Seven Beginner Mistakes to Avoid in Landscape Photography
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Maine.
When I started shooting Landscape photography, I made a ton of mistakes. My compositions were usually boring, often under exposed, and regularly out of focus. But I’ve learned from those missteps, and today I’ll share my top beginner mistakes you should avoid.
Improving your landscape photography takes time and practice. I am by no means an expert, but I have learned and grown in the time since I picked up my camera.
My hope is that these tips will help you to improve quickly.
I tried to organize these mistakes and related tips into three buckets:
Mistakes you make before shooting.
Mistakes you make while shooting.
Mistakes you make afterwards in the editing process.
Mistakes Beginners Make Before Shooting
#1: Being too Focused on Gear
I started with the same camera I use today and it’s a Sony a7ii. While it’s an older camera model, released in November of 2014, it does more than enough for what I need. This model is a digital, full frame, mirrorless camera and comes with a 28-70mm lens.
Sony Alpha a7ii digital camera.
This kit lens is perfect for most people to learn with, for a few reasons.
Versatile Focal length: The 28-70mm range offers a wide enough focal length at 28mm that you can capture most landscapes. On the other end, the 70mm length zooms just enough to get decent close ups.
Light weight: This lens allows extended hand-held shooting without weighing you down.
Simplifies Your Options: Not having multiple lenses means you don’t waste time switching them around. It also eliminates the chance of dust getting on your sensor when changing lenses.
While I love my Sony, there are “entry level” models with each brand. Just do some research and don’t worry about getting the newest model. Oftentimes the improvements are geared more towards advanced photographers.
More important than gear is practice. If you’re just starting out, grab an affordable camera and spend a year or two learning how to use it before investing in a more expensive model.
If you’re curious about what gear I use, I have everything listed on my About Me page. The links included are affiliate links and if you end up purchasing anything, I get a small commission, which helps support my business and is greatly appreciated!
#2: Over Consuming Information
I used to spend hours watching YouTube videos and listening to podcasts. While that’s helpful and inspiring, make sure you do it in moderation. Otherwise it can quickly get overwhelming and cause analysis paralysis.
A better use of time is to find a couple of channels on YouTube, or podcasts that resonate with you and try to gradually implement the lessons learned.
Focus on creating, rather than consuming.
Here are a few YouTube channels I enjoy:
Ben Reeder (Hey, I can’t pass on the chance to pitch my own channel! If you haven’t watched it before, check it out!)
Watch my full YouTube breakdown that includes a Lightroom editing tutorial.
Here are a few podcasts I regularly listen to:
Outdoor Photography Podcast with Brenda Petrella
The Landscape Photography Show with David Johnston
F-Stop Collaborate and Listen with Matt Payne
Mistakes Beginners Make While Shooting
#3: Relying on a Single Element in your Composition
When I started shooting landscapes, I put too much focus on the condition in the sky. While the sky can be a key element in your photos, especially during a colorful sunrise or sunset, pay attention to everything in the frame.
Try to capture something in the foreground, midground and background, if possible. This makes the photo much more dynamic and interesting.
If you’re near water, look for some rocks along the shore and get down low to allow them to fill the lower part of your frame. Or if you’re in a field, find some flowers and try the same approach.
Another option is to use natural framing to add elements to the edge of your image. Look for tree branches and leaves that create a border around an interesting subject.
#4: Only Shooting at Eye Level
The easiest perspective to shoot from is from your natural eye level. It’s also the least exciting. Remember that this is the same perspective people see things from every day.
Try getting lower to the ground to see how it changes the shot. Dropping your tripod down to its lowest setting can open a whole range of new compositions.
Another interesting angle is to get your camera just above a puddle or pool of water. If there is something nearby like a lighthouse or a church and you find the right angle, you can create some interesting reflection images.
#5: Not Checking the Sharpness of Images
There’s nothing worse than taking a bunch of pictures of a beautiful sunset and then getting home to find out they’re all slightly out of focus.
Get in the habit of not only looking at the full image in the preview window, but also zooming in to see whether the finer details are in focus or not. Sometimes the image can look sharp when zoomed out on a small screen, but once you pull it up on your computer the focus is soft.
You won’t need to do this on every single shot (that can kill your battery in a hurry), but at least check the first couple.
#6: Not Bringing the Right Stuff
A few suggestions on how to be prepared for a variety of conditions:
Have extra batteries, especially if you’re shooting in the cold. Colds weather kills batteries quickly!
Bring a micro fiber cloth and clean your lens regularly. Dust spots and water spray can sometimes be removed in post processing, but if it’s bad enough it can ruin an otherwise great shot.
Check your SD card and clear it regularly. I like to back up my raw files on a pair of external hard drives and clear off my memory cards monthly. Running out of memory mid-shoot can be a real pain.
Those are some serious dust spots!
Mistakes Beginners Make After Shooting
#7: Relying on Auto Adjustments and Global Edits
Auto edit can be a quick way to see which photos you want to work on and spend more time editing. But relying on this feature can create some unbalanced images.
Think of the global setting as blunt instruments. They make changes to the entire image. Instead of living in the basic section of your editing software, try out some of the more advanced features like the tone curve and the HSL/Color sections.
I walk through some of these editing features in this video:
