PLAY WITH PERSPECTIVE

Understand how changing your shooting height and depth of field can impact the perspective

Perspective is a huge part of composition and is often overlooked. The spacing between objects or your foreground and background, and also the distance of the camera to the floor, can dramatically change the aesthetic of your landscapes. Many of the pictures we take are shot at head height, but simply crouching down or reaching up with your camera can change the perspective of your images massively. Plenty of Nikon cameras now employ articulating LCD screens, making it much easier to compose at these awkward angles, which are a simple and quick way to achieve a completely different look. Just changing the shooting height can make your subject look more or less dominant by introducing a high or low angle, which alters the mood of the shot.

Including something substantial in the foreground is often described as adding foreground interest. It’s a great way of anchoring your image and providing some depth between the front and back areas of your shot. If you do choose to include foreground interest, experiment with how close you can get to it, to change its size within the frame. Many photographers opt to get really close to foreground interest and use a superwide-angle lens to change the perspective. You might actually find it easier to compose your landscapes in portrait orientation when including foreground interest. This will enable your foreground to take up all of the lower third of your image.

Many of the pictures we take are shot at head height, but simply crouching down or reaching up with your camera can change the perspective of your images massively