I think this is what separates a good photographer from... me.
I've tried various zoom levels before—and aspect ratios, focal lengths, etc—but I can never capture in an image what I'm seeing with my eyes. Either the enormous mountain is a tiny feature off in the distance, or it fills the frame and all context is lost. I can't seem to find a framing that communicates both the grandness of the subject, and the larger context it's situated in.
Obviously a 2D, cropped image of the landscape is going to have to lose information compared to my 3D, panoramic view of it. But I also know I've seen good photos of these types of things. What are those photographers doing to capture that?
Two things that might help your images say what you'd like them to say:
1) For depth, try making images that have a "foreground, middle-ground, and background". The 24-28mm-equivalent lenses on smartphones are a perfect training ground for this kind of composition, as it is easier to select foreground elements.
2) Dodging and burning: The human eye is drawn to bright parts of an image. Gently darkening things that are less-important and gently highlighting things (and paths) that are more important can have a huge impact on the perception of an image. The Snapseed app, again on a smartphone, offers a very-intuitive interface (look for the "brush" tool) for learning to dodge and burn.
> I can never capture in an image what I'm seeing with my eyes. Either the enormous mountain is a tiny feature off in the distance, or it fills the frame and all context is lost
Try adding a sense of depth by having a foreground, middle and back.
Look at good landscape photos of mountains or other large features and you’ll see they almost always do this. By having near, mid and far elements of interest you add a sense of scale to the photo.
Back when SlR cameras were newish, they came with 55mm lenses. That seemed to match what one eye sees. (You couldn’t look though the camera and open the other eye and it seemed to work.) I would have thought wider as You can see more than the 50mm lens shows you.
function_seven|4 years ago
I've tried various zoom levels before—and aspect ratios, focal lengths, etc—but I can never capture in an image what I'm seeing with my eyes. Either the enormous mountain is a tiny feature off in the distance, or it fills the frame and all context is lost. I can't seem to find a framing that communicates both the grandness of the subject, and the larger context it's situated in.
Obviously a 2D, cropped image of the landscape is going to have to lose information compared to my 3D, panoramic view of it. But I also know I've seen good photos of these types of things. What are those photographers doing to capture that?
ISL|4 years ago
Two things that might help your images say what you'd like them to say:
1) For depth, try making images that have a "foreground, middle-ground, and background". The 24-28mm-equivalent lenses on smartphones are a perfect training ground for this kind of composition, as it is easier to select foreground elements.
2) Dodging and burning: The human eye is drawn to bright parts of an image. Gently darkening things that are less-important and gently highlighting things (and paths) that are more important can have a huge impact on the perception of an image. The Snapseed app, again on a smartphone, offers a very-intuitive interface (look for the "brush" tool) for learning to dodge and burn.
Aaargh20318|4 years ago
Try adding a sense of depth by having a foreground, middle and back.
Look at good landscape photos of mountains or other large features and you’ll see they almost always do this. By having near, mid and far elements of interest you add a sense of scale to the photo.
chucksta|4 years ago
https://photographylife.com/landscapes/focus-stacking-tutori...
unknown|4 years ago
[deleted]
acomjean|4 years ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_lens#The_problem
But 85mm soon became my most used lens. I had a 135mm to but it always seemed too long (on not long enough)
Forgeties79|4 years ago