Magical, Mystical, Mysterious
Discover how to capture a sense of magic, mystique and mystery in your landscape photography for truly enchanting images
The world is a wondrous creation, filled with places of magic and mystery. From ancient woodlands to swelling oceans, the earth provides endless inspirations for landscape photographers. As visual artists, we often have the pleasure of experiencing very unique and special moments in nature. The pursuit of capturing these moments exposes us to the opportunities that many people will rarely, if ever, have the privilege of witnessing.
In these moments with nature, we often open ourselves up to the magic and beauty around us and start building appreciation, which drives our artistic vision forward. This is when we start searching for alluring elements in seemingly mundane scenes, this is also when we start discovering the magic, spirit, and mystery of the landscape.
However, the experience of shooting enchanted landscapes is only part of what makes a capture successful. This is because the real essence of a truly special photograph often begins and ends with
something much simpler; the way we perceive the world around us and our imagination.
The art of seeing landscapes and transforming artistic visions into a reality is often what makes the difference between the ordinary and special. Two photographers might capture the same magical scene and each one of them will likely arrive at a completely different result.
Capturing enchanted landscapes is about mastering the ability to move beyond a visual representation of the scene. It’s about the skill of being able to elicit emotions, feelings and atmosphere of mystery in nature.
This article will take you through a few important steps that you can introduce to your images – and the viewer – to add a sense of mystery and magic.
THE ESSENCE OF MAGICAL LANDSCAPES
From grand landscapes to intimate details, the best landscape photographs have a power to bring us out of our conscious human experience by the sheer strength of their emotional content. The most memorable landscape photographs demonstrate the photographer’s connection to nature yet leave something to the imagination. These two elements are strongly linked to the way that photographers and viewers experience, connect with, and see the landscape itself.
The power of experience and connection
Creating magical images often starts with a sense of appreciation and passion. The beauty and uniqueness of a landscape is defined by more than what it reveals – it is often about your experience as an artist or photographer. If you are sensitive to the beauty of photographed scenery, you will try to capture an image that best communicates your emotional response. Quite often, what we experience is closely interlinked with the mood that we are trying to capture. Typically, open and bright landscapes elicit a sense of happiness and relaxation, whilst dark and gloomy scenes evoke a sense of depression and fear.
Whatever emotion you feel towards your subject will be reflected in your photographs. A good starting point therefore, before you decide to take out your camera, is to study how the landscape is affecting your emotions. If you can find something that causes you to respond emotionally to the scene, then your images will have a better chance of communicating that emotion and your viewers will ultimately feel more connected with your work.
The beauty and uniqueness of a landscape is defined by more than what it reveals – it is often about your experience as an artist
The art of seeing
In landscape photography, everything begins with ‘seeing’. The way we see can be situational and influenced by our experiences and familiarity
with a location or subject. Additionally, in pursuit of capturing magical landscapes, we subconsciously use our senses, as they help us understand and perceive the world around us. However, our viewers are not granted with that same exposure. Having only their sense of sight, they need to rely on their thought process to fill in the rest of ‘the puzzle’ that we have presented to them with their memory bank of experiences.
In the absence of sensory information, viewers feel better connected to simplified stories behind images. There must be something in the shot that quickly catches the viewer’s attention. The simpler the image, the easier it is to find the focal point. From there, the eye will wander through the image. Once you have caught the viewer’s attention by making your focal point stand out, the brain can fill in the other sensory information to make an emotional connection. Now the audience can relate to your personal image through their own experiences and feel something. As you progress, you will learn to direct those
The most essential thing is that you choose a subject that interests you – something that you can happily immerse yourself in while working
emotions through the use of light and colour, as well as other techniques to create better compositions.
THE HOLY TRINITY OF MAGICAL LANDSCAPES
Creation of magical landscape photographs is about the art of capturing images of nature and the outdoors in a way that brings the viewer into the scene. At the heart of this process is the photographer’s conscious choice of what to shoot, when to do so and how to do it. These three elements play an important role in creating the impression and altering the meaning of the image.
Subject
Deciding on the subject in the creation of magical landscapes matters greatly. After all, your subject represents your visual and narrative focus. It is the first thing that viewers look at and one that brings up questions of: what did the creator try to depict in their image; what did they try to express?
Quite often, without even realizing it, when we are drawn into the scene, we are infusing our own perception and perspective into our photographs. For that reason, it is important to make sure that the subject we are choosing gives us enough room to develop our vision.
Finding the right subject matter is like searching for your own voice. This is what sets you apart and, ultimately, what makes your work interesting, distinctive and desired by others. In magical landscapes, subjects can be anything you want them to be – whatever your imagination conjures up. The most essential thing is that you choose a subject that interests you – something that you can happily immerse yourself in while working on it. Your experience and connection with a subject plays a crucial role. When you develop your connection, you will be capable of feeling a story through your experience.
Light
Another important aspect of creating magical landscapes is light. Light matters greatly in photography almost by its definition; even the most beautiful subjects you capture are nothing more than light falling on the camera sensor.
Light can change the emotional impact of your capture, which is one of the most crucial elements of magical landscapes. Light also determines the appearance of shapes and objects in your photographs. For example, high-contrast punchy light can be used to reveal drama and bring intensity, while subtle colours and soft shadows will be used to create a gentle, dreamlike image.
Composition
The beauty of landscape photography is that you can depict your artistic vision in a variety of ways. Some photographers like to replicate scenery, however the creation of magical landscapes does not seek to replicate any specific place, but rather to go beyond the visual representation of the scene.
Composing images means arranging and orchestrating visual elements and utilizing
myriad techniques. The possibilities to depict the scene are as endless as the imagination itself.
I always compared the process of composing an image to composing music. One relies on sound, the other on sight, but both rely on harmony. At times you silence one section of your image and make another louder. This, in turn, helps to create a better, more balanced visual flow to your composition.
THE CHEMISTRY OF MAGIC
If you aspire to create magical landscapes, your vision is going to be your only friend in that endeavour. However, for any vision to become a reality, you need a mixture of the right conditions and places. Whilst searching for both, try to listen to your inner feeling. Take your camera somewhere remote, like a deep forest during a foggy day, and keep watching everywhere to seek details, as beauty and magic is everywhere.
Chase magical conditions
As landscape photographers, we often find ourselves at the mercy of constantly changing weather conditions. Sometimes it is just not feasible to produce images under the exact, ideal conditions we might wish for, hence why we need to make repeated visits under different conditions, or work around forecasted weather, to yield the best results.
Magic in landscapes is more than general weather – it encompasses clouds, wind, fog, mist, scent and light scatter. Essentially, everything that might awaken our senses.
Fog and mist are my favourite conditions for the creation of magical landscapes. However, as much as these two elements can add an enigmatic and mysterious appearance, they can also be difficult to capture well, adding a good sense of challenge.
Both fog and mist are likely to form overnight and are mostly found in the early morning, as the
sun rises. Fog happens when it is very humid and when there is a notable temperature difference between the ground and the air. To determine if a day is likely to contain mist or fog, I will check the local forecast the day before and prepare to get up well before dawn.
Find magical places
The world is a wondrous creation filled with places of magic and mystery, however finding a perfect, magical location involves a bit more than just luck…
One of the biggest secrets to finding magical landscapes is to spend more time exploring and becoming familiar with a location. If you show up at a location multiple times, keeping in mind your desired composition and the weather conditions that could make it happen, you’re on the right track. You should know the landscape so much that you are always prepared for any conditions you might encounter. Being familiar with your landscape can also help you refine your composition, discover hidden subjects and, most importantly, develop your vision. When you have an end result in mind, you can make it reality.
There is no right or wrong way to finding a perfect landscape location. What is important is consistent research. You want to research everything you can about wherever you want to shoot: the weather
Discover hidden subjects and, most importantly, develop your vision. When you have an end result in mind, you can make it reality
conditions (using weather forecasts from various sources to ensure you’re not surprised), how the light will likely fall (using apps like The Photographer’s Ephemeris) and the surrounding area (you can use Google Earth for this). Keeping all this in mind, you should be able to convey the sense and atmosphere of any landscape you encounter.
CAPTURE THE ATMOSPHERE
Don’t we all want to capture a landscape and its allure in that moment? This is what makes the image so special and memorable to us and allows others to connect with our work. Capturing magical atmosphere might sound far-fetched to some – it’s a skill elusive to many photographers. This is because the final look isn’t just about subject, light and composition, but also how they evoke emotion and capture the visceral aspects of scenes. ‘Knowing how’ comes with experience, but at the core of this process lies the skill of using your camera and the techniques you utilize to capture your vision.
Utilize camera settings
The starting point of photographing foggy scenes is
Capturing magical atmosphere might sound far-fetched to some – it’s a skill elusive to many photographers
to switch to manual focus. As there is little to no contrast in foggy scenes autofocus, which works by detecting differences in contrast, will struggle to obtain the correct level of sharpness. So instead, choose your focal point and adjust the focus by hand. For example, you could focus on a building that’s surrounded by the fog, or perhaps use a foreground focal point, such as a tree, person or other subject close to the camera.
Next, consider exposure compensation. Fog can trick the metering system into underexposing images. This is when fog can become dull and unappealing. Dialling in +1 exposure compensation as a starting point can restore vitality in images, however it is important to continuously check the histogram to avoid blowing the highlights.
Another technical challenge comes with maintaining a sense of depth and perspective.
I find that it is always helpful to have at least some elements of the scene closer to the camera that step outside the denser parts of fog. The resulting composition helps to maintain a sense of depth and also retains higher contrast and saturation that looks nice against gentle, diffused backgrounds.
Using special techniques
It is all too easy to get caught up in the technical issues whilst trying to capture foggy scenes. From a creative point of view, the most exciting part often lies in composing the image. The main challenge here is to avoid a flat or washed-out appearance, which can be achieved by using special techniques, such as layering, using silhouettes or contrasting.
The beauty of photographing fog is that not only does it create a strong sense of depth in an image, but it can also separate out layers that might be otherwise flattened in the composition. A good example of this is using a telephoto lens to capture trees in a field at a distance. Using a zoom lens would be a good way of compressing scenes, but fog can provide an atmospheric space between the trees, therefore creating a layering effect and a different type of composition.
Another technique that can also be effective at adding depth in foggy conditions is using
silhouettes. As all the receding layers in the image fade into the depths of the background, layer upon layer is revealed. The silhouette will be bold and add a sense of mystery to the image.
Layering techniques are also closely linked to contrasting. The further the object, the lighter it will appear; the closer it is, the darker it will be. This makes fog ideal for creating layers in images. Using contrasting techniques is about mixing dark and light objects. We can also use the fog to contrast it against either emptiness or a faded background, which can add an ethereal look to our work.
POST-PROCESSING MAGIC
Despite all the best efforts with using camera settings and special techniques, most images will still need some post-production work. My favourite tools include – but are not limited to – the Dehaze filters and the Orton effect.
Enhancing ethereal appearances
One of the first things that is usually noticed about fog photos is that at first they can appear flat and lifeless. This is particularly true when you are trying to capture an image in dense fog. In fact, the denser the fog, the narrower the histogram, as there is very little contrast. In order to rectify this issue some photographers tend to adjust the contrast slider. However, adding more contrast quite often means that you will lose the softness and dreamy appearance of your image.
Therefore, a good alternative solution you might want to consider is using the Dehaze filter in Lightroom. A gentle Dehaze goes a long way, but I usually keep my adjustments under +5 and apply it locally, where needed. Dehaze adjustment can also be used when you want to obtain a softer look; this can become useful, particularly if fog wasn’t
Despite all the best efforts with using camera settings and special techniques, most images will still need some post-production
soft enough for your liking. In order to soften the image I push the slider the other way, or apply negative Clarity. Both options help to enhance the ethereal appearance of a foggy capture.
Adding a sense of mystery
Foggy landscapes often have a dreamy, almost paintery, feel to them. Fog softens and diffuses light and helps to introduce a variety of moods. In order to additionally enhance mysterious atmospheres, I sometimes use two handy post-processing techniques, which are linked to adding a dreamlike glow and colour adjustments.
The first is called the Orton effect and it was developed in the 1980s, before the digital era, to imitate watercolour paintings by blending in-focus overexposed images with a sharp overexposed shot. The main principle of using that method is to create an image with a dreamy feel to it.
It is a straightforward process that can be carried out in Lightroom or Photoshop. Of course, it is up to you how far you want to push the effect, however, you might not want to push it too far, lest your shot looks too over-processed. In Photoshop, for example, you start by duplicating your layer and labelling something like ‘Orton’. Then select the ‘Orton’ layer and apply Gaussian blur. I usually set the radius between 25 and 50. From there, go to Image>adjustments>levels to adjust the contrast, highlights and shadows to your liking. Then select the clipping mask, which will apply adjustments only to your ‘Orton’ layer. From there, select the ‘Orton’ layer and adjust the Opacity slider to strengthen or reduce the effect. I usually do not go beyond 10% as it is usually enough to add a mysterious and surreal feel to my photographs.
Similar effects can also be achieved using Lightroom. Some photographers also use preset options, which are quick and easy to use. In any case, again, you do not want to over-process your imagery. That being said, everything is just a matter of trail and error, so try it for yourself!