Photography is an innate skill that requires a creative vision to bring out the extraordinary hidden beauty in ordinary people and places. Travelling is as much fun as photography. Both are interlinked with each other. Traveling without capturing the landscapes and golden moments in your camera is like listening to the radio without any audio. However, taking photographs indoors is much more easy and convenient than outdoors. The best photograph is the one that seems so real as if it’s going to come alive, enter your world and talk to you!

When standing amidst the mountains, taking an interesting picture of the sunny clear blue sky, or the rolling bright green fields can be a daunting task. Here is some advice that should help you come away from your next outdoor expedition with a collection of photos that will wow your friends.

1. Lights and Shadows

The secret to getting the appropriate colours, lights, contrast and darkness into your photographs is to use the natural sunlight to your advantage. Step into an open shade for a portrait photograph to let the perfect blend of minimal brightness and sufficient shadow bring out the best in your clicks.  To snap a landscape picture, make sure you use the appropriate camera equipment to compliment your needs. Use a tripod while shooting in dark areas to get sharper pictures in spite of your necessarily lower shutter speeds.

2. Magic Hour

[caption id="attachment_8321" align="alignright" width="500"] Magic hour is the perfect time to take beautiful landscape shots[/caption]

As mentioned before, the light plays an important role in creating a crisp and fresh photograph. One neat trick that any budding photographer should know is that there is a so-called 'magic hour' during which photographs are naturally inclined to appear more vibrant and colourful. This perfect time comes during the hour immediately after sunrise and the hour immediately before sunset - during these times, the sun is in just the right position to create a photograph that truly appears 'magical', and it will be much easier for you to snap impressive, beautiful images. The reason behind this is that during these times, the sunlight is much more diffused, and therefore it spreads evenly over the landscape rather than appearing as harsh and edgy as it does at high noon.

3. Use the Location to your Advantage

Alacrity comes in handy while driving around many locations or stop-over points before reaching your destination.  Why, you ask? One needs to be readily active and alert to spot the beautiful snow-capped hills, crystal clear lakes, lovely flora and fauna, or a rare breed of wildlife, and to capture these wonders in the camera. The point to be considered is your positioning around these landscapes. We’ll discuss that in the next point.

4. Foreground and Background

[caption id="attachment_8320" align="alignright" width="500"] Take advantage of depth to spruce up your images and give them an extra bit of personality[/caption]

Anyone can take a flat-looking picture of a landscape or some scenery, but one easy way to make your pictures stand out from the crowd is to make sure that you adequately harness the foreground, middle-ground and background in order to create a real sense of depth to your shot. For instance, if shooting a portrait, think about not only the foreground but the background of your shot, and how the two will interact. Typically speaking, the more depth you can create in a shot, the better your final photos will look.

5. Play with the Camera Angles

Rather than simply shooting something from straight-on at a flat angle, experiment with taking pictures from a different point-of-view. For example, rather than centring your photograph on the point at which the sky and the sea meet, try taking a photo which focus only on one of these two elements; perhaps using a foreground object or landscape to provide depth. Different camera angles can also be used to enhance the sense of scale in an image - for instance, a flat picture of a large cliff would not be as effective as a shot from a low angle, which contrasts a human subject in the foreground with the towering, looming heights of the cliff behind them.

Although it is helpful to have the proper equipment, such as a MILC or DSLR camera with a good lens, the truth is that these days, high quality, stunning photography is possible even on most mid-range smartphones. What's really important is that you have the right mindset, and are able to take the landscapes given to you by nature and use them to create imagery which effectively translates that scenery into the form of a photograph.