No matter how long you have been taking photographs, there are some tricks to taking landscape photography that will help to ensure that you will be proud of the photos that you take. Of course, nothing comes short of practice when it comes to mastering photography. However, studying the craft only helps to understand what works best.

Here are some simple tips to help you create landscape photos that you will be proud to share on your photo sharing site:

Rule of Thirds

As with all art, photographers should be mindful of the rule of thirds. In the rule of thirds, the page (or photograph) is basically divided into thirds both horizontally and vertically according to the following grid:

In this rule, the focus and main object of the photo should appear within one third or two thirds of the photo. For landscapes of distant objects, those objects, such as mountains, should appear within the horizontal thirds, such as in the image below.

If you were to divide this image into thirds, the sky would occupy two thirds and the land would occupy one third of the image.

Camera Setting

If you are using an automatic digital camera, make sure that your camera is set to record landscape photos. When the camera setting is set for landscape photos, the camera will focus on distant objects, rather than objects that are closer. Therefore, objects in the foreground of the photo will be slightly blurred so that the objects in the distant can be sharp.

Point of Interest

While you might think that the ocean is beautiful in all of its massive entirety, in order to master the art of landscape photography, it is important that there is an object of interest within the photo.

Ideally, this object of interest would lay on a cross between the thirds. For example, in the photo below, the cactus would fall on a cross between the left-most and bottom-most thirds of the image.

This Rule of Thirds is based on the mathematical rule of the Golden Rectangle, which is comprised of an ancient formula that some people believe helps to explain the order of the universe. Therefore, there is a scientific explanation to the rule and to why the rule tends to help create visually appealing art.

Of course, as a photographer, it is your right and your duty to create landscape images of your own. Experiment with your own style and photographer’s eye until you are proud of the photos that you have taken. After all, photo sharing is all about sharing those photos that you enjoy the most – regardless of whether or not they are based on a rule.