What makes a great photo?
I wish there were an easy answer to this question; Iโm sure you do, too. Unfortunately, thereโs no secret formula or overnight path to creating world-class images. As with anything worthwhile, it takes time, practice, and persistence.
The good news? Most great photos share the same foundation. Over the years, Iโve come to think of these as the six creative building blocks; the essential ingredients that define every strong photograph.
By learning to understand (and eventually master) these elements, youโll see a dramatic improvement in the consistency and quality of your work.
Hereโs what weโll explore in this guide:
What often separates experienced photographers from beginners isnโt equipment or luck, itโs intention. Great photographers create with purpose. Every choice, from camera settings to post-processing, supports their creative vision.
In this article, weโll look at each of these six building blocks and how mastering them can help you consistently create stronger, more impactful photographs.
Mastering the Basics: Camera Settings That Support Your Vision
Camera settings are important, but they arenโt everything.
I know some of you might raise an eyebrow at that, but the truth is that you can still get a great photo even when itโs not technically perfect. Sometimes you have to react quickly and donโt have time to adjust the basic camera settings accurately.
That doesnโt mean you should overlook the technical side. The more you know your camera, the easier it becomes to make smart decisions in the field. Often, that knowledge is what separates getting the shot from missing it.
Understanding how ISO, shutter speed, and aperture (the three sides of the Exposure Triangle) affect an image is essential. Itโs what allows you to make creative choices with confidence, even when conditions change fast.
The Exposure Triangle
Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO work together to control how light is captured, forming what photographers call the Exposure Triangle. Understanding how these three settings interact is one of the most important technical skills you can learn.
Each setting affects not only brightness but also the look and feel of your image:
- Apertureย controls depth of field, which determines how much of the scene appears sharp from front to back.
- Shutter speed determines how motion is rendered, whether moving water turns silky smooth or frozen in time.
- ISOย influences image noise and overall exposure; a higher ISO makes the sensor more sensitive to light but also adds grain.
Because these three elements are connected, adjusting one always affects the others. For example:
- If you use a smaller aperture (like f/16) for greater depth of field, youโll need to lower your shutter speed or raise the ISO to keep the exposure balanced.
- If you want to freeze motion with a fast shutter speed, you may need to open the aperture wider or increase the ISO to let in more light.
Mastering the Exposure Triangle means learning how to balance light, sharpness, and motion in a way that supports your creative vision. This control lets you shape not only the technical quality of your photos but also their emotional impact.
Experiment often. Try different combinations of settings, review your results, and notice how each adjustment changes the mood of your image. The more you practice, the more instinctive these decisions will become in the field.
Recommended Reading: Understanding The Exposure Triangle in Photography
Creatively Using the Camera Settings
Mastering the camera settings is fundamental for achieving well-exposed landscape photos. However, it’s not just about technical correctness; it’s also about creatively using these settings to enhance your compositions and convey your artistic vision.
Creatively using camera settings allows you to go beyond technical accuracy and infuse your images with your unique style and vision. Don’t hesitate to experiment with different combinations of Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO to achieve the desired creative effects.
For example, using a slower shutter speed to intentionally introduce intentional camera movement (ICM) or long exposures can add a sense of dynamism or abstractness to your images. Experiment with panning, deliberate camera shake, or capturing the movement of clouds to create unique and visually striking effects.
By combining technical proficiency with creative experimentation, you can elevate your landscape photography to new levels, capturing images that not only accurately depict the scene but also convey your artistic interpretation and evoke an emotional response from viewers.
Use the Available Light to Your Advantage
Light is one of the most important elements in photography, and also one of the hardest to master. Many photographers, especially in the beginning, struggle to understand what good light actually means.
Even if youโre familiar with the Golden Hour and love photographing sunsets, that doesnโt automatically mean you have great light. Itโs a common misconception that good light only appears when the sky explodes with color.
The truth is that good light isnโt limited to sunrise or sunset. It can appear at any time of day. What matters is how you recognize it, and how you use it to enhance the mood and depth of your photo.
Harsh mid-day light, for example, can be just as interesting as a colorful evening sky. The key is learning to read the light, noticing where it falls, where it doesnโt, and how it interacts with the landscape.
Take the image above as an example. There were no dramatic skies or glowing hues. It was captured around midday, under strong light. Yet, it works because of how the light shaped the scene. The dark, heavy clouds on the horizon created a striking contrast with the bright white snow lit by the sun peeking through.
In other words, the light was good, because it was used well.
The same principle applies when photographing sunsets. Pointing your camera directly into the sun doesnโt always produce the most interesting image. Instead, look at how the light interacts with the landscape; how it illuminates textures, creates contrast, or highlights subtle details. Often, thatโs where the magic happens.
The Composition Makes a Great Photo
Thereโs a lot of talk about composition in photography, and for good reason: itโs one of the most important ingredients in creating a great image. Without a strong composition, even the most dramatic landscape or perfect light can fall flat, ending up as little more than a nice snapshot.
Think of composition as the foundation of your photo. Itโs how you arrange the visual elements within the frame to guide the viewerโs eye and create meaning. A well-composed image feels intentional and balanced; it tells the viewer what to look at and how to experience the scene.
As photographers, we need to be aware of how every element within the frame interacts; how lines, shapes, light, and texture work together (or compete) to create harmony or tension. This awareness doesnโt come overnight; learning to compose well takes time and a lot of practice. But once it clicks, it changes the way you see and photograph the world.
Recommended Reading: Composition in Landscape Photography: The Complete Guide
What Makes a Good Composition in Landscape Photography?
You might already know some of the classic compositional techniques like the Rule of Thirds, the Golden Ratio, or Leading Lines. These are valuable tools to understand, but they only scratch the surface of what makes a composition truly work. In fact, some of the most memorable landscape photos intentionally break these so-called rules.
That said, thereโs a difference between breaking a rule and not knowing it in the first place. To break a rule well, you need to understand why it exists.
Composition in landscape photography is often more challenging than in genres like studio or product photography. Out in nature, we canโt move mountains, trees, or clouds. We have to adapt and work with whatโs in front of us. That means slowing down and carefully considering which elements contribute to the image and which distract from it.
While there are countless factors that influence composition, some play a particularly important role in landscape photography:
- Leading Lines and Visual Pathways โ guide the viewerโs eye through the frame and toward your subject.
- Foreground Interest โ adds depth and a sense of place.
- Balance โ distributes visual weight to make the image feel stable and intentional.
- Light and Contrast โ shape the mood and direct attention.
- Color and Tonal Contrast โ help define structure and emotion.
These arenโt rigid rules; theyโre creative tools that help you express how a place felt rather than just how it looked. With time, youโll start to use them instinctively, developing your own visual language and personal style.
Your Vision: The Foundation of Every Great Photograph
Creating a great photo is about much more than pointing the camera and pressing the shutter. Itโs about translating an idea, your idea, into an image that others can feel and understand. Thatโs your vision, and itโs the most important tool you have as a photographer.
Your vision is what turns an ordinary scene into something meaningful. Sometimes itโs the result of careful planning and anticipation; other times, it appears in the moment, as you respond to the light, weather, or mood of a landscape. Either way, the creative process starts long before you look through the viewfinder; it begins with how you see and interpret the world around you.
Developing a personal vision takes time. Itโs about learning what draws you to certain subjects, colors, and types of light, and using that awareness to shape your photography. The more you experiment, reflect, and create, the more your images begin to carry your signature style, something thatโs unmistakably yours.
When you photograph with intention, when every frame has a purpose, your work naturally moves beyond simple documentation. It becomes storytelling. Each image becomes a way to share how you experienced a place, not just what it looked like.
So ask yourself:
Are you photographing what you see, or what you feel? That simple question is often the first step toward finding your true photographic vision.
Create Your Signature Style Through Post-Processing
The groundwork you do in the field is essential, but post-processing is where your creative vision truly comes to life. This is often the stage where photographers develop their signature style, the unique look that makes their work instantly recognizable.
I know editing can feel intimidating at first, but if youโre serious about improving as a photographer, itโs worth learning. Post-processing isnโt about doing more; itโs about doing what matters. Even small, thoughtful adjustments to contrast, color balance, and tone can completely transform how a photo feels.
You donโt need to dive deep into Photoshop right away. Tools like Adobe Lightroom, DxO PhotoLab, or the Nik Collection make it easy to refine your images while keeping a natural, authentic look.
If you want to push image quality even further, programs like Topaz Photo AI or DxO PureRAW are excellent companions for reducing noise and enhancing fine detail before editing.
How much or how little you edit is entirely up to you; thereโs no single โcorrectโ approach. What matters is that your processing choices reflect your vision. Think of your favorite photographers: you can often recognize their work not just from the subjects or compositions, but from the subtle tones, colors, and atmosphere that define their images.
Recommended Reading: Post-Processing for Landscape Photography: The Complete Guide
Color and Contrast
Adjustments to color and contrast are often the first steps in post-processing, and they can make an immediate impact. Most editing tools include simple sliders for Temperature, Tint, Saturation, Vibrance, and Contrast, all of which are easy to understand and effective for beginners. Even a few subtle tweaks here can bring life to an otherwise flat image.
But to really refine your style, itโs worth learning the more advanced tools that give you greater control over how color and contrast interact. In Adobe Lightroom, the Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks sliders help shape tonal contrast and exposure with precision. The Color Mixer (HSL) panel is essential for targeted color work, letting you fine-tune hue, saturation, and luminance for each color range.
For even more control, tools like Luminosity Masks and Color Range Masks in Photoshop allow for highly selective adjustments, letting you adjust light or color only where you want it. Combining these local adjustments with broader global edits in Lightroom gives you both precision and efficiency.
Want to learn more about processing in Adobe Lightroom? Then check out our comprehensive eBook and Video Course: Mastering Adobe Lightroom Classic.
Shaping Light
As landscape photographers, we donโt start with a blank canvas, we work with what nature gives us. But through careful post-processing, we can guide the light to emphasize the mood and story of the image.
Shaping light means subtly enhancing whatโs already there, directing attention, and balancing the visual weight of the scene. One of the most effective techniques for this is dodging and burning, where you selectively brighten or darken parts of the image to guide the viewerโs eye. Even a subtle vignette can help lead attention toward the main subject and strengthen the composition.
For example, in the image above, the trunks in the foreground were naturally dark, so I focused instead on enhancing the soft light filtering through the back. By brightening select areas of moss and fog, I shifted the visual weight toward the most atmospheric part of the scene. These adjustments were simple, but they gave the photo more depth, and more of my personal style.
The key to shaping light is restraint. Work with the existing light, not against it. Enhance, donโt invent.
What is Too Much Processing?
Post-processing can be a sensitive subject. Itโs common to hear photographers label othersโ work as over-processed or fake, but the truth is, thereโs no universal standard.
Itโs your photo, and you decide how far you want to take it. Whether that means subtle tonal adjustments or full creative composites, itโs entirely up to you. What matters is that your choices are intentional.
If your goal is a vibrant, stylized look, embrace it. If you prefer a clean, natural aesthetic, thatโs equally valid. The problem arises when edits are done randomly, when sliders are pushed without purpose, or when the software dictates the final look instead of you.
Create with intention. Be aware of every adjustment you make, and make sure it supports the mood and message you want to convey.ย
Curating is What Makes You Consistent
Curation is one of the most important, yet least talked about, aspects of becoming a skilled photographer. Itโs what separates the occasional great photo from a consistently strong body of work.
We all wish that every image we take would be a keeper. But thatโs rarely the case. Whether youโre just starting out or have decades of experience, the truth is that most photos will never make it past your hard drive. The ones that do, the images you share or include in your portfolio, represent only a tiny fraction of everything you shoot. And theyโre there because you chose them carefully.
Curation doesnโt only happen behind the computer. It starts in the field. Once again, it comes back to awareness and photographing with intention. The more selective you are about what you choose to capture, the more cohesive your work will become.
There are countless beautiful scenes in nature, but not all of them will fit your vision or your style, and not all of them are inherently photogenic. Simply pointing your camera toward something pretty doesnโt make it a strong photograph. The best photographers are selective not only about what they show, but also about what they shoot.
By being intentional in both the field and editing, you build a portfolio that feels unified. Viewers begin to recognize your work not just by subject, but by the light, composition, and post-processing that define your style.
Thereโs no single right or wrong way to curate. The goal is simply to refine. Be honest with yourself when you review your images. If something doesnโt fully meet your standards, donโt be afraid to leave it out.
Curation takes time, discipline, and a willingness to let go, but itโs one of the most powerful tools you have to grow as a photographer.
Conclusion
Thereโs no shortcut to creating great photos; it takes time, practice, and a willingness to keep learning. But by understanding and applying the six creative building blocks weโve explored, youโre already one step closer to consistently producing images youโre proud of.
Start by mastering the fundamentals: learn how your camera settings shape the final image, and use them to create not just technically correct photos, but visually compelling ones. Pay attention to light, and compose with purpose so that every element in your frame supports your vision.
Develop your personal style through post-processing, stay true to the emotion you want to convey, and remember that curation is part of the craft. Not every image will be great, and thatโs perfectly fine. The goal isnโt perfection; itโs progress and intention.
Above all, enjoy the process. Donโt let photography become a routine or a checklist of techniques. Go out, explore, and create for the love of it. When you approach it with curiosity and passion, the results will naturally follow.
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