Even if you are a landscape photographer who has mastered the art of capturing and editing photos, knows how to plan and compose photos, and produces beautiful images continuously, you can reach a point where you feel stuck with your photography. In this article, I share a way to overcome this barrier to take your photography to the next level.
When I started photographing landscapes more than 10 years ago, I planned many photography tours around famous scenes and places. It was fun for a few years. I learned a lot, honed my technique, and sometimes even created an outstanding photo. But landscape photography is more than just recreating the same images over and over.
I draw a lot of inspiration from learning and discovering new things. Initially, it came from learning photography and editing techniques. After that, I focused on improving my compositions and experimenting with new angles. Meeting other photographers and seeing how they work is also very helpful.
But over the years, it has become harder and harder for me to progress with my photography. What keeps me motivated is investing time in finding new places and taking pictures in places that can express my own creative vision.
Take your photography to the next level
There are different ways to take your photography to the next level, and finding the right one largely depends on your current level. In the lead up to this article, I cover landscape photographers with some experience who have mastered the basics. For those people, one way to improve is to become better scouts and below I’ll show you how to get more out of known and unknown pixels that way.
Boy Scouts for New Perspectives
Let’s start with popular photography locations. Before visiting, try to find their photos on different photo sharing platforms. That’s nothing new, and I’m sure it’s what many of you do when planning your photography trips. But instead of recreating those photos later, do the opposite. Once you’ve seen typical works from one perspective, make it your duty to find new perspectives. Taking clear layouts out of the equation forces you to be creative.
It can be a challenging exercise and in some places you might not come across something original. Sometimes, you’ll have to admit that the popular hits are also the best mixes. But coming to this conclusion after first exploring the other available angles is still beneficial because you exercise your photographic eye in the process.
Let me give you an example: the photo below shows the Vikos Gorge in Greece, taken from Beloi’s perspective. If you google this view, you will find many similar images. What they have in common: they are taken from the same narrow viewing platform and lack the foreground.
I went there with an hour to spare before sunset. It allowed me to explore and find a more interesting perspective not far from the main one. Here, I was able to include the characteristic layered rocks in the foreground that you see everywhere around Vikos Gorge. The middle of the image includes vivid greenery, providing perfect color contrast with the magenta in the sky. All those elements were missing in the other photo. The photo I took at Sarakiniko on Milos is another example. I invested a lot of time avoiding typical compositions. It’s funny how this rock formation is close to the entrance of the beach. But only after sunset was this composition revealed to me. Before that, I spent almost two hours studying the different rock formations along the beach for a possible photo. Which brings me to the most important aspect of finding popular photo spots: plan enough time and if possible, visit at different times of day to experience the places. that point under different light.
Scouting for new positions
As I wrote above, it’s not always possible to find something new if you just visit known photography locations. Finally, you may want to venture a little further and start looking for unknown photo locations. Are from one of my previous articles, you know I like to do this through a single run, but that’s not always possible. Sometimes, there is not enough time, especially when it is necessary to increase many days to reach the area of interest.
For me, those more distant and foreign places are a source of great inspiration, and I spent my second day in the Vikos Gorge area for one of them. In the featured video, I show how I plan my hike to the unknown, and I offer five tips for making such a successful scouting:
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First, you should properly plan for such an expedition. I use a combination of Google Maps, Google Earth, OpenTopoMapand vivacious. The result of such planning are GPS coordinates for the lookout points I want to visit and a map for the hike, including elevation gain.
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During hiking, stay open to explore viewpoints along the way. Record those with your cell phone. When you arrive at your destination, you can compare it with the scenery you passed and choose the most suitable one to photograph, then go there to watch the sunset or sunrise.
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Those scouting photos alone are not enough. Use apps like PhotoPills and an augmented reality view to check the sun’s path. It gives you an idea of how the light will evolve at a potential photographic spot. Avoid choosing a viewing angle to take a photo without a chance to get the right light.
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As the hike takes you more and more into the wilderness and the trails start to disappear, ask yourself when it’s time to stop or even turn around. You must be aware of your abilities and pathfinding skills. Don’t overestimate yourself, and always think about walking those trails in the dark if you’re in a sunset spot.
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Finally, it’s always good to have a backup plan. If your scouting hike doesn’t uncover the sights you’re looking for, it’s better to have something else to photograph as the day draws to a close.
For my hike in Vikos Gorge, I did not require a backup plan. I found a beautiful view along the way. An hour before sunset, the light is perfect for photographing it.
I did another hike into the unknown a few years ago in Colombia. It brought me to this view of a cluster of palm trees surrounded by thick clouds over the mountains of Santa Marta.
The great thing about such photos is that they will be your own. You don’t get distracted by other images you may have seen of a place online while you compose your photo. You’ll be able to express your own creative vision and it’s a great way to get better at your photography.
