There’s a plethora of information about using cameras and software, but what’s so often missing are the ideas behind the techniques. Professional photographer Glenn McKimmin explains his approach to capturing amazing landscape images in Better Photography this issue.

Says Glenn, “When facing a vast landscape, a lot goes into thinking about what kind of image we want to produce. The result of the photograph depends on a broad range of external factors such as environment, weather, lighting, alongside the gear and experience of the photographer.

“Someone once told me, landscape photography isn’t a test of what you put into the frame, it’s what you leave out.

“The idea of subtraction directly challenges our desire to ‘have it all’. When you’re presented with an amazing landscape - the sky, hills, plantation, lake and a herd of sheep, for instance - it can be easy to make the assumption that we should try to put all these elements into the one shot.

“However, when attempting to combine too many elements, the result becomes complex and busy. No longer does your photograph show or depict one key point of interest - and this can be confusing for our viewers. The best photographs are usually quite simple and concise with their message, so there is great power in stripping back the number of elements or objects involved. By doing this, by including less in the frame and not more, photographers can concentrate the viewer’s attention on just the most important elements of the scene.

“Looked at another way, it’s a change of your mindset when framing your photo. Rather that asking yourself, how do I include all these different elements within the frame, decide on the most important elements and then ask yourself, how do I position these elements within the frame so it is obvious.”

Change your own mindset and improve your photography with Glenn’s other great tips on taking landscape photography to the next level. Subscribe today!