Repeating elements in a photograph creates rhythm, which attracts the eye.
Landscape photographers bring out the beauty of form, shape and design in a landscape. From home gardens, to golf courses and parks, a landscape photograph introduces a viewer to the layout of a landscape using provocative techniques, such as unity through shapes. The most successful ideas for landscape photographs come by valuing the aesthetics and basic principals of photography.
Curves
Capture a landscape by concentrating on the curves and form of the scene. For example, if you are photographing a side yard with a round birdbath featured in the center, look for similar curves you can include in the photograph.
Stand to the side of the yard, for instance, and instead of shooting the picture with the birdbath in the center, include a portion of the curved hedges surrounding the yard, or a round bush and the birdbath to the left or right of the photo. Lead the viewer to the object by giving her a glimpse of how the landscape shapes fit together as a whole.
Interior to Exterior
Take a photograph of a landscape from inside a home or other building. If you are taking a picture of a new landscape design in your backyard, shoot it through a window in the kitchen, a bedroom or from the sliding glass door to the deck. The perspective will help viewers understand the depth of field, the view of the patio or garden area as seen from indoors. This approach will also add an artistic element to the photo, if it is shot with correct lighting.
Repeated Images
Shoot the image of a patio, deck or landscaped pool with repeated images throughout. Using a mimetic-like approach to photography, you can attract a view to the rhythm in the photo. For example, if you are shooting a pool-side shot showing the flowers and shrubs surrounding the pool, include a row of similarly shaped, sized and space pots in the image. The pots will give a line of continuity in the photograph, a center from which the viewer can go back and forth to view the other details in the image.
Populate the Landscape
Landscape photographs usually do not feature people in them, so that the viewer can concentrate on the landscape design. To make your image unique, take a photograph of an outdoor landscape, such as a patio arrangement or a backyard garden area, with people.
For example, when you photograph the layout of a garden and garden path, include a man gardening with a spade on one side of the garden. On the other side of a garden, a woman may be picking apples from a home-grown apple tree. Ensure that you emphasize the landscaping and that the people in the photograph only give interest and a helpful sense of space to the photo.
