shot, but you never know when you might catch a crescent moon setting just after sunset, or have an opportunity to line up a perfect sunrise with a distant mountain, canyon, or other feature.

Use Reflections

Reflections have always been popular in landscape photography composition, and that’s because they work. Remember that symmetry is pleasing to the human eye? reflections are symmetrical by their very nature. The most common reflections you’ll see are in water, of course, but don’t forget you can use windows or any reflective surface.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed these travel and landscape composition tips for photographers. There’s nothing quite like actually connecting with our environment, and no other tool allows you to create dramatic imagery that achieves this goal, like having a strong understanding of composition.

Because of the uniqueness of travel and landscape photography, there are additional considerations we must take into account for successfully navigating locations. Our goal here is to help you know what to look for and how to find and capture it in an impactful way.  For more info, see our video below.

Quick Tips for Black and White Landscape Photos

Of course, general landscape photography tips still apply. Only this time, we’re focusing on key traits for capturing the landscape in black and white. To start, some scenarios will work better for black and white landscape photos vs capturing them in color. For example, certain scenes offer a wider range of tonal values than others. Here are just a few basic tips to keep in mind when heading out to capture your own black and white landscape photos.

Tip 1: Look for Interesting and Dynamic Compositions

Black and white photography can highlight the contrast, shapes, textures, and lines in your landscape images. Therefore, it’s essential to look for compositions that have strong visual elements (patterns, silhouettes, leading lines, negative space, etc.) that will stand out in black and white. Try to create a sense of depth and foreground interest to make your images more compelling.

Tip 2: Consider the Lighting for Black and White Landscape Photos

The way light falls on a landscape can create dramatic or subtle black and white images. For instance, harsh, direct light can create deep shadows and bright highlights that add depth and texture to an image. Alternatively, soft, diffused light can produce more even tones and subtle contrasts. Experiment with different lighting conditions to find the best one for your scene.

Tip 3: Experiment with Different Exposures

As we’ve mentioned, the contrast between light and dark tones plays a crucial in black and white landscape photography. Therefore, it’s essential to adjust the exposure to create the “right” balance between the highlights and shadows. Try to expose for the highlights and then darken the shadows in post-processing to create a more dramatic effect.

Tip 4: Use Filters when Capturing Black and White Landscape Photos

Filters can help you manipulate the contrast, tonality, and mood of your black and white landscape photos. For example, a red filter can darken the blue sky and create a more dramatic effect, while a yellow filter can brighten the green foliage and create more contrast. Experiment with different filters to see which one works best for the landscape you’re capturing.

Tip 5: Edit with Purpose

Post-processing is an essential step in creating stunning black and white landscape images. Use your favorite editing software to adjust the contrast, brightness, and tonality of your image to bring out the best in your subject. However, be careful not to over-edit or manipulate the image to the point where it becomes unrealistic or artificial (unless that’s what you’re after for whatever reason).

The more you begin to understand the differences between color vs black and white landscape images, the more you realize why some photographers prefer shooting in one style over the other.

Black and White Landscape Photos from Instagram to Inspire You

Let’s get started!

Chuck Kimmerle: Website | Instagram

View this post on Instagram

Watching the incoming tide

A post shared by chuck Kimmerle (@ckimmerle) on Feb 1, 2020 at 6:33pm PST

Richard Walker: Website | Instagram

View this post on Instagram

After my early morning bluebell shoot at Dockey Wood last weekend (see previous upload) I had a nice stroll around Ivinghoe Beacon where I stumbled upon this little fella sprouting out of the side of the hill. The early morning clouds were stunning and I could see right away that this would work in black and white. www.richardwalkerphotography.co.uk www.facebook.com/dkiphotography #blackandwhite #tree #lonetree #clouds #hill #ivinghoebeacon

A post shared by Richard Walker Photography (@richardwalkerphotography) on May 5, 2016 at 6:03am PDT

Michael Kenna: Website | Instagram

View this post on Instagram

#michaelkenna #huangshan #china

A post shared by Michael Kenna (@michaelkennaphotography) on Feb 2, 2016 at 11:11am PST

[Related Reading: How to Create Incredible Black & White Images in Lightroom]

Jeffrey Conley: Website | Instagram

View this post on Instagram

This print, "Falling Water", is one of the most recent photographs to be included in my upcoming exhibition. The photograph is from a trip to Iceland a few months ago. I can't wait to get back there again! – This is a newly printed 21×25 inch platinum/ palladium print. I've been incredibly busy in the darkroom for the last couple of months- getting ready for a large exhibition of my work entitled "Reverence" at @peterfettermangallery in Santa Monica, California. The opening reception is this coming Saturday, December 16th from 4:00 – 7:00pm. Please join us if you are in the area! The exhibition runs through March 10, 2018. – I am also pleased to announce that my second book, "Reverence", published by Nazraeli Press, will be released in January, 2018. Many exciting things going on! More to come… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #gelatinsilverprint #platinumprint #selfportrait #platinumpalladiumprint #platinumprint #alternativeprocess #darkroomphotography #darkroomprint #blackandwhitephotography #analogprint #everydayisearthday #stayandwander #aov #exploretocreate #CreateExplore #bwphoto #artofvisuals #exploreeverything #adventurethatislife #abstractrealism #abstractart #whyihike #film #iceland #icelandwaterfall #minimalist

A post shared by Jeffrey Conley (@jconleyphoto) on Dec 13, 2017 at 4:37pm PST

[Related Reading: 10 Famous Street Photographers to Follow]

More Black and White Landscape Photos

Conclusion

I hope this collection of black and white landscape photos will help inspire your next adventure, whether you’re hitting the road or taking a walk. If you’ve never tried capturing black and white photos (or capturing color photos for the purpose of editing them as black and white photos), I highly recommend you give it a go. Fortunately, modern digital photographers have the benefit of shooting in color (ideally using the RAW file format) and choosing to convert the image at a later time, so it’s a win-win.

If you’re interested in diving deeper into your photography education, be sure to check out our Premium subscriptions, which offer streaming access to over 30 workshops, training systems, and more.

Before we get into actual photography tips, there’s one thing you must remember because it could actually save your life: Tip number one is going to be, never turn your back on the waves! Whether you’re on a rocky coastline or a sandy beach, there are “rogue waves” that can be significantly larger than the average waves for any given day’s surf.

1.) Never Turn Your Back On The Waves

During your beach landscape photography, always keep an eye on the sea. Look far enough out so that you can notice a larger wave coming, and get away from danger if the wave looks big.

Waves come in sets, too, so don’t be fooled by an apparent lull in wave activity; larger waves could return within seconds or minutes! Unfortunately, rogue waves and riptides are responsible for quite a few deaths every year; visitors to the beach who are unaware of the real dangers. Don’t be a statistic.

Alright, with that potentially life-saving precaution out of the way, let’s talk about photography!

2.) Bring A Tripod

This is an obvious one. Especially if you’re hoping to get perfectly sharp images at sunrise or sunset, you’ll want to have a solid, sturdy tripod.

But, let’s take this advice one step further, and give some truly practical, real-world recommendations: First, if there’s any possibility of your tripod legs getting splashed by saltwater, or sunken into sand, then always extend your lowest tripod legs at least a few inches or even all the way, before you extend your upper (stronger) tripod legs. Why use your potentially weaker, slightly more “wobbly” tripod leg extension first? Because it will protect your leg joints from excessive saltwater or sand ingestion.

Some photographers recommend using old CDs under your tripod feet to help stabilize your tripod on wet sand, and this is worth a shot, however, if you don’t have 3 old CDs lying around that you’re willing to destroy, just be sure to sink your tripod legs into the sand pretty deeply before you start shooting.

On that note, the best tripod for landscape photography on the beach isn’t just a sturdy one, but also, one that you don’t mind getting pretty dirty, and one that you’re comfortable washing off afterward. For regular seascape work, personally, we’d rather have an affordable yet robust tripod such as the Slik 700DX ($99 for the legs) that has a very basic yet durable design which can simply be rinsed off in the shower after every trip to the beach. Or, if you have a “fancy” tripod, just remember to fully disassemble, clean, and reassemble your tripod leg joints every few months, or once a year.

3.) Bring an ND Filter (And Know When To Use It!)

Neutral Density filters are one of the most fun accessories to have whenever you’re photographing moving water. The amount of blur you can create depends on the number of stops that your ND filter darkens the image, and of course the time of day.

If you mostly shoot seascapes at sunset or sunrise, then a 3-6-stop ND filter will be more than enough to give you nice long shutter speeds. However, if you’d like to create ultra-long exposures even in broad daylight, you’ll need a 10-13-stop ND filter.

Sometimes, the “glassy” look can be beautiful, and for that you’ll want to achieve a shutter speed of 15-30 seconds or longer. However, sometimes it’s more interesting to actually see crashing waves’ motion, in which case you might opt for a shutter speed in the range of 1-2 seconds.

[Related Reading: PolarPro Quartzline ND And ND Polarizer Filter Review]

4. ) Bring a Polarizer Filter (And Know When To Use It!)

Like an ND filter, a Circular Polarizer Filter can be an essential creative tool when photographing water of any kind. To see the gorgeous colors and even details underneath the surface can be beautiful!

Then again, don’t make the common mistake of trying to use a polarizer on every single image that includes a reflection on water, either. Sometimes, the look of a reflection can be beautiful, too!

5.) Look For Reflections Everywhere

Even though the ocean isn’t usually perfectly smooth and flat, as you might see on a calm pond or small lake, you can still find many beautiful opportunities for reflections in your seascape photography.

Whether it’s the wet sand itself, or tiny little tide pools, there can be beautiful reflections everywhere. Keep an eye out for any wet or shiny surface! Another great tip is that even if you can’t see much of a reflection from a distance or a higher vantage point, many reflections look their best when you get down low.

6.) Know When (And Where) Sunset/Sunrise Is

These days, you can effortlessly predict exactly where and when the sun or moon will rise and set, either along the coast, or over the water. All you need is an app on your phone! Many apps are free, however, the ones that cost around $10 (Sun Surveyor, for example, is one of our favorites) are well worth the investment if you’re serious about any type of landscape (or nightscape) photography!

7.) Check The Tides & Surf Predictions

Speaking of preparation, checking the tide and the surf is a habit you absolutely must get into, both for safety reasons and for creative opportunities. For one, if there is an extremely high tide, and/or extremely high surf, then you simply must be cautious when going anywhere near the beach. High surf, surprise waves, and riptides can be deadly.  Prioritize your physical safety and the safety of your gear during your beach landscape photography.

Creatively speaking, of course, what is known as a “mega-low” tide will afford many beautiful opportunities, such as exposing beautiful tide pools, or creating beautiful reflections on more sandy beaches.

8.) Keep Your Lens Clean

Here’s a practical tip that even the most experienced beach landscape photographers can neglect sometimes: If you’re working anywhere around splashing water, then you should regularly check your lens’ front element for water drops and/or smudges. You might not notice it on the back of the camera, but when you get home you may kick yourself when you see a big blob or hazy part of your favorite shots!

9.) Bad Weather Can Equal Great Photos!

As long as you’re safety-conscious regarding the surf, tide, and potential rogue waves, being at the beach just after a storm passes through can be a beautiful sight. Not only are the beach landscape photography conditions potentially gorgeous, but you may have the added bonus of the beach being relatively empty of other visitors! These days, an empty beach is a rare sight throughout most of the modern world, but a good bout of bad weather can help.

Just remember, you won’t always succeed. As any experienced landscape photographer will tell you, for every gorgeous photo of a clearing storm and epic light, there are probably 5-10 failed attempts that didn’t result in any photos at all.

10.) Don’t Hurt Marine Life!

Last but certainly not least, please remember to protect and preserve the subjects you’re photographing so that future generations can appreciate them with their own two eyes, and not just through your beach landscape photography.

In fact, on many coastlines of the USA where there are tide pools, photographers are actually not allowed to place tripod legs/feet in tide pools, or on any rocky surface that has living things on it. In a “marine wildlife refuge”, you could actually be given a ticket for doing so.

With this in mind, just be extremely careful where you step while exploring your beach landscape photography, where you place your tripod, and in some cases, consider hand-holding your close-up tidepool images if you can. These days with advanced stabilization systems, you can easily capture images with shutter speeds as slow as 1/2 sec or 1 whole second, hand-held!

More Landscape Photography Tips!

Stay tuned for more landscape photography tips, coming soon! Leave a comment below if you have any tips of your own for beach/seascape photography.

Today, I am reviewing Elia’s latest addition to his Photographing The World series: Japan. As the fifth workshop in the Fstoppers series, Japan follows two beginner and two advanced courses, one of each being entirely dedicated to landscapes or cityscapes. This time, Elia is combining all of his favorite types of subjects in one workshop, which, (spoiler alert!) makes it quite simply the best value yet!

In this workshop, you will not only experience a grand tour of some of the best photography spots in Japan, but also be given a comprehensive view into the mind of one of the best travel photographers around. Elia brings his experience of both photography and world travel (to over 70 different countries) to this workshop, making it a fantastic value. With that said, let’s dive in!

Photographing The World | Japan: Workshop Details

• PRICE: $299
  (For a limited time, this includes any one additional Photographing The World workshop!)
• FORMAT: Video
• CONTENT ACCESS: Streaming online, downloadable videos, downloadable raw files
• TOTAL RUN TIME: >60 hrs
• TOTAL VIDEOS / CHAPTERS: 22 videos (including 1 free chapter & 6 BTS videos)
• SUBJECTS / TOPICS COVERED: Landscape photography, cityscape photography, travel photography, seascape photography, general urban & nature photography

Photographing The World – Japan Review: Who Is It For?

If you’re passionate about landscape and travel photography, then the Photographing The World series is definitely for you. It’s scope is broad enough that it won’t matter if you’re highly experienced, or a beginner with minimal experience.

Also, it doesn’t matter if Japan is at the top of your to-go list, or if you’re simply aspiring to visit the beautiful attractions around your home state/country! In any case, if you like travel in general, and if you like photographing beautiful scenery, then you’ll benefit from this series, and the Japan workshop in particular.

Photographing The World – Japan Review | Highlights

What I really like about this workshop in particular is that it combines both landscapes and cityscapes in one workshop. The four preceding workshops, as their names imply, focused on either landscapes or cityscapes; either beginner or advanced.

With this workshop, you get a little bit of everything. (Plus, as a huge bonus, though maybe for a limited time, you can get one additional entire workshop when purchasing this one!)

These two key highlights make this simply the best workshop yet from Elia Locardi & Fstoppers. With that being said, let’s dive into the actual subject matter, the style of the content, and other details…

Subject Matter

As its name implies, this entire workshop is all about Japan! Simply put, it does help if you are interested in visiting Japan someday, if you are considering this workshop. By comparison, Elia’s other Photographing The World workshops each include numerous locations from around the world.

Having said that, as a resident of the American West who has never visited Japan, I still found myself relating to the subject matter very closely. Even here in my home state of California, I was continually thinking about how my own local areas could provide similar opportunities for cityscapes, seascapes, and mountain…scapes?

Therefore, I think it’s not as “Japan ONLY” as you might think. The actual subjects, from intimate gardens and temples to distant skylines and dramatic mountain peaks, provide insight to all photographers who are interested in the general subjects.

Of course, the other main subject that is mastered by this workshop is post-production. Elia dives into his full start-to-finish workflow, from raw development to advanced photoshop techniques. Whether you are an adventure travel photographer who simply wants to document what you see, or you are a fine art travel photographer who is creating absolute perfection using advanced composite techniques, you’ll find expert guidance in this workshop.

Techniques & Tricks

The Japan workshop covers not only a diverse array of subjects, but the abundance of little tricks and techniques is common throughout the whole workshop. Little details about lenses that accept front filters, tripod techniques, when to trust (or not trust) our camera’s various features, …it’s a goldmine of technical knowledge.

Beyond the technical knowledge, of course, the creative insight is very useful, as well. Elia seamlessly blends the technical and creative flow, both in the field and in post-production, to demonstrate how everything from choice of focal length to choice of timing, position, and sheer patience, …can all pay off.

The advanced edits Elia teaches are definitely master-level tools for any fine-art photographer, including techniques such as blending multiple exposures for focus, subject motion, optimal lighting, and using “plate” images to help those pesky tourists vanish from your scene!

Educational Style & Format

Of course, no matter how valuable the information of any workshop is, I would have to “ding” it a lot of points if the style & format of the content itself isn’t easy to absorb. Thankfully, Photographing The World as a whole series has been incredibly well-produced, with an educational style that is relatable, student-friendly, and just enjoyable overall.

In Photographing The World | Japan, Elia does an excellent job of explaining everything in very understandable ways. I never feel like I have to “strain my brain” to understand a concept. This is wonderful because it allows me to feel inspired right off the bat; I feel ready to get outside and capture my own images!

One thing I should note is that, oddly, the very first video did not start with an overview of what you’re going to learn, or which videos or chapters you should jump to for a particular topic or location. Instead, the workshop firstly dives into the software that is commonly used for the tutorials. (It’s mostly Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, with some plugins as well.)

After this, the second video gets into the gear that is used, and it’s a bit of a daunting list, (medium format digital; 100 megapixels!) …however, Elia focuses primarily on the focal ranges (in full-frame equivalents) and that is the most important, useful information for other photographers who might not have the same gear. Also, since this is a workshop all about landscape and cityscape photography, Elia does a great overview of the accessories you’ll need, as they can absolutely make or break many of your photo opportunities in a beautiful location such as Japan.

All in all, Elia’s style of educating is highly relatable, even though the gear (and the locations themselves) may seem rather exotic. Right from the start, you feel that he is a genuine person who really understeands what he’s doing, and he does a great job of explaining himself whether it is the technical details or the creative visions.

Value

If you aspire to be a working professional landscape / travel / cityscape photographer, then this content is invaluable. It can make you into a true master of all the subjects, both in Japan and anywhere in the world that has similar opportunities!

Of course, the content does not go very deeply into the business side of being a professional landscape photographer; subjects regarding marketing your work, selling prints, etc. are not covered, and would be an entire workshop by itself, I suspect.

HOWEVER, one of the most valuable videos in the entire workshop is the “How To Plan A Project” video! It gives incredible insight into the “real work” that goes on to even give you a chance to click the camera shutter! As a passionate adventure landscape photographer myself, I cannot stress enough just how important it is to plan ahead! Research your locations, “do your homework” so to speak, and the photo opportunities you get as a result will be significantly better than a casual “wanderlust” type approach to globetrotting.

Is this workshop worth the investment, if you are a hobbyist? Yes, absolutely. Even if you never aspire to make a dime from your travel, landscape, cityscape etc. photography, this workshop will be rocket fuel for your passion. From the creative inspiration to the technical skills and sheer confidence that you gain, the entire workshop provides one of the best values in the entire genre

Photographing The World – Japan Review | What’s Missing?

As mentioned, this isn’t a workshop for those who are looking to learn the business side of travel & landscape photography. I would love to see such a course from Elia and Fstoppers someday, because he is clearly a success story with over 20 years of experience, and an impressive list of accolades. Again, of course, that’s a massive subject all by itself, for an entire workshop, indeed.

There isn’t much content “missing”, besides the obvious fact that this workshop is created exclusively in Japan, while Elia has visited more than 70 countries around the world. As I mentioned, the comprehensive nature is rather broad, and would apply to anyone who wants to get better at landscape or cityscape photography in general. Compared to other workshops that are entirely dedicated to landscapes, cityscapes, or post-production in particular, this one has a lot more to offer.

Additionally, the bonus material, mostly BTS footage that tells the story of how the whole workshop was created, gives another layer of insight into just how challenging travel photography can be in general. Whether it is setting your alarm clock for 4 AM, or navigating the transportation of a foreign country, Japan is just as entertaining as it is educational.

Photographing The World – Japan Review | Conclusion

All in all, I highly recommend the Photographing The World | Japan workshop to any photographers who are interested in travel & landscape photography. It is one of the most well-produced, entertaining yet informative, and comprehensive workshops that I have experienced.

There are a lot of video courses & workshops available online these days, but few have the renown of such a highly experienced travel photographer like Elia. So, whether you are looking to visit Japan soon, or any similar travel destination with a blend of all different types of “’scapes” to photograph, this workshop is worth the investment.

Check Pricing & Availability

Photographing The World | Japan is available for $299 from FStoppers. At this time, they also have a valuable offer: with the purchase of this one course, you can also access any other one Photographing The World course, too! So, depending on your skill level, this would pair perfectly with one of the beginner or advanced workshops that focus entirely on either landscapes or cityscapes.

Also, for those who are curious, you can currently download the entire 1st chapter for free, and the BTS videos will also be periodically released on the FStoppers Youtube channel.

Let’s get started.

1. Shoot in a RAW File Format

One of the most important landscape photography tips is to shoot in RAW format because it captures all the data from the camera’s sensor, providing a greater amount of control and flexibility during post-processing. RAW files allow for adjustments in exposure, white balance, and color temperature without sacrificing image quality, unlike JPEG files that compress and discard some of the data. This extra data in RAW files also enables landscape photographers to recover details in shadows and highlights that may have been lost in a JPEG file.

2. Shoot in Manual Mode

Landscape photographers should shoot in manual mode because it provides complete control over the camera settings and allows for more precise and intentional shots. In manual mode, the photographer can adjust the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings to achieve the desired exposure and depth of field. This is especially important when shooting landscapes where the lighting conditions can change quickly and dramatically. Shooting in manual mode also ensures consistency in exposure and allows the photographer to capture the scene exactly as they envisioned it. While it may take some practice to master, shooting in manual mode is a crucial skill for any landscape photographer.

Don’t Use The Automated Landscape Mode

Just don’t do it. Using landscape mode is like going to Supercuts; they’ll get the job done, but it won’t be pretty. Landscape mode typically closes down the aperture to increase depth of field, and will adjust the shutter speed to get a correct exposure. If you’re going to thrive in any photography discipline, then you’ll need to understand the Exposure Triangle and use Manual Mode to have a technical and artistic mastery over your camera and images.

3. Understand Your Subject

Not all landscapes are the same, and having a good understanding of your subject will help you prepare and capture the best possible photos.  Here are some common types of landscape photography that you’ll encounter, along with links to articles for more landscape photography tips for each particular subject or type.

• Mountain Landscape Photography
• Beach Landscape Photography
• Lake Landscape Photography
• Forest Landscape Photography
• Winter Landscape Photography
• Night Sky Landscape Photography (Astro Photography)

4. Be Adventurous and Explore!

Walk around! Climb things! You need to explore your surroundings to discover the potential of the landscape you’re in. Don’t be afraid to take detours, to get close to the water, or to climb on rocks. Some of my most satisfying photos are a result of me trying new things.  This landscape photography tip is one of the most important because without exploring, you never know what you’re missing!

5. Challenge Your Composition

When taking landscape photos it’s easy to simply “capture the scene” and call it a day, but where is the reward in that? You need to challenge yourself to find better and more stimulating landscape photography compositions. Don’t be satisfied with an image that everyone else has shot, challenge yourself to capture an image that’s unique.  All of the technical landscape photography tips mentioned are less important than finding something unique and interesting to photograph.

Landscape Photography Composition Tips

We’ve created a full article on landscape photography compositions, so for the full guide, head over there.  Here is a brief summary of the primary points:

1. Go Beyond The Rule of Thirds – The rule of thirds is one of the first compositional tools we learn as new photographers, but don’t let it limit you.
2. Look for Symmetry – Symmetry is pleasing to the human eye in general, and it works brilliantly in photography too.
3. Include an Interesting Foreground – Implementing a foreground will give your photo more depth and make it more interesting.
4. Have a Clear Subject – Busy photographs tend distract the viewer’s attention, so including a clear subject in your landscape photo goes a long way towards creating a good image.
5. Try Minimalist Landscape Photography – Often times, less is more.  Learn how to isolate your subject and remove distracting elements.
6. Get Closer to the Ground – For an interesting perspective, get your camera down closer to the ground.
7. Use Reflections – Reflections help create balance and symmetry to landscape photos.

6. Be Patient in Landscape Photography

Landscape photography is unique in that you cannot simply cue the action and capture the moment; you have to wait. Sometimes this requires waking up at ungodly hours, hiking many miles, or sitting on your sandals with the crabs and clams for an hour (which I did to capture the photo above). Be patient, it’s easy to quit in the moment, but it’s well worth the captured image in the end.

It’s perfectly fine to shoot a lot of images, but don’t just “spray and pray!” Take your time, think about composition, exposure and visualize what you want your final image to look like. Also, if you shoot a lot of frames, then shoot a lot of frames from different angles or objects. Don’t just take the same photo a dozen times.

7. Shoot During the Best Times of the Day

The best times to photograph most landscape scenes is during times with directional light.  This is often times golden hour at sunrise or sunset.  However, you might also find unique opportunties during blue hour and night time.  Each scene can look entirely different in different light, so do some research before heading out on your landscape photography adventures.

8. Edit Your Landscape Photos

Landscape photographers should edit their photos because post-processing can enhance the image and bring out the full potential of the shot. Even the most stunning landscape photo can benefit from minor adjustments to exposure, color, and contrast. Editing allows the photographer to fine-tune the image and bring out the details that may have been lost in the original capture. Additionally, editing can help create a more impactful image by emphasizing certain elements, adjusting the mood, or removing distractions. You might even want to shoot or edit them as black and white landscape photos.

With the right editing skills, a landscape photographer can turn a good shot into a great one.  We’ve created a set of Landscape Photography Presets to speed up the editing process and to help you achieve various looks in a single click!

9. Show a Non-Photographer Friend Your Best Images

This is actually a tip that applies to every kind of photography: print some of your best photos and show them to a good (honest) friend. Because you are obviously pretty close to your pictures, (you took them), you can’t judge them as well as someone else could. Also you could make the mistake of focusing too much on the technical aspects of your image. Your friend who doesn’t know anything about the technical stuff probably won’t make that mistake.

10. Enjoy The Process of Capturing Landscapes

Landscape photography can be an agonizing experience, but it’s also extremely enjoyable if you approach it the correct way. Personally, I used to hate traveling alone and taking photos by myself. After a few times of going out alone, I began to find the entire process meditative, and I began to enjoy myself when I ventured out to take Landscape photos. As soon as I started to enjoy the process, my photos also improved significantly.  If you ensure that you’re enjoying each experience, then all of these landscape photography tips will soon become second nature.

11. Know Your Gear

All of the landscape photography tips are useless if you don’t know how to use your gear. And I don’t mean own the best gear. I just mean learn what your equipment is capable of doing and what it isn’t. Figure out the limitations of your gear and try to find workarounds for avoiding them.

Here’s a list of essential landscape photography gear:

• Full Frame Camera
• Wide Angle Lens
• Sturdy Tripod
• Cable release
• Waterproof Camera Bag

For recommendations, see our list of the best landscape photography lenses and the best landscape photography cameras.

Conclusion

In conclusion, landscape photography can be a rewarding and challenging genre for photographers. Capturing the beauty of the natural world requires planning, skill, and the right equipment. By following these landscape photography tips, you can improve your skills and capture incredible results. Remember, practice makes perfect, so get out there and start exploring the beauty of the natural world with your camera.

One of the best places to find and follow famous street photographers is on Instagram. Through the app, we can take virtual art walks through famous street photographers galleries, each highlighting locations & people in visual stories that connect us all. Whether through detailed captions or images that reflect some larger theme related to the human condition, we can learn a lot about the genre (and about ourselves) by looking to the work of its leaders.

With a billion-plus users on the app, it can be difficult to find the best street photographers. This following list of 10 famous street photographers to follow on Instagram is not exhaustive, but it’s a great place to start.

What Makes for Great Street Photography?

As you browse through the work of the selected street photographers below, you’ll notice they share a number of recognizable traits. These commonalities in their skillset allow them to capture compelling and memorable images. They’re able to anticipate and capture decisive moments. Also, as evidenced in their imagery, these street photographers also pay close attention to composition, light, and context. In addition to technical skills such as dialing in ideal exposures and nailing focus, they also seem to connect with their subjects and convey emotion and mood in their photographs.

If you read through the bios and “About” pages on their sites, which we recommend doing, you’ll find that great street photographers need to be patient, observant, and willing to experiment in order to create unique and impactful images. They all put in their time in the field (or out on the streets, rather) to find their own place within this genre.

10 Famous Street Photographers to Follow

Brandon Stanton (Humans of New York): Website | Instagram

View this post on Instagram

“I was five when he became a person in my world. I didn’t know exactly who he was. I just knew that there was someone around that was making my mother smile. I had to look way up to see him. I’d never met someone so strong. He’d tell me to hold onto his wrist, and he’d lift me into the sky with one hand. He worked at an auto shop, airbrushing designs onto the side of vans. I think he dreamed of being an artist. But he needed something more stable. So after he decided to marry my mom, he became a cop. He never lost touch with his creative side. He was always building things around the house—making things look fancier than we could afford. He built my first bike from scraps. He encouraged me to read. He encouraged me to write. He loved giving me little assignments. He’d give me a quarter every time I wrote a story. Fifty cents if it was a good one. Whenever I asked a question, he’d make me look it up in the encyclopedia. One day he built a little art studio at the back of our house. And he painted a single painting—a portrait of Sting that he copied from an album cover. But he got busy with work and never used the studio again. He was always saying: ‘when I retire.’ ‘I’ll go back to art, when I retire.’ ‘I’ll show in a gallery, when I retire.’ But that time never came. Dad was a cop for twenty years. He was one of the good ones. The kind of cop you see dancing on the street corner. Or skateboarding with kids. But in 1998 he was diagnosed with MS. First there was a little weakness. Then there was a cane. Then there was a wheelchair. It got to the point where he couldn’t even hold a paintbrush. We did his hospice at home. He seemed to have no regrets. He’d been a wonderful provider. He’d raised his daughters. He’d walked me down the aisle. During his final days, we were going through his possessions, one by one. He was telling me who to give them to. I pulled the Sting painting out of an old box, and asked: ‘What should I do with this?’ His response was immediate. ‘Give it to Sting,’ he said. All of us started laughing. But Dad grew very serious. His eyes narrowed. He looked right at me, and said: ‘Give it to Sting.’ So I guess that’s my final assignment.”

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on May 19, 2020 at 11:57am PDT

With over twenty million followers on social media, Brandon Stanton (aka Humans of New York) is easily one of the most famous street photographers working today. As noted on his website, Stanton’s work “provides a worldwide audience with daily glimpses into the lives of strangers on the streets of New York City.” Stanton, whose style features portraits paired with stories, has also photographed people outside of New York City and he’s shared stories from people in more than twenty countries. If you haven’t yet visited Stanton’s Humans of New York profile on Instagram, get ready to be inspired. There’s a reason he’s amassed such a following.

Street Photographers to Follow – Sean Tucker: YouTube | Instagram

View this post on Instagram

I rode a motorbike for a little while when I lived back in South Africa. I miss the feeling of freedom you get from travelling like that. #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography #streetphotography #streetdreamsmag #lensculture #featureshoot #lightandshadow #protectyourhighlights #embraceyourshadows #ricoh #grist #grsnaps #ricohgr3 #lightroommobile #instagram #london #wandsworth #shapes #shadows #motorbike #negativespace

A post shared by Sean Tucker (@seantuck) on May 20, 2020 at 7:58am PDT

Sean Tucker’s thoughtful composition and dramatic interplay of light and shadows firmly cement his place among the most creative street photographers featured in this article. Also, as an artist focused more on the ‘why’ than the ‘how’ with the images he captures, Tucker uses his YouTube channel to offer fresh insight into his process with informative and inspiring stories behind the photos he captures.

Paola Franqui aka Monaris: Website | Instagram

Next to the “enter” button on her website, Paola Franqui (also known as Monaris) describes the gallery of images to come as “a collection of visual stories.” On her site as well as her Instagram feed, Franqui delivers exactly that, in a cinematic style that captures the emotions of those she photographs in fleeting moments of time. While she’s earned the moniker of famous street photographer, she also uses her adept skillset to capture visual stories in a commercial capacity for big brands like RayBan, Budweiser, ESPN, and several others.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Monaris (@monaris_)

Yanidel: Website | Instagram

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Yanick Delafoge (@yanidel_street)

Based in Argentina by way of Paris, Yanidel has traveled the globe capturing compelling street photographs. Though he doesn’t boast the following of some of the other famous street photographers on this list, Yanidel is a worthy contender for placement here and his work reflects that. Yanidel also writes about his process for capturing street photography images and shares tips and techniques through his blog. As noted on his website and made apparent in his images, Yanidel takes a documentary approach to street photography in an attempt “to give a surrealist and lyric dimension to the little facts of our daily life, trying to blend in some humor and a positive spin from time to time.”

Street Photographers to Follow – Mikk Olli: Instagram

View this post on Instagram

Tallinn, Estoni 2018 . . #streetphotography #streettogs #streetphoto #challengerstreets #ourstreets #myspc18 #streetlife_award #capturestreets #gspc #cobblescope #fromstreetswithlove #gf_streets #friendsinperson #SPiCollective #streetsgrammer #fujifilm #fujilove #fujifeed #friendsinstreets #fujifilm_street #aspfeatures #tänavafotograafia #tallinn #estonia #oldtown #fujifilmxt2

A post shared by Mikk Olli | Street Photography (@drawntostreets) on Dec 3, 2018 at 5:11am PST

A digital product designer with a passion for photography, Mikk Olli found his way into street photography after challenging himself to overcome his introverted tendency to shy away from human subjects. Like Sean Tucker (listed above), Olli finds unique compositions and highlights his subjects through bold contrasts of light and dark, often isolating a singular subject against a stark backdrop. Consider Olli an up-and-comer worth a follow. With his consistent, high-quality output, it won’t be long before his social media numbers officially qualify for the “famous” label.

GMB Akash: Website | Instagram

View this post on Instagram

Cyclone Amphan with a wind speed of up to 200 kph expected to hit coastal areas of India and Bangladesh on Wednesday. (20-05-2020) Many times during its history, Bangladesh and the surrounding region have been struck by devastating tropical cyclones that have caused great loss of life and property. Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to storm surge flooding due to the geography of the land and region. Over the next few decades, scientists expect 17 percent of the country’s land to be submerged, and 18 million Bangladeshis to be displaced by seas. The country regularly suffers from deadly and devastating flooding, tropical cyclones, storm surges and droughts. I am sharing few images from my long time project on ‘Climate Change’ in Bangladesh. We can all hope that these images and stories of afflicted climate refugees will bring more attention to this issue. #climatechange #migrants #gmbakash #cyclone #humanitarianphotographerofbangladesh #documentaryohotograoherofbangladesh #bangladeshiphotographers #bangladeshrohingyadeployment #jurnalistofbangladesh #portraitphotographer #streetphotographer #bangladeshphotography #travelling #travel #travelphotography #bangladeshiphotographer #disaster #nature #planetearth #dhaka #Bangladesh #climateregugees

A post shared by GMB AKASH (@gmbakash) on May 19, 2020 at 6:24am PDT

Chock full of bold colors and authentic expressions, the photos that occupy GMB Akash’s Instagram profile will keep you coming back for more. Moreover, the stories that accompany the images make for compelling reading and may even inspire you to take action. A photojournalist at heart, GMB Akash captures visual stories of a wide swath of subjects, from lost tribes to refugees, against a backdrop of climate crises and political unrest.

Street Photographers to Follow – Phil Penman: Website | Instagram

View this post on Instagram

CENTRAL PARK.NEW YORK . Copyright Phil Penman, 2020.

A post shared by P H I L  P E N M A N (@philpenman) on Jul 27, 2020 at 8:01am PDT

Phil Penman’s Instagram feed reads like a fine art gallery of street photography, mainly (but not always) featuring monochromatic captures of the New York City and its inhabitants. Penman’s award-winning work has made him among the most influential and famous street photographers on this list (and in the world). Having documented celebrities and historical moments (like September 11, 2001), Penman’s recent work has turned its attention to various crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, as illustrated in this piece on how homeless people in New York shelter in place.

Linda Wisdom Photography: Website | Instagram

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Linda Wisdom Photography (@lindawisdomphotography)

In addition to the incredible work featured on her Instagram page, you can find Linda’s award-winning fine art street photography featured in a number of magazines, including Amateur Photographer and Digital Camera Magazine, alongside tips on how to artfully capture street photography. According to her site, Linda also teaches workshops and offers photo tours in London and Europe. Her body of work mainly features candid lifestyle shots of people in urban and city environments and uses composition, lighting, and mindful anticipation to tell impactful stories within a single frame.

Street Photographers to Follow – Girma Berta: Instagram

View this post on Instagram

Moving Shadows II, X. #StreetsofAddis

A post shared by Girma Berta (@gboxcreative) on Jul 5, 2017 at 6:04am PDT

In a beautiful blend of street photography and fine art, Girma Berta’s work features a cast of candidly captured citizens set against bold & colorful backdrops. This holds true for pieces that have been digitally altered (such as those featured in his Moving Shadows collection), as well as real world captures taken against city backdrops. Hailing from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Girma has built an award-winning body of work that’s equally comfortable at home in a world class gallery or online in Instagram’s gridded squares, which is especially noteworthy considering many of the images have been captured using an iPhone.

Lee Jeffries: Website | Instagram

View this post on Instagram

Portraits… it’s a book of love… compassion and humanity… when it comes down to it, it’s always that simple… . Link to buy in my bio x

A post shared by Lee Jeffries (@lee_jeffries) on May 3, 2020 at 10:40am PDT

Known primarily for his work documenting the homeless, Lee Jeffries’ intimate portraits of his subjects offer a rare glimpse into a strand of society that’s often overlooked. The closeup, gritty images put viewers face-to-face with Jeffries’ subjects, whose expressions reveal depths of emotion and inspire compassion. For a so-called amateur photographer, Jeffries has built an impressive body of work and a substantial following with whom to share it.

Street Photographers to Follow | Conclusion

I hope this list proves a helpful starting point from which to dive further into the genre. Here again is a quick recap of the famous street photographers featured in this article.

• Brandon Stanton
• Sean Tucker
• Paola Franqui
• Yanidel
• Mikk Olli
• GMB Akash
• Phil Penman
• Linda Wisdom Photography
• Girma Berta
• Lee Jeffries

You can find additional street photography tips in this article on following ethical guidelines while practicing within this genre. Let us know some other famous street photographers that you follow and feel should’ve made list. We know there are plenty left out there who can inspire droves of photographers with their imagery.

Video: The Ultimate 5 Step Shutter Drag Reference Guide

Related Reading: 10 Step Guide to Shutter Drag Portraits

Step #1: What You’ll Need For Shutter Drag

1. A camera that allows manual shutter control. I’m on the Sony A74 mirrorless camera.
2. A wide angle lens to exaggerate the motion such as the Sigma 16-28mm f/2.8.
3. A sturdy tripod. I’m using the Peak Design Travel Tripod.

Step #2: Find Your Composition

Before you fix your camera on your tripod, find your basic composition. Get in the action and look for the direction of the water. To get exaggerated motion, capture the motion as it moves across the frame, rather than towards the camera.

Step #3: Dial In Your Composition

Once you have an idea of your composition, secure your camera and tripod in place. Now, you can find your exact framing.

Step #4: Set Your Exposure

To capture the motion, we need to slow down the shutter speed. The slower the shutter speed, the silkier the water will appear. My preferred shutter speed for shutter drag landscapes at the beach is around 2 seconds.

Step #5: Photograph Away!

Now wait for the right motion and start photographing! Since you’re working with a slow shutter speed, it’s a good idea to use a remote shutter to prevent camera shake. You can also shoot at a high frame rate to capture an entire sequence of images.

Change up your compositions and capture more incredible shutter drag landscapes!

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article/video and give the shutter drag a try and see what great images you come up with! To learn more incredible in-camera special effects, check out our Advanced SFX Course on SLR Lounge Premium! There, you’ll find A-Z guides on many photography related subjects that can help you advance your photography career. You can also visit Visual Flow for a complete library of Lightroom presets and retouching tools.

Don’t miss our next episode of Mastering Your Craft on Adorama’s YouTube channel next week! If you want to catch up on all the episodes, make sure you check out our playlist!