The Best COMPOSITION Advice I’ve EVER HEARD! Wish I Did This Sooner (Landscape Photography)
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In this week’s episode, we discuss the best composition advice I've ever heard! Perhaps the most difficult aspect of landscape photography has to do with the ability to create compelling and easy to view compositions. There's so much information out there discussing the topic of landscape photography compositions that it's easy to become overwhelmed with the abundance of information available on the topic.
In this video, we discuss the all time best composition advice I've ever heard..and I've heard a lot over the years. The best part about this advice, besides its effectiveness of course, is that it's such a natural way to think about composition and so simple to apply to your own landscape photos. I really wish I knew this years ago as I think this would have sped up my rate of improvement when it comes to creating exciting landscape compositions. I hope you enjoy this week's video and are able to apply this technique to your landscape photography moving forward. Thanks for watching! - Mark D.
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What's the best photography advice you've ever received?
"The best camera is the one you have with you."
Slow down and look around. Also look behind you. Both items I am still working on. LOL!
To find you on YT
Remove objects from the composition.
@@pm1Chh Love it Brano!
Best advice with respect to landscape photography I've taken to heart: a beautiful scene does not always translate into a beautiful picture. Sometimes it's better to just take in your surroundings and enjoy the moment and not get frustrated hunting for a composition that's just not there.
So true and well put Brad!
That's sad. Not that I am trolling you but if you found a landscape that is beautiful to you, and if you couldn't translate into your photography, unless you have a equipment issue, You only have yourself to blame for it. I've always asked myself when I see a beautiful scene, "what makes it beautiful? Why is it beautiful?" if you can answer yourself those questions. I don't think there is any problem capturing it on a photograph. If you can't, that can only mean you have not truly "seen" its beauty.
@@sweetpoison5341
Unless the lighting is shitty and you just stepped on a wasp nest.
@@garyhalliday2140 you can say that. ORRRR, you can say the light is moody and the locals are excited to see you.
@@sweetpoison5341
:^)
Best tip was to once you get to your location is to RELAX. I was always so excited to finally get there that I felt rushed to try and get my shot in. Thanks again, Mark!
I’m the same exact way…sensory overload!
@@MarkDenneyPhoto lol seriously!
I totally agree, that this is the best and most intuitive way to compose. I learned this in a one-on-one workshop with Mr. Simon Baxter, a great Britisch woodland photographer and a very contemplative person. It has definitely changed my woodland photography for the better. So, I really propose, that everyone is giving this a try.
You really are the Bob Ross of photography.
This it what I have been doing subconsciously since I started taking photos, and I have only heard one other photographer emphasize this. When you start to do this consciously it just feel right. Also look through 360 degrees, the light might be doing something interesting behind or above you.
When I arrive on a scene I stand still for a moment, take in the sights, sounds, smells. I'll walk around for a bit, looking how the various elements shift and move. I look for what brought me there to begin with, then instead of bringing out my camera I use my cellphone to dial in where I want to take the shot from, only then do I bring out my tripod and camera. Just doing that has saved me so much time. Instead of running around with the camera gear trying to find an elusive composition in the brambles along the Blue Ridge Parkway, I forced myself to slow down... and paradoxically managed to speed up the whole process. [Except the waiting, there's still so much waiting] Hope to see you out here during the autumn colors Mark!
Thanks Mark. I've been trying to grasp the concept of composition and I keep seeing videos that give me all these rules. This video really simplifies it. Identify what I love and try to capture it.
One of my biggest issues is when traveling to a new location is I try to mimic compositions I've seen online whether from Instagram or Google maps. Definitely taking a step back to absorb the landscape prior to pulling out my camera is something I need to work on.
That's why I never google locations. Expectation is the death of joy.
I also want to shoot new stiff, not images that have been taken 1000 times
@@pix_wbmr although I partially agree, sometimes on Google maps you find locations off the beaten path. Away from the typical, most frequently visited locations. You can gain insight from past visitors while maintaining separation from mimicking others photographs.
You are a gem for beginner landscape photographers Mark. Thank you for your efforts and hard work! Please continue spreading your knowledge.
Great to hear this - thanks a million!
Great advice Mark. Sometimes we try to overcomplicate things. And yes, that mushroom!
Hahahah! It’s all about that mushroom!
That's precisely how I always shoot my photos, though only for hobby. Also, having the advantage that I'am an arts graduate, is a bonus for compositions and colours. :) Thanks for the video~! :)
Simply the best advice i've heard since a long time. It's relevant and also well explained. Really love that scene with the mushroom!
I think it's a very interesting approach or formulation. Stop an look at what I LIKE/LOVE about the scene.. not composition rules, just what makes this scene tick for me..
Good one. Probably works only with landscapes, but an excellent advice.
Thank you Mark for this video. Lots of nuggets!!
Another great video, Mark. It's something I try to do more and more, as well as taking my time, looking around, and especially looking back at the way I came on the way to the location!
This is extremely helpful Mark. Many times I get on location and see that love what I'm looking and struggle with knowing what to take the shot of and end up just prematurely taking shots. I get back to the computer and realize that I liked this piece of this one shot and loved another piece of another shot and find them to be useless photos. I never took the time to put together the puzzle and ultimately never stopped to think about what it was that I really loved about the scene. So simple yet it makes perfect sense. Thank you!
I go out with two others regularly and am always amazed at how differently we see the very same things.
Thank you so much. I believe this is the advice I was looking for. I've never heard another artist explain it this way. I think that just might be the "ah ha" moment you explained. Much appreciated
Excellent way to look at composition Mark. Well done.
Thank you for your advice. Great video!
Excellent video and advice. We need to optically and mentally ‘see’ the picture before we start taking it. Also take photos of the various elements that have attracted us, as well as the large vista. From this we can create an ‘album’ if you like from all the different parts. Printing these photos is a must and can be put in a physical album, or framed in one of those multi picture frames and displayed in the home to remind us on dull days - which we get plenty of in the UK, what adventures we have had. I continually rotate my home framed photos around the place to keep the mood fresh.
Awesome video. Thank you!
Great stuff! TY!
Thanks Mark for an enjoyable tutorial and great tips!
I love this advice. It makes so much sense!
Great video and, as you said, simple to put this advice into effect.
Thanks for simplifying the whole composition conundrum for me!!!
I am usually ok making inventory of elements I like about a scene. But indeed, I think I'm too quick on setting up the tripod. Walking around free shooting is indeed something I need to practice more once on site. Thank you so much for the tip.
Good advice - thank you!
Great tip. This provides a systematic approach to composing. Third step is very useful as it helps you match your vision with that of the camera. Thanks for this!
This is such a simple and easy concept but so much effective. Thank you for sharing.
Good advice Mark. Thanks
One of your best videos Mark. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much Chris!
Thanks, Mark. This is the most useful advice I have heard in a long time.
Thanks for the video Mark, I’ll definitely give this a try as I find myself very weak in compositions!
Another great video with great advice, very hands-on, making it relevant and easy to apply!
Thanks! ❣️
Appreciate ya Tim!
Take photos of what you love. A very funny video. 😀 You made my day!
Superb advice Mark , thanks 🙏 for another great vid
Thanks Gary!
Thank you it helps a lot
Once again another relevant and beautifully explained episode my friend
Thanks a million friend!!
Nicely put, Mark. Not only is it great to revisit those locations in Iceland with you through your photos, this advice takes out all the unnecessary complexities of composing a scene and helps to streamline our approach to capturing what compels us to take out our camera in the first place. Thanks again! :D
Thanks Dee!! Glad you enjoyed it friend!
I like ! Simple, but so practicle and making 100% sense.
Great video. Always great insights shared.
Thanks Steven - glad you think so!
Great video as always Mark, sound advice!
Thanks John!
You’re on a roll! These are some of the most useful photography videos I’ve seen in a while. Well done!
Thanks Dave!
Great advice! Thank you.
Thanks Norm!
Awesome advice
You have Dugger's Creek Falls in you video. Such a hidden gem! Most people only go to Linville Falls not even knowing it is there (much better of a fall as well imo).
I like the idea of this approach and will definitely try it out! At this point my biggest struggle always seems to be deciding what I can compromise on to exclude, rather than trying to capture everything. Sometimes I start wide and work my way in gradually though so I have options in post.
Great advice my friend thanks
Thank ya Pace!
Thanks for your valuable information 👌👍❤️💖
Happy to do it!
Hi Mark, a good idea to try out. Thanks for sharing.
Glad to do it Steve and thanks for checking out the video
Thanks!
Thanks, Mark, that answered my question I had after last weeks video.
Awesome! Great to hear it
Following your channel, I learned a lot about how to compose properly. Great video!!
Thanks so much🙏
So how brilliantly you explained this - definitely gonna give it a go
Thanks so much!
I love the church photo. Excellent composition and post processing!
Thanks so much Hans!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings... great advice...my best advice received was to slow down and take time to compose shot... cheers 😀
This is very helpful, thank you. Landscape photography is a new love of mine, and this is great advice. I will definitely be doing this next time I’m out 👍🏻
Great hearing you enjoyed it Nick!
I have done that from my beginning! I use a digital andI have had a great scene aspect.
Great channel,great video,keep going,thanks for share.
Thank you!
Nice one and great advice
The simplest advice on this topic that helped me was to look for the ‘hero’ in the scene and then find the supporting cast and ‘bring’ it all together.
And on a complex note on this topic is to find the items of interest in the scene then find relationship between them to create context/story/pattern.
Definitely going to try to keep this in mind next time I'm out with my camera.
I've been trying to find subjects in my landscape photography recently. I think that this video really helps to solidify that thinking. What is the thing that is going to be the main subject of the photo and what elements drive the viewer to it. Previously I was finding amazing locations and trying to fit everything in. Trying to show the scale and beauty of the location. But by thinking about the key subject of the photo it helped me to focus more on my composition and in turn create more interesting pictures!
This really helps a bird/nature photog, tackling a new discipline. Thanks, Mark.
Thank you.
It was obvious, once you say it, but its advice I needed - thank you.
Good points!
Thank you!
Very good. Kind of using "first principle" approach. Respect.
Great tips as usual Mark, very helpful. Would you have any tips on how to get what you want in a scene but don't have the room to move freely ( thinking waterfalls here)? Would you sacrifice some of the elements to get a satisfactory shot? Cheers
Thank you very much, Mark, for helping to simplify composition. I am in a place of trying to improve the quality of my photographs, especially composition. I have read many articles on composition, and (due to mental illness-caused memory problems), have trouble remembering what I read! Forget about trying to apply it without taking along all the books & magazine articles with me to reference in the field. Yeah, like that is practical! :P But asking what I love about the scene & how do I fit those puzzle pieces together seems simple enough to remember. Also the advice not to rush. Thank you again. I hope you have a fantastic day! :)
Good advice from you, Mark. “ A good photograph is knowing where to stand” A Adams. One could also say something about being “present” when it is time to decide how to make your photo, I.e. drop distractions about all the not important details you had to deal with before the moment of closing the shutter. Your videos are very good and down to earth, thanks!
Great advise!! You have to have a photographer's eye, no matter the place your back yard or driving around or on a walkabout somewhere new, you just see it, like a snapper does not! It is like " You never know what you will get in a box of chocolates" First you have to be there, then you have to uncover what you see! I like planning apps for sunrise/sets and weather apps. From the longest day to the shortest day the sun rises and sets everyday in a different location on both the east and west horizon even the moon when full is at a different location all this and you visualize a place and mark it on a calendar and for all year long many places. There are places where the sun will shine through a rock formation every year on a date and you will find Photographers in mass there. It makes for many dreams and plans both day and night. Like a Milky Way in March/April early morning it arcs form south to north looking east with a panorama and finding a thing to center under and in Aug/Sept/Oct it goes vertical before midnight and finding a place to frame over or beside in just the right spot. Seeing colors on a cloudy day like fall/spring with foggy mornings. And you do not need to travel far it is all right in front of you, as a photographer you see it and your photos show it where the non lookers say "Where was that?" You capture time and put in a bottle, put the story on back of prints!
To be fair the best advice I ever heard was forget the “rules” and if it looks cool then take the damn picture. Probably why mine are so crap 😂
🤣🤣
Love the KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) approach. Working with the elements you like/love instead of searching for the leading lines or s-curves or whatever makes shooting more fun and enjoyable - at least for me.
Perfectly said Jim - it’s what works best for me as well!
Take your time and look. Look at the colors the placement. What draws your eye to the scene.
Hi, Mark! It's an interesting approach to compose the shot. I'll try this in my next walk to take shots. Thanks!
Best regards from Rio de Janeiro/Brazil!
Thanks Paulo!
A good video, Mark. The one thing I would add is thinking about how different lenses can make different elements look in relationship with each other, just like moving around to get the elements aligned the way you want them, changing to a different focal length can also change the alignment.
Best advice I was given was to review all for corners of the frame once I had composed an image and make sure I was happy with what was included or excluded in them.
Awesome video my friend! Haven’t commented in a while, but just wanted to congratulate you on how much growth your channel has Seen in the last couple years. I remember when you had just 10k subscribers. Glad you didn’t follow the trend of a lot of channels when they cross that 100k milestone. Be well!
Thanks a million Erick - really appreciate that! Hope you’ve been well.
When I was a photography student in the mid 1980s, a lecturer told us of the (almost meditative) advice he received from a well known landscape photographer called John Blakemore. It was, ... when you get to an area you are interested in photographing, just sit down and wait until you can actually see the minute hand of your watch moving. Then you are ready to properly view your surroundings. Perhaps a little different now in our smartphone age, but 30+ years later, the point of taking the time to truly look and see is no less valid.
another video, very valuable Mark👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
all your tips, in the various videos, have been of great help and inspiration to me to grow.😉😉😉
That said, I think one of the greatest photography tips, I learned from a painter. A certain Bobb Ross whom I believe he needs no introduction ....😄😄😄
He said: "beauty is everywhere, look around and you will see"
And I think that statement is as true for painting as it is for photography.😉😉😉😉😉
Oh my GOD, a cassette WALKMAN? Is that what is on your desk? How cool... I'll never forget the day I listened to Jean Luc Ponty's song "Renaissance", from the "Aurora" album, on an old Walkman; changed my life! Mobile music stepped into a new realm at that moment. I suggest you take a listen, it's a wonderful song.
As always, great information you've shared with us! Composition may be the toughest aspect of photography for those of us not having the history and/or wisdom of years of photographing landscapes under our belts. This seems like a "Duh!" piece of advice, but honestly, I've never considered it myself; I tend to look for a great composition in my VF and keep moving until I get it. Knowing what you like about a scene and moving until you capture ALL of it makes a lot of sense. Thanks, Mark!
Really like the idea of a few technical aspects coupled with intuition and feeling make a better photo. Mix both sides of the brain and we get better results.
Been awhile since I commented on one of your videos, not for lack of watching, just lazy I guess. Wanted you to know I've been a fan since you started and appreciate the tools you present. Peace, Brother.
Thank you Mark. Your content is super helpful. I struggle in understanding metering modes especially spot metering. What is the most general metering mode you use in your landscape photography.
Hi Mark, I really love your videos, I'm always referring back to them, your very good at explaining in a way that I understand. Quick Question I love shooting panoramic, Do you shoot any? and if you do what size dimensions do you recommend to stay with in? Is there stander size they stay with in or does it matter in case I wanted one to print with out cropping? Anyway Thanks!! and keep up the good work..
Really good.
Thanks David!
Thanks for the video. I struggle with composition. I'm still at that stage where I'm getting pretty good at the technical side of things and I occasionally stumble into a good composition. I'm with you, water particularly waterfalls is my go to subject. My wife and friends call me "waterboy".
Glad to do it Daniel!
Wow! This has got to be the best advices for composition. You were spot-on about how to get the "pieces of the puzzle" together. Thanks for your great advice.
I would like to ask you to go back to the scene with the mushroom. You mentioned it anchors the scene. I had a different reaction. I found the mushroom distracting. My eyes couldn't stay on the church. No matter the beautiful frame and the gradient in shadows and highlights (superb!), my eyes kept moving away from the main subject. My question is how you find that something anchors versus distracts in a composition. I'd love to hear your thoughts or maybe see that discussed in an upcoming video.
Again, an amazing video this one was! Thanks.
Taking that inventory for me is perhaps the best advice of all!
Yes - helps me out a great deal!
Tha ks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
This advice is 👍 Good life advice as well. 📷💕
Thanks Guy!
💚🙏🏼 From India. Its good enough. I want more explanation about Landscape photography 🌷
I had a revelation recently and I also compared pictures to a puzzle but in a slightly different way. This is in the next step which is getting all of the shots to make your photo. I learned about bracketing 3 years ago right after I started learning about landscape photography. I didn't even have a computer to edit with yet at the time. But I still bracketed some of my shots for the day when I finally got one. I also learned about focus stacking. So I tried that too. The best thing about memory cards is that you can take a lot of pictures to try new things even if you have to edit them later on down the road. I've learned how to use nd filters to add motion blur to moving water and clouds. I've learned how to use a polarizer to reduce reflections. I've learned how to do time blending. I haven't tried focal lengthy blending yet but will at some point. So here's where the puzzle thing comes in. Part of this I think came from one of your videos. Some from Nick Page and others. So you have a high dynamic range scene with moving water but there's a slight breeze. You use the nd filter for the water. You want reflection in one spot and no reflection in another spot in the water. You need a faster shutter speed for the foliage. And you have to focus stack. So you're taking bracketed shots at different focal lengths, taking shots for the moving water. You're taking different shots with the polarizer and without. Then you have to put all these pieces together with Lightroom and Photoshop. You may have 10 or 15 photos just to make one image. Possibly even more. Gaven Hardcastle had a video on time blending moving water. He was using different shutter speeds and then blending them in together in Photoshop. The thing about photography is that you can be as creative as you want. Finding the location and where to place your camera is the first big piece of that puzzle as you mentioned. After that its up to your imagination. Always take more photos than you actually need because you can never put your camera back in the exact same spot and the light will not be the same.
I’ve heard this great advice from other professionals… I find that I’m making that list instinctively, but I am too quick to pull out the tripod and camera for fear that I will miss something. I’ve found, pulling out the smart phone and snapping photos of those aspects of a scene I like, from different angles, perspectives, etc., helps me gather my ideas for framing my subject.
Also, sometimes the iPhone takes a damn good photo too!
I have nothing to say but I added a comment anyway. They say comments are good for the channel.
Hahahah - thanks so much!
Love this video, some really good advice! The "what do I love about the scene" is what I try to live by. BTW, your running water looks smoother than when I film it - do you use a 24 or 30 fps timeline?
🇨🇦/🇺🇸... DECAAADES ago, I taught photography classes back in Hamilton, Ontario. One point that I would make with my students is that the average person with a camera takes an image from a point 5 to 6 feet off the ground, where they NORMALLY view a scene if they didn't have a camera with them. AS SOON AS you CHANGE the viewpoint to almost ANY OTHER POSITION... without having to do ANYTHING else... it will automatically increase the interest of the image. Crouching.... lying on your belly... climbing up a tree... standing on a picnic table... putting the camera directly up against a wall... ANY change of viewpoint, will increase the interest of the photo! 😃