Video: 3 lessons on landscape photography from professional photographer Andy Mumford
posted Monday, February 7, 2022 at 12:00 PM EDT
Professional photographer Andy Mumford has hosted workshops for years, although the pandemic put a temporary stop to that. Last year, Mumford was able to host workshops again, and some of the same themes and questions kept popping up while working in the field. In a new video, Mumford tackles three of these topics.
The first topic is compositional depth. Mumford finds that compositional techniques are much harder to teach than the technical aspects of photography, such as focus and the exposure triangle. Arranging elements within the frame is much more complicated than getting the correct exposure, especially with how good modern cameras are at metering complex scenes and providing you instant feedback. When the conditions are good, you don't want to come home with a flat photo. A great way to capture more dynamic, compelling compositions is to find a way to introduce depth into your shot.
One way to do this is to integrate a compelling foreground. If you have something in the bottom of your image that leads the viewer in an interesting way to the subject, you likely have a nice photo. Ideally, you want to compose an image such that there's an interesting way for a viewer's eye to move through the scene. However, simply having a foreground element isn't good enough. The foreground must be visually interesting and strong enough to balance the subject and create harmony.
Of course, you don't always get great conditions for landscape photography. As someone who hosts workshops scheduled far in advance, Mumford knows firsthand that conditions aren't always good. It can be disappointing, especially if you traveled a great distance at significant expense, to arrive somewhere beautiful and be treated to bad weather. However, it is what it is. Mumford says that the best way to deal with it is to put aside the expectations that you had about a location and focus on the weather as it is. There's always a way of making compelling images in bad weather.
You must learn to work with the conditions you get. Beautiful light is rare, and most of the time, you'll be shooting in less-than-optimal conditions. However, just because the conditions aren't perfect doesn't mean you can't capture incredible images. Further, encountering and overcoming challenges is a large part of growing as a photographer. The skills you learn when things aren't going quite right will pay huge dividends when the conditions are ideal.
The final topic is understanding your gear. You need to understand how your camera and lenses work. Knowing what you're carrying and understanding how to use it will help you be ready when the conditions are ideal. Good light can disappear quickly, and it would be a shame to miss out because you were fiddling with equipment. When conditions aren't great, that's also a good time to experiment with your gear and make sure you understand its capabilities and features.
To see more from Andy Mumford, visit his website and follow him on Instagram. To watch more of his excellent videos, subscribe to his YouTube channel. To learn more about Mumford's workshops, click here.