We have a lot of landscape photographers on ViewBug. Pictures of mighty snow-covered mountains, wild and free waterfalls and golden meadows. But have you ever seen a tree with red leafs? Or maybe with pink? What about white leafs? Our community member Pedro (Dolcefoto) from Spain puts all his creativity in creating breath-taking, surreal photos of beautiful landscapes. He loves traditional landscape photography but many times he felt that something was missing in his photos - like a color or a detail. That’s how Pedro got interested in infrared photography. Infrared photography is another way of seeing our beautiful, magnificent world. Here you can find Pedro's Top 7 Surreal Landscape Photography Tips.
1. Check Your Equipment.
If you decide to get surreal landscapes through infrared photos, there are excellent IR filters like Hoya R72. If you instead use a modified camera, you can reduce exposure times and get better results. I use a EOS 20D and a Canon 5D converted for infrared (720nm). I think it’s a good place to start because other wavelengths below this create more color cast and allow less freedom in post-processing.
2. Weather Conditions.
The ideal time of the day to take infrared photos is around midday. So that means that you can forget the idea that you need to wake up early to find the best light - as you need to do when shooting traditional landscape photography. It is very important to choose a sunny day to get a good infrared picture. On a cloudy day it is very difficult to obtain good results. I recommend to find a good weather application for your Smartphone. Observe and choose the optimal light conditions to execute the picture you had in mind.
3. Composition Is Important.
Don’t forget the principles of a good landscape composition, foreground interest and a strong focal point to satisfy the eye. In infrared, I always try to choose landscapes with green foliage and skies with clouds. The effect is great in these situations. However there are other elements such as water or architecture that can give a push to our infrared picture. Once I arrive to the location, I work very instinctively when it comes to composing the picture. Then, I leave other changes like tones to the post processing of the picture. At the end of the day, it is experience that makes you chose a certain position, inclination and general balance composition.
4. Creativity.
The world is full of details that you sometimes need to take additional shots of to capture them perfectly. I usually try to take the same shot with a normal camera. By taking a shot with a different exposure and colors I can choose some elements in the composition of this photo to combine with my infrared photos when I edit the final image. In Lightroom I have my library with keywords tags like: skies, fields, trees, road, etc. This helps me with my organization of my photos. It’s something that helps a lot in the creative process.
5. Think Photography.
Actually, I spend lots of my time thinking of photography. It makes me feel observant and identify locations that might be useful in the future. I usually save these locations in my GPS and when light conditions are good I try to go back and take the shot. We must also be mindful of as combining colors, it is something we can do in our day to day and then apply it to our photos.
6. Have Patience With Post-Processing.
Whenever you work with infrared photography, post-processing is really a must. Editing is one of my favorite parts because it is where you can put your personal touch. There are many tutorials on the internet about infrared photography, the process is more or less mechanical and simple. There aren’t magic formulas, you can do it several times and the final product will always be different. My tip? Be patient at the editing stage. To achieve surreal landscape photos is a creative art that takes time to learn. You need to experiment until you get the desired result.
7. Last But Not Least: Enjoy It!
You don’t need to have the best equipment or travel around the world to get the best photo. Start taking pictures of what you know best and is most accessible to you. All the rest will come as soon as you learn you equipment and the post-processing part. Also, don’t be afraid of showing your work because of your fear that the image won’t be good enough or that your idea could be copied. Show it! Finally, don’t try to create the perfect picture. Enjoy the landscape, people, moments and a good picture will be the consequence of all this.
For more amazing surreal photos taken by Pedro visit his profile, website, Facebook Page and Instagram.
