Take Better Landscape Photos by Creating a Sense of Place

Every landscape is different, each possessing its own unique magic. As a photographer, your mission is to find that unique magic, reduce it to its essence, and capture it with your camera so that you may share it with others. Your goal should always be to impart a sense of place within your photographs. In doing so, you can transport your viewers into distant worlds and forge a connection between them and the places that you explore.

Do you want to learn more? Start by watching the video below, and then continue to read the rest of the article for further insights.

Part of this process is learning to tell a story with your photographs, but this is only the beginning of the journey, not the end. A compelling story about your subject should always be a significant component, but to artistically transform your subject and bring it to life to viewers, you need to capture mood and moment and engage the eye using composition. The goal of this is to give viewers the feeling of being there, as if they were standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you when you made the image.

I start the process of telling the landscape's story by creating a mental catalog of the features of the landscape that make it special and unique. Once I've identified these characteristics, I do my best to incorporate one or more of these features into my photos. This allows me to create a sense of place and give the viewer a vicarious experience.

For this photo of Torres del Paine National Park in Chile’s famous Patagonia region, conditions were less than ideal. A storm raged over the mountains and wind-driven rain pelted me as I waited for dawn’s first light. I had scouted the location the day before, and it seemed promising as a sunrise location. As I stood huddled against the cold and wet, I began to doubt if the clouds would ever part and feared that they would cloak the peaks in darkness instead. In other words, it was a fairly typical Patagonia morning—ripe with potential, if only the weather would break.

Suddenly and without warning, the clouds began to thin, lifting the veil blocking the light of the rising sun. The view of the mountains cleared, and a stunning sunrise began to unfold. Everything came together perfectly: light, composition, mood, and moment.

Every component of the image was carefully chosen to help tell the story. The jagged peaks—the famous “Horns of Paine”—are, of course, the centerpiece of the image, but I included surrounding elements to complete the story and to provide visual context for this stunning, almost otherworldly landscape. The glacier-fed waters, tumbling over a series of rapids in the foreground, act as a leading element that draws the eye into the scene. The curving shape they create is repeated and reinforced by the shapes of the glowing clouds above. All of these elements help focus attention on the sunlit peaks, but also provide additional visual interest, encouraging the eye to explore within the picture frame.

Creating a sense of place in your photographs does more than forge a connection between your viewers and the places you photograph—it also forges a connection between your viewers and your personal artistic vision. It starts with learning to see the landscape abstractly; not as mountains, trees and rapids, but rather as shapes, colors, and tones. Your job is to put the pieces together in a way that makes sense to the viewer and helps them understand the landscape as you see it.

In the end, it takes more than just pretty scenery and light to make a compelling landscape photograph. You must find a way to create an emotional tether between your viewers and the scene. Inviting the viewer to become a part of the photograph’s story is an effective way of accomplishing this goal. By providing context—by using story cues, mood, and moment—you give the viewer enough information to make them feel a part of the scene, and you allow them to see the world through your eyes. If you can successfully do this, you'll be well on your way to creating photographs that are both compelling and meaningful.

If you want to learn more, consider joining me on one of my photo workshops.