Improve your landscapes with your Nikon Quickstart cheat sheet

Try using the rule of thirds

Dividing the scene into thirds, vertically and horizontally so you have a grid of nine rectangles, gives you a framework for plotting your composition. You can set a grid in your camera via the Custom Settings Menu.

Look for leading lines

Finding a path, a row of trees or similar that goes from front to rear in your composition leads the viewer’s eye into the image and towards the main subject.

Add depth with foreground detail

Including details in the foreground can add depth to the image and helps to tell a complete story of your environment.

Capture the beauty of the night sky

For ‘astrophotography’ use a wide-angle lens with a focal length between 14-24mm and set your aperture to f/2.8 or lower. Focus to infinity and divide 500 by your focal length to get the best shutter speed. Use a tripod and remote shutter release.

Use the sea to tell a story

Sunrise or sunset are great times for seascapes. You can use a long shutter speed for a milky look or a fast one to capture dramatic waves.

Use motion in rivers and waterfalls

Use a long exposure (1/15s or slower) to get a beautiful, creamy effect on moving water. It’s best to use a tripod and trigger the camera remotely.

Great lenses for landscapes

Starting out, a wide-angle zoom lens is a solid choice for landscapes, with its ability to take in expansive vistas while having flexibility to zoom in on a particular scene.

Pro choice:
NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S

All round FX zoom:
NIKKOR Z 17-28mm f/2.8

DX choice: 
NIKKOR Z DX DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR

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