This was shot during golden hour and does have digital development to it.
This photo has the s curve and was shot during golden hour and along with that meets the requirement of texture.
This image meets the requirements of golden hour and s curve.
1.Understand the problem
What is a landscape?
A photo showing the space of nature and natural life. It can include manmade objects like buildings, etc. The photo shows depth and creativity; shows movement.
Who are some great landscape artists?
NC Brown, Peter McKinnon, Chris Burkard, Charlie Waite, George Steinmetz, Carr Clifton
What is important for a great landscape photo? Why?
The use of depth and natural or man made lines or curves to lead the viewers eye into the photo. It makes it feel more natural, develops a view point, and makes a good composition better. Creates the feeling of actually being there instead of a standard, 2D looking touristy photo. Movement also helps viewer, clouds moving into photo, slow shutter speed to help create smooth look of clouds or water to help catch the viewers eye.
2. Research and Investigate
What common mistake should be avoided?
Not having a straight horizon aka crooked photo, blurry images caused by not using a tripod, dull and flat lighting can be avoided by shooting during golden hour either in the morning or afternoon, try not to shoot towards the sun helps to still get the texture needed for the photo, bad composition which can be avoided by using the rule of thirds and not putting horizon right in the middle of the photo, no foreground which will help create the depth to the landscape photo, too much contrast separating the foreground from the background way too much when you want the two to flow together and seem like one, it has been done before/common photo no unique composition or view can be avoided by looking for something most wouldn't shoot and by not shooting at eye level.
What techniques or methods of Composition should be considered or addressed?
The rule of thirds so that the photo isn't divided right into two and that you have an more interesting composition. Negative space to help bring focal point to be more obvious instead of filling the whole photo with unnecessary items. Use natural lines, patterns and shapes to help create an interesting composition. Use the way the trees are, use the road to create lines, use footprints to help create an interesting composition and create depth. Find what you want the viewer to focus on and try and find lines to direct the viewers eye to that point. Utilize foreground framing to lead the viewers eye into photo. ITS ALL ABOUT LEADING THE VIEWERS EYE TO THE FOCAL POINT. Just because it is a landscape doesn't mean there isn't a focal point, it doesn't mean there is no composition to consider.
What is so important about SPACE?
Space helps create the landscape. It helps balance the photo. Negative space will help create a natural feeling photo and make it also have some depth to it. Helps the eye travel through the photo, create certain parts that the eye will stop on. Having a crowded photo filled with a ton of objects, then it loses a focal point. Space develops the photo and helps create a good composition that makes the landscape differ from the rest of the photo. Space when used correctly helps create depth, having a foreground and something else to help lead into the photo will create a good depth.
How do you see or show depth?
Having objects at varying points through out the photo helps create depth. Having a foreground, middle ground, and background creates depth. Shadows also help because it gives the objects a 3D look to them. Having leading lines or s-curves help create depth since they go into the photo. Shooting through something such as trees will also help give the illusion of depth in the photo. Color will also help add depth to the photo. Having a deep depth of field, and a wide view for the framing of the photo also helps add depth to the photo.
Does Color matter?
Yes color does matter. Color adds depth, and it creates a more interesting landscape composition. It helps add originality to the photo compared to if there wasn't color. If it is a black and white composition, color does matter with the variations of black and white. Color helps create different depths through the different tones. Lighting affects the color in the photos and that also helps with creating depth. Color can ruin a landscape photo or it can make the landscape photo. Colors that flow well together when intensified will help create a good image. Greens and blues go well together and will help make a cohesive image. Using a color wheel can help decide what colors will create the best composition together, spilt complimentary, complimentary, monochromatic, triadic, and diad are some of the best ways to combine colors. The saturation of different individuals colors also plays a part in how color affects a photo.
What artists styles do I appreciate most and why?
I like the styles of NC Brown and Peter McKinnon. I like the way NC Brown uses light and how it varies throughout the photo in a way. He also gets different, unusual perspectives, the way he uses slow shutter speeds to capture the flow of water, and the colors he uses to enhance his images. I just like the technical aspects of his shooting and the way he develops his images and the time of day he shoots which is mostly sunrise and sunset. I like way Peter McKinnon also uses some of the same technical things as NC Brown, but the way he uses roads and patterns to use the space and create leading lines. Also his drone shots are pretty cool too. The way he uses reflections as well and creates an image with colors that compliment one another.
How should foreground, middle and background be used.
They should be used to create depth and focal point. Use it to create contrast throughout the photo, and make sure to use colors in development that make them flow well together. Lowering your viewpoint when taking the photo helps make sure foreground is included in the photo.
What’s so important about balance.
It helps balance the photo. Negative space will help create a natural feeling photo and make it also have some depth to it. Helps the eye travel through the photo, create certain parts that the eye will stop on. Negative space helps create a counter balance to this. Landscape photos are about balance because you want to have some control over where the viewers eye will go and what it will land on. Balances the foreground and the background.
How do you create texture (hint: its a kind a light)?
Using contrast helps create texture, looking for different items that already have texture is easy to do in a landscape photo. Trees, ground, etc are natural texture that will appear in the photos. Clouds as well. Golden hour which is during the sunset and sunrise helps create texture. Shadows are also a very important factor in creating shadows in an image.
Do I need a focal point?
Yes you do. All images need to have a focal point. Created by using the techniques described above. It creates a spot for the viewers eye to focus on, the most important part of the image. It creates a good landscape photo by having a focal point.
What kind of digital alterations can be done with landscapes?
Saturation, vibrance, different changes in colors like hues, cropping, lighting by using the gradient mask, contrast, photoshop to get rid of distracting items or to add in clouds or something from a different photo taken.
-make sure to have a focal point, balance the photo out with negative space, use framing or leading roads, shoot during golden hour!!!
3. Generate possible Solutions
Brainstorm:
time of day:
sunrise golden hour or sunset golden hour
day to go:
right after it snows like a day or two, when there are clouds outside, preferably on the weekend
where to go:
-dallas divide, CO
-maroon lake
-great sand dunes
-city park in denver
-hanging lake
-grand lake
-flatirons in boulder
-kebler pass
-rocky mountian national park
-chatfield park
-roxborough park
-lookout mountain
-crested butte
-last dollar road
-shrine pass
-McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area
-telluride
-crystal lake
-flat tops wilderness
-mount evans
-Bridal Veil Falls
-Rifle Mountain Ice Caves
-blue lakes
-vail
-red rock canyon
-Black Canyon of the Gunnison
-aspen
-white river national forest
-million dollar highway, CO
subjects/props:
- use mountains/clouds as the focal point
-maybe use a lake or river as a focal point
-sunburst as a focal point
-maybe use a person as a focal point, have them walking down a path or sitting down on something
-use widest lens I have
Examples:
http://ncbrown.photos/landscape/
Peter McKinnon landscapes google images or his instagram
My ideas:
- go to somewhere with a lake or water and using a tripod create water movement using the slow shutter speed during sunrise
-go somewhere with trees and a road to use road as an s curve and the trees to give texture to the image
-make the clouds have movement into the photo help to point out focal point during sunset
-use grass/snow to create texture in the image and as foreground, middle ground as trees and mountians as the background
4: Select and Develop Best Solution
my ideas from above here
colors:pinks and blues and purples together in the sky with yellows/greens and some oranges in the foreground
maybe some more yellows and oranges in the foreground and blues in the sky, maybe some green as well
oranges and blues together, maybe some yellows and pinks
natural colors like browns, but not very prominent
cooler tones together and the warmer tones together more than mixing the two
use overlapping of mountains to create depth, trees and other leading lines, make sure to have a foreground maybe some plants for this part, slow shutter speed to help create depth and movement in the photo through the clouds or water, make sure to use the rule of thirds, try to not put anything right in the middle of the composition
5.Model and Prototype (Create)
The bottom two photos are from when I went and reshot my photos because I wanted more cloud movement and wanted to have some photos taken at sunset instead of only during sunrise.
6. Test and Evaluate
I did end up going back out to take more photos to get what I said I wanted above in part 5
For the photo above it was a little cool and dark but the sun added contrast, everything use to be very backlit but then I added a gradient mask to make the foreground lighter. The trees I added a mask to help add in some more texture there. I went into photoshop to get rid of the sign that I thought took away from the image. Yet I still liked the cool tones that it had, so I wanted to add that back so I did take down the yellow hue slightly to add that. Since there was some snow I though to cooler tones helped bring out the fact that it was a morning during the winter time. I think it could have been better if I had made the yellow bushes a little lighter when it got closer to the horizon and the trees, it kind of looks weird the way it is, but it looks better than the original. The negative space in the sky helps to bring balance into the photo. I think that if I gave the trees some more texture by bringing up the exposure on only them would also help the image. It might have also looked good at sunset with the sun on the subject.
This was shot during golden hour and does have digital development to it.
This photo I took at sunrise again and I didn't particularly like the way it was taken at first. It didn't really seem to have a focal point so I went through and tried different ways of cropping it. Mr.Coulson helped me try to find what was the most interesting for that. He also helped me figure out how to bring out the texture in the foreground and still keep the color in the sky. I liked the vertical cropping of the image and how it looked with the s curve. I think it helps lead the eye to the focal point. I think it could have looked a little better if I had taken it a little closer to when golden hour was over so I didn't have the shadows of the mountains casting onto the other mountains. I was trying to keep it somewhat of a more cool colored landscape since the snow gives off that vibe but still bringing out the color in the foreground.
This photo has the s curve and was shot during golden hour and along with that meets the requirement of texture.
For this photo I shot it during sunset. I did a longer shutter speed to try and create movement in the sky. Although it did make the foreground plants blurry which I think would have looked better with stop action.I didn't like the powerlines so I took those out in photoshop since I thought they were distracting. I think the focal point is a little lost in the photo, although it does have the middle ground and the clouds to help lead the eye into the image. Yet I think the focal point could've been clearer and that overall the whole image could have been clearer.
This image meets the requirements of golden hour and s curve.
7. Produce
