Last month, I did the unthinkable. I actually woke my child from a deep slumber in order to drive to a football field in the middle of the boonies so we could witness a mass ascension of nearly three dozen hot air balloons. Turns out it was a highlight of our summer. Getting to see the massive balloons up close was an amazing experience that was dwarfed by the phenomenal view of them ascending into the cloudless summer sky in unison.
The downside to the entire trip was the fact that I neglected to use the landscape mode on my camera. I actually forgot I had it. FAIL!!!
It was a huge mistake that I have yet to live down. However, it gives me a good excuse to encourage you to experiment with different camera modes, so you never forget you have them at your disposal.
The best time of day to use the landscape mode is sunrise and sunset. The lighting can not be beat during these times of day. In my case the sun was just rising when we got to the hot air balloon festival, so I used it to illuminate my subjects. If it is cloudy when you are shooting during a sunrise, then wait for the light to break through. Clouds are also a great element to include in your landscape shot.
When shooting landscape shots, also consider composition. I would not recommend placing your main subject in the middle of your viewfinder. Rather, look for an object in the foreground, such as a rock, a tree, or a body of water and use it to create depth in the photo. The foreground subject should relate to the background in some way. So if you plan to put a person in the shot, then have him look towards the background element as opposed to staring straight at the camera. Doing so will allow the viewers’ eyes to naturally focus on the element in the background that you were trying to highlight.
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