We all know that skillful composition is the key to capturing great photos. And this is especially true when it comes to complicated landscape scenes that are full of competing elements. Today you’ll learn a simple technique for making outdoor images significantly more appealing.

The tutorial reveals a common framing mistake made by beginners and experienced shooters alike; namely, including too much sky in the frame and minimizing elements in the foreground and midrange of a scene that actually may be more interesting. The error often results in static images in which the horizon runs through the center of a shot which is something you rarely want to do.

The problem with this static approach to composition is particularly acute when dealing with a featureless “blur bird” sky that’s virtually devoid of clouds or other elements like a flock of birds or a low-flying airplane to inject a bit of interest. This is when its time to reframe a shot with more emphasis on areas closer to the camera.

Instructor Dave Charlton is an accomplished pro whose new YouTube channel is dedicated to helping landscape photographers capture amazing images with a DSLR, mirrorless camera, or even their smartphone. In this episode he presents several examples of photos with too much sky and compares them to images with a more effective composition.

Charlton admits there are times when negative space can add to a shot, and why concentrating on the sky can be effective with sunrise and sunsets scenes or when there are an abundance billowing clouds passing by. But those situations aren’t what this lesson is all about.

Cropping can be a very effective solution for improving photos you’ve captured in the past, but a better technique is to follow Charlton’s suggestions for cropping a scene in the camera while shooting in the field. In either case, what you want to avoid is an image with a 50/50 ratio of sky and everything else that falls below.

You’ll also see how changing the aspect ratio can be another effective trick, as is framing a scene with a horizonal orientation instead or going with a vertical composition. The foregoing adjustments may sound obvious or trivial, but you’ll see how effective they can be. It’s all about stepping outside your standard routine and doing a bit of experimentation.

There are more straightforward videos on Charlton’s YouTube channel that will greatly expand your skills, so be to take a look and subscribe.

We also encourage you to watch the recent tutorial we featured with another landscape photography expert who demonstrates how to make the most of ultra-wide lenses when shooting complex scenes full of competing elements.

It’s super easy to add drama and visual interest to wildlife and nature photos by emphasizing dark tones in Lightroom. This tutorial from Park Cameras, a leading retailer in the UK, explains a simple post-processing technique that accentuates colors, separates the subject from surrounding areas, boost contrast, and much more.

Gareth Evans is an adept photographer and image-editing specialist whose enthusiastic videos are among the most popular that we post. In today’s episode he uses a somewhat flat photo of a robin perched on a limb to demonstrate how combining Lightroom’s HSL sliders with simple masks, create a super-impactful look.

This dynamic method works great for wildlife shots and outdoor scenes with subjects that need a bit more punch. Evans plays around with selective exposure adjustments, Contrast, light, Saturation, and other key variables to complete his attention-grabbing transformation.

After cropping the image for a tighter composition, Evans makes a few global adjustments that include pumping up Contrast, darkening Shadows, and decreasing Highlights. He also introduces Clarity, Texture, and Vibrance.

Now it’s time to work on the colors and Evans does that in Lightroom’s HSL panel to modify Hue, Saturation, and Luminance with simple sliders. He first adjusts Hue to move orange tones closer to red. By desaturating greens and yellows in the background the image already has a much richer appearance.

Evans then turns to Luminance and darkens the shot further by dropping yellow and greens. This creates a moody look that Evans accentuates by dropping the blacks. The trick is making the aforementioned enhancements without biasing the robin, and this task begins with two simple masks and a brush to darken the eft side of the bird while brightening it’s head and tones on the right (in the direction of the light).

At this point many of us would be very satisfied and consider the job done, but Evans is a perfectionist with a few more tricks up his sleeve. Watch how he completes the job, compare the before/after photos, and you’ll be duly impressed.

There are many more shooting and processing tips on the Park Cameras instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look.

And then check out an earlier tutorial we featured with another image-editing expert who demonstrates how to give wildlife and landscape photographs a striking polarized effect when you didn’t shoot with a filter.

Photographers who’ve done enough shooting outdoors know that some scenes appear far more compelling in b&w. The challenge is that after a monochrome conversion, some photos are significantly less dramatic than expected. We’re going to fix that in the next 15 minutes.

Photographer Richard Brockwell is an experienced pro with a passion for finding new ways to create amazing images and sharing his discoveries with others. Here’s how he describes his goal for this latest episode: “We’ll guide you through the essential techniques of dodging and burning to enhance monochrome images by creating more depth and contrast that brings photos to life.”

Brockwell’s sample image looks pretty good, until you view the results of his high-powered transformation. The technique can be accomplished in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), and it’s easy enough for users of all skill levels—whether your intent is Fine Art imagery or you just want to create b&w photos that look better than ever.

The first steps occur in Lightroom’s Exposure panel. Brockwell uses simple sliders to reduce Highlights and Shadows to increase detail in both the sky and dark areas within the frame. He says that “I always move the Whites slider to the right until I see clipping on the Histogram, and then dial it back until they’re gone.” He does the same thing for the Blacks.

Brockwell also increases Contrast and reduces Exposure “so we level out our Histogram.” Now the image is significantly improved, and it’s time for masking to selectively enhance certain areas in the frame while leaving others untouched. He introduces two Linear Gradients over the sky and refines these selections so they don’t intrude on the top of the tallest hills.

A third Linear Gradient is applied over the foreground so Brockwell can modify exposure in this area as he did with the sky. At this point he places a Radial Gradient over the brightest parts of the image which he uses instead of a brush to create the dodge and burn effect—making sure that Feathering is set to a value of 100.

There are a few more important steps that Brockwell demonstrates in the latter part of the video, and these are just as straightforward as those mentioned above. When the transformation is complete, all you can do is sit back and say “wow.” Give this method a try and you may just realize that you created a Fine Art photograph after all.

There’s much more to learn on Brockwell’s robust YouTube channel, so be sure to pay a visit when you have time to explore.

And don’t miss the earlier tutorial we featured with another landscape pro who demonstrates how easy it is to create unique landscape photographs by shooting at night with very simple equipment.