When shooting in cold weather, or extreme conditions such as snow and sleet, it's important not to change your lenses outdoors. You never want to get moisture or condensation inside the camera body.
After you’ve made the image you have in mind, walk or drive closer to the subject and try again. Proximity will make the subject strike you in a different way.
When your subject is of indeterminate size—a mountain, a body of water, a snowscape—add a sense of scale by including something of known size, such as a person, a car, a tree, or an animal. This helps viewers understand what they’re looking at.
Rain can damage or ruin your camera, but it can also make for great pictures. Carry a good umbrella, a box of plastic bags, perhaps a small tarp (some are specially made for photography), and a towel with which to dab your equipment.
The best building shots balance light from three different sources: skylight, streetlights, and lights from within the building.
Photograph animals where they live. A favorite composition of photographer Michael Melford’s is an environmental shot showing the animal surrounded by its habitat—rather than the usual tight shot taken with a long lens.
Nighttime photographs almost always require long exposures. This means using a tripod to hold your camera perfectly still while the shutter is open, though you can sometimes find a solid surface to rest your camera on and trip the shutter with the camera’s self-timer.
Look at the scene through different lenses, from wide-angle to telephoto, and think about how each lens affects it.
Add layers to your composition—that is, multiple elements beyond the main subject, such as foreground and background elements.
Take time to explore. Part of the joy of landscape photography is being out in nature. Wander around and get a sense of the place. It will take time and patience to discover the best way to show what makes it unique.
Get out (to shoot) before sunrise and stay out after sunset—the times when the light is best. Use the harsher light of midday to scout.
In unusual or mixed lighting conditions, or with subjects of one predominant color, try to manually set your color balance.
If shafts of sunlight penetrate the clouds, be careful not to take your reading from them because they will fool the meter.
If you don’t have a waterproof case, use sealable plastic bags to keep your equipment dry. Never put hot silica gel in them.
If you are staying in one place for several days, check out the long-range weather forecast and plan your shoots around the weather that is best for specific subjects.
When shooting aerial photography, stay pretty low, usually at about 1,000 feet (300 meters) above the ground. High equals hazy in aerial photography.
Find leading lines. Landscapes are full of linear elements— roadways, train tracks, fencerows, ridgelines, tree branches. Use these lines to lead the eye into your picture. Leading lines are most effective as diagonals.
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