Me: Look a pretty landscape. Let’s take a picture!
This is not how a landscape photoshoot takes place, but I certainly did think it was until I joined Joseph Barnes, our Marketing Director and Alex Shelver, our photographer on a property photoshoot last week at Old Palm.
Old Palm is a private residential Golf Club located in Palm Beach where we oversee the maintenance of all common areas and some of the private homes.
It was very interesting seeing how a landscape photoshoot takes place. It was very different from the ones I have been to in the past. For these projects, it's important to bring out the detail and effort the maintenance team puts into these landscapes.
I saw how our photographer, Alex, played with different angles to get the best pictures. He also used different cameras to get ground views as well as aerial views to shoot the entire property.
I learned that it is important not only to picture how pretty a landscape looks, but being able to capture the detail and effort it takes to get the landscape to look the way it does. But don't get me wrong, capturing how pretty a landscape looks definitely gets you some extra points.
Here are five tips I learned that might help you get the best images the next time you're shooting a landscape project.
#1: Golden Hour: Try taking your pictures in golden hour. This refers to the periods right after sunrise and right before sunset. It will give great diffused lighting to your pictures that will add depth and interest to your image.
#2: Use Leading Lines: This trick serves to guide the viewers through your picture. Try using trees or sidewalks in order to accomplish this. They will instantly guide the viewer's eyes without them thinking about it.
#3 Study: Before going to the photoshoot, make sure you study your camera. This will allow you to know all the features it brings and make use of them when necessary. Also, if you haven't been to this location before, make sure to do some research before you go and pin point the locations you want to photograph.
#4: Use your creativity: When shooting, be creative in every possible way. It is important that you try every angle you can think of to get the best picture that outlines what you're trying to highlight. Don't be scared of doing something different. Different is good and it can go a long way in these kinds of shoots.
#5: Crop: Don't be afraid to crop your pictures. Usually the cameras that are used to photograph these shoots are high resolution. So even when you crop it, it still looks good and does not decrease the quality of the pictures.
I learned that the "Pretty Landscape Picture", has much more into it than what I thought. The detail and the work that is put into these types of projects is very hard and it's what makes the landscape "pretty". I never really appreciated it until I started working for this company, but now I can see a pretty landscape and focus on details that make it great.
