Landscape photography

[GR3Z]

Just wondered what you focus on when taking landscape photos, as everything is so far away?

 

[dinners]

It depends really.

1/3rd of the way in is a happy starter but have a look at hyperfocal distance.

http://www.dofmaster.com/hyperfocal.html

 

[AllFallD0wn]

General rule is use a small aperture (between f11 and 20), and focus about 1/3 into the photo

 

[*Sam*]

General rule is use a small aperture (between f11 and 20), and focus about 1/3 into the photo

Agreed, that's what I stick to usually, small apertures are what you want.

 

[Alastair]

General rule is use a small aperture (between f11 and 20), and focus about 1/3 into the photo

Depends on the lens.. knowing the hyperfocal distances for your most frequently used focal lengths is the way to go, for instance there's no point being at f/20 with a lens of 20mm or less.

 

[cjay]

Agreed, that's what I stick to usually, small apertures are what you want.

And - depending on the sensor size/pixel size/lens, you don't want to go too small an aperture otherwise the diffraction/Airy disk becomes a consideration and the detail gets a bit mushy.

C

 

[jerry12953]

Just wondered what you focus on when taking landscape photos, as everything is so far away?

If you feel that everything is so far away, use a longer lens to bring it closer.

I'm not trying to be funny but if that is the way you see things, adapt!

So many people only use wide-angles for landscapes.

 

[mickledore]

I frequently use my 100-400 for landscape work.

 

[MrJaba]

Sorry, newbie question, what is the diffraction/airy disk??
I tend to use my 18-200mm for landscapes with a small aperture and try to focus on something of interest and make that the focal point to draw the eye to.

 

[markmullen]

So many people only use wide-angles for landscapes.

Indeed, I use my 24-105 on full frame for landscapes and am rarely at the wide end, I usually prefer to be around 40-70mm and isolate a part of the scene that appeals.

 

[cjay]

Sorry, newbie question, what is the diffraction/airy disk??
I tend to use my 18-200mm for landscapes with a small aperture and try to focus on something of interest and make that the focal point to draw the eye to.

It is do do with a phenomenon that light passing through an aperture undergoes diffraction. If the diffraction is sufficient and it is greater than the size of a pixel, then detail is lost. The size of the diffraction disk depends on the size of the aperture.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital-camera-sensor-size.htm

and see the Influence of Diffraction section.

C

 

[boliston]

I reckon hyperfocal distance is the way to go, and I normally leave it on this setting unless I'm specifically shooting something closer. On my 28mm lens the f/11 setting is just over 2 metres, and the f/8 setting (not actually marked) is presumably midway between the 2m & infinity marks.

 

[MrJaba]

It is do do with a phenomenon that light passing through an aperture undergoes diffraction. If the diffraction is sufficient and it is greater than the size of a pixel, then detail is lost. The size of the diffraction disk depends on the size of the aperture.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital-camera-sensor-size.htm

and see the Influence of Diffraction section.

C

Brilliant, thanks very much! So much to learn!

 

[simonkit]

The best thing to do is take the advice given on here and practice as much as you can - you'll then find that unfortunately there really isn't any "general" rule that applies to every scene - sometimes some objects need to be critically sharp, particularly in the close foreground and HYP FD won't always achieve this, it's a good place to start though

Simon

 

[Liam]

Shoot large format and get everything in focus wide open....

 

[Jayst84]

Of course there's no reason everything should always be sharp in a landscape photograph.

 

[AJQS]

Of course there's no reason everything should always be sharp in a landscape photograph.

Indeed, I often prefer to take the shot that appeard in the finder - wide open.