| The pandemic has definitely changed "normal" life as we know it. With lockdowns and restrictions limiting the types of activities we can partake in, many of us have found solace and renewed enthusiasm for the beauty of nature and the great outdoors.
To help you make the most of your time outdoors and capture the memories, professional travel photographer and Can Geo contributor Jennifer Fast of "Jenn Explores" provides top tips for capturing gorgeous landscape photography.
Capture a sense of scale One of the best ways you can demonstrate scale in your landscape photography is by including people in the image. Seeing a tiny human absorbed in a vast landscape can entice viewers to imagine themselves in the subject's shoes, immersing themselves deeper into the scene you've captured.
Create human-environment connection When including a person in your composition, try to capture them authentically engaged in an activity. Photographing your subject enjoying their surroundings will help draw a deeper connection between the person and their environment.
Experiment with self-portraits If no "models" are available to shoot, set up a tripod and hop in front of the camera! Learning self-portrait photography can be very freeing when you want to photograph a human subject in your landscape photographs but are going out alone to shoot. Most cameras (even most smartphones!) come with a self-timer, allowing you to place yourself in front of the camera before the image is taken. However, many cameras offer more sophisticated options, such as an intervalometer, which can be programmed to take several photos at timed intervals. Using an intervalometer, you can try different poses and placements in the composition as the shutter is continuously triggered until you stop it. You can also look into purchasing a remote shutter release for your camera that will allow you to trigger the shutter manually while away from your camera. Often, these come in the form of a tiny remote control. However, there are also smartphone apps that can act as remote triggers once set up with your camera — check the app store to see which will work with your camera model.
Learn proper technique and settings As a general rule of thumb, unless you are planning on focus stacking (which is an advanced technique), you will likely be looking for a decent depth of field to your landscape photography to ensure that most of the scene is in sharp focus. To achieve this, use an aperture between f/8 to f/16 or so (the absolute sharpest aperture settings will vary by lens). However, why not try something creative with your depth of field, such as focusing on a flower in the foreground and blurring your landscape in the background (or vice versa)? To achieve this look, you'll need to deviate away from the "classic" aperture setting rules for landscape photography and try an aperture setting with a shallow depth of field (lower f-stop, from 1.4 to about 5.6). Play around with your point of focus to achieve different looks with this low f-stop setting until you've framed up something you love!
Always shoot in raw If your camera allows it, always shoot in raw mode. Raw files maintain all of the image data and colour details from a photograph without applying compression. You'll be able to push the image further during post-processing, and you'll often be able to restore highlights that have been overexposed, as well as bring back details from shadowed areas without the image becoming too noisy. Once you try it, you'll see why it is a game-changer and likely never go back to jpg shooting!
Use low ISO for a noise-free, clean image You can achieve the cleanest image possible by selecting an ISO that is the lowest possible option when balancing with your shutter speed and aperture settings. Most cameras go as low as ISO100, but many professional cameras can go even lower. Dropping your ISO as low as the light will allow will greatly minimize the amount of noise that will be visible in the shadows of your image — which will really allow you to "push" the image during post-processing.
Cut glare with a circular polarizing (CPL) filter Learning to use a circular polarizing (CPL) filter will add a professional flair to your landscape photography. You can keep the scene looking clean and cut glare (especially to reflective surfaces) by using a CPL. These filters are lightweight and simple to use — they screw onto the front of your lens, and are made of two pieces of glass that rotate to cut light glare out of a scene. They can also be used to return contrast and saturation back to a scene, adding balance as they remove light distractions. I recommend buying the best CPL filter you can afford if you're serious about your photography, as cheaper offerings can sometimes result in an unwanted colour cast across your image. I especially love using CPL filters to cut reflections when shooting bodies of water — you'll be amazed how much more "clear" the water will appear and how much more you can photograph that is beneath the surface, such as rocks, logs, etc.
Shoot during golden and blue hours Photography is about capturing light, and you can choose to be picky about the type of light you decide to shoot in. If you're looking for one single tip that will make the most dramatic difference to your landscape photography, it is to focus your shooting around golden hour and blue hour.
Follow Jenn on Instagram (@jennexplores) and see more of her photography at jennexplores.com. | 
