Compose to captivate: Landscape compositions 101 (Part two)

By Richard Young | 24 June 2025

This is part two of a two part series on landscape composition. You can find part one, from last week, here.

Consider your height

The height at which you shoot can dramatically change the impact of a photograph. Getting down low and close to any foreground interest can change the sense of depth and dimension of an image.

Getting some height by climbing on a rock or standing near the edge of a cliff can give you an unusual viewpoint and lead to an interesting shot.

When photographing reflections, height makes a huge difference; by getting down low to the water you will increase the size of the reflection—or do the opposite by finding the highest angle you can get to remove them.

One of those rare times the sky does exactly what you wanted it to; a beautiful pattern of wind-blown lenticular clouds perfectly lit at sunset and aligned above the summit of the volcano that was forming their shape. That on its own would’ve been a strong photograph, but what makes this image is the added element of the tussock grass in the foreground catching the last warm light as it hits the landscape. This adds both depth and a sense of place to the photograph. When composing this frame I gave careful consideration to the placement of each element within it; giving the most visual weight to the sky but framing just enough of the tussock to make them a feature of the photograph rather than a distraction from the primary subject. Nikon D800E, 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 lens @ 35mm. 1/20s @ f11, ISO 200.

Look for distractions

Look around for details and decide what the distractions are and whether you can remove them from the image. Can you remove these altogether by moving the camera position a little or zooming in?

You can’t always keep other objects out of the picture, but you can try to keep them in the background, so they don’t have too much visual weight or make them part of the story.

Do not rely on the option of Photoshop to remove something later. It is always best to achieve the ultimate image in the field if you can.

Every Autumn since 2017 I’ve tried, and every year I’ve failed to capture this tree well. But this time, I think I found a way to place the tree within the landscape in a way that works. As with all forest photography, small movements make big differences in the composition, and it’s about changing angles to create space and separation between objects within the frame. Nikon Z8, 24-120mm f/4 lens @ 120mm. 1/400s @ f5.6, ISO 64.

Watch the edges

When making decisions about composition, you should also look around the edges of the image.

So often, I see people looking through the viewfinder or at the LCD screen, and they just focus on the subject and ignore everything around it. Make sure there is nothing intruding into the frame, like a branch or rock on the edge of it, and that you are not cutting off any important parts of the image.

If so, you can often fix this by taking a small step to the side. Make sure your viewfinder or LCD display is clear and distraction-free without settings displaying on top of the image.

All too often, I see people’s display screens cluttered with too much information, hiding all the details around the edge of the image.

Sunrise at Tasman Lake is a magical experience. This is a location where camera position and height are always critical; balancing the position of the icebergs and the background mountains. I chose to isolate the two small boulders in the foreground to add further depth. Nikon D800E, 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 lens @ 26mm. 10s @ f11, ISO 64;

Consider your aspect ratio

Most digital cameras have a 6x4 aspect ratio. That doesn’t mean you’re limited to just this ratio; some cameras allow you to set different aspect ratios in-camera.

If you plan to use an alternative aspect ratio I strongly recommend giving this consideration while in the field.

Relying on cropping later might result in your subject being too close to the edge of the frame without sufficient space around it. Aspect ratios are also a major stylistic choice and will govern the way you place objects within the frame.

Choose your focal length

Often, photographers do not give enough consideration to lens focal lengths, simply zooming in or out to get the desired composition. Focal length controls so much more than just angle of view and changes perspective and also depth of field within our images.

Learn to see in different focal lengths and the characteristics based around these choices. The best zoom you have is your feet. Select the focal length that is required to compose the shot you want and then decide where you need to stand.

When I’m teaching workshops, I ask a group what they want to learn or improve; composition is often number one. I think one reason for this is that composition, unlike the technical aspects of photography, can’t be easily learned from reading a book or a YouTube video.

Some might refer people to the rules of composition—while these formulated approaches to placement of objects and horizon lines might make for a pleasing photograph, I do not think they will make a powerful or personal image.

One reason that composition is so challenging is it revolves around storytelling and what you’re trying to express. I often see people approaching a landscape and trying to work out how to compose it, without first considering what they want to express.

It is essential to determine what we want to express in an image—what the story is—before we can even approach building a composition. Composition is the way we bring elements together to express our own vision or story.

So next time you are struggling to frame a photograph, take a step back and consider what you wish to express, as this is the first step to building your composition. ❂

Richard Young is a full-time nature & landscape photographer based in Wanaka, New Zealand and is the founder of New Zealand Photography Workshops. More of his work can be viewed at www.richardyoung.co.nz