5 Landscape Photography ESSENTIALS | Do YOU have them?

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I’m here with award-winning Landscape Photographer Cheyne Walls who sells his print in his fine art gallery in Laguna Beach. He is going to show us the 5 essentials that we need in order to turn our photos into fine art gallery pieces.

1. Tripod

The first, most important thing that people seem to overlook is tripods. In order to get a really great sharp image you are going to need a sturdy tripod to get the right shot. One of the reasons that Cheyne uses a tripod is because he rarely shoots anything that isn’t in a longer exposure from 2-4 seconds. I’m using the Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ to get all my shots.

2. Remote Shutter Release

It’s really hard to take a still image when you are pressing the camera shutter button. The cable shutter release helps to get rid of any shakiness or movement that you would be seeing if you pressed the camera. You just press it down to take the photo and press it down again to close the shutter.

These are some that Cheyne uses:
Sony RMT-DSLR2
Canon RC-6
Nikon MC-30A Shutter Release
Vello TSR-40 Threaded Shutter Release Cable

3. Gradient/Neutral Density Filters

This is a huge lifesaver when you are out shooting because it helps to darken the sky when it’s too bright. It brings together the dynamic range so the sky isn’t too bright compared to the foreground. This helps to cut down your workflow because you can just take one shot instead of taking 2 or 3 to get the correct exposure. By using this in front of the lens you can play with it to get the image you want.

People might say well you can do that in Photoshop, but that’s not always the case. If you have a longer exposure, it’s harder to matte them together.

4. Hand-held Light Meter

You can use the internal light meter in your camera, but it just doesn’t work as accurately as this external one. This light meter takes double AA batteries which will last for years. So instead of burning through your camera batteries trying to take multiple exposures to figure out which one works best, I would invest in this. This is a lot more efficient, you can clip it and boom you have your reading.

Also in the camera is a reflective meter reading, which is pulling not directly from the sun, but rather the subject matter. The incident meter reading pulls directly from the sun, so whatever else is bouncing off light isn’t fooling you.So to use the meter, you put the bulb up and face it up towards the sky. I’ll pretty much do a reading straight up depending on the scene. I’ll tilt it up depending on the landscape.

5. Grey Card

This hones your exposure to put perfect before you take your shot. Cheyne uses the QP Card QP101 Calibration Card. You can either that a photo of the grey card first or adjust it in your camera before you start shooting your photos. Some people like to do it in post with your color checker you can just click on it to correct the color. I like to use Datacolor’s SpyderCHECKR when I set my white balance.

So there you have it, 5 essentials to making your landscape photography a step above the rest. Challenge yourself by getting our Landscape Photography Course: Camera Basics to Selling Prints! This is an awesome opportunity to get detailed information on 19 teaching segments on everything from camera techniques to stitching your photos together.

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Gear Used:

Sony RMT-DSLR2
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Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IRSw0g

Canon RC-6
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2Gupm4w
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2PqPvoX

Nikon MC-30A Shutter Release
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2GrTk98
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IROwfW

Vello TSR-40 Threaded Shutter Release Cable
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2Gy9bCW

Sekonic L-858D-U
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2uPzhMK
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IDEQq6

Illuminati Light and Color Meter
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2ycApee
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VmMz1Q

Schneider Neutral Density 1.2 Filter
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2GvZftW
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IEgoF1

LEE Filters Filter Holder
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2GvZhC4
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Pq5pzB

QP Card QP101 Calibration Card
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2Gzxq3F

Datacolor SpyderCHECKR
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2OErSLk
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IzEpNP

Vanguard Alta Pro 2+
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2rAZnDY
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IS2HBR

Vanguard Alta Pro 2V 263 + PH123V Video Head
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2GAu5Si
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2W57dRo