Finding local landscape inspiration and defining your landscape photography style

 

 

If you hop on Instagram or browse the websites of many famous landscape photographers, you'll find stunning images of sweeping vistas and stunning landscapes. For many of us, we don't live near most of these most popular locations. I'm fortunate that I live near Acadia National Park in Maine, but for most photographers, there isn't always beautiful nature to explore. What do you do when you find yourself uninspired with your local landscape opportunities?

Photographer Adam Gibbs has some tips for you. You shouldn't be afraid to tread over familiar territory. Even a city park can offer excellent nature photography opportunities, particularly when you look for the smaller compositions within the larger scenes.

Familiarity can breed a sense of repetition or boredom, but this is a ripe opportunity for you to expand your photographic horizons and try something new. Maybe try shooting with a different lens or limiting yourself to a single focal length or composition style. As you can see in Gibbs' video, you don't need to head out to famous locations to capture nice images.

In a similar video, First Man Photography's Adam Karnacz has tips for finding your landscape photography style. Whereas one might argue for trying something different, Karnacz says that better understanding what you love to shoot can help you take your work to the next level.

Supposing you don't already know what your style is, how can you find it? Karnacz says there are three elements that help define your landscape photography style. Location is the first one. The second is the type of composition you choose. Finally, the third aspect is your post-processing style.

To learn more about each aspect, watch Karnacz' video below.

(Via Adam Gibbs and First Man Photography)