Camera Settings for Landscapes

During every photography tour I lead, the number one question I get is what camera settings should be used for any particular situation. In the January issue of Photo Insights, I discussed camera settings for photographing birds in flight. Now I want to talk about the best camera settings for landscapes.

Not all landscape situations require the same settings. I’ve itemized the various possibilities.

Scenario 1: There is a foreground and background, and you’re using a wide angle lens.

Since all landscape images should have complete depth of field, the lens aperture should be f/22 or f/32. Assuming you are using a tripod, the ISO should be very low, such as 100 or 200. The shutter speed doesn’t matter because the camera is stabilized by the tripod. With a low ISO and a small aperture, the shutter will be fairly long, especially if you are shooting when the sun is low in the sky or the day is overcast.

Scenario 2: There are no foreground elements; you are shooting a distant scene like a range of mountains with a telephoto and a tripod.

If the distant scene is far enough away so it will be in focus at any lens aperture, like the Torres del Paine range in Patagonia, below, then use f/8 because this is considered the sharpest aperture. If you are on a tripod, shoot with 100 or 200 ISO and, again, the shutter speed doesn’t matter. Don’t shoot this with a small aperture because it won’t be as sharp as f/8 and the shutter will be unncessarily slow.

Senario 3: You are handholding the camera, you are very close to the foreground elements, and there is a distant background.

Use a small lens aperture like f/16 to f/22 so you still have extensive depth of field, and raise the ISO until the shutter speed is fast enough for a sharp picture. With a wide angle lens you can usually get away with 1/60th of a second for the shutter. I prefer, if there is enough light, at least 1/100th to be absolutely certain the pictures will be sharp.

Scenario 4: You want to blur moving water and you are using a tripod.

To blur water using a wide angle lens, like Skogafoss Falls in Iceland on the next page, I usually use between 2 and 4 full seconds. Since this is a landscape shot and I want the immediate foreground sharp, I choose f/32 as the aperture. The ISO should be low like 100 or 200. This means maximum quality.

To blur water using a telephoto lens, I typical opt for 1/2 to one full second. Telephotos magnify movement significantly. This is obvious in the viewfinder, thus a super long exposure isn’t needed to get the ethereal effect of moving water.

Scenario 5: You are photographing landscapes from a small, private plane.

Due to the vibration and possible turbulence of the plane, a fast shutter is required to get sharp pictures. A shutter speed of 1/1250 is good enough, but I tend to err on the side of maximum sharp- ness, so I typically use 1/2000th of a second. So I don’t have to raise the ISO too high, I shoot wide open -- typically f/4 or f/4.5. If you have a faster lens, great. Use f/2.8 if you have it. This helps keep the ISO down so you get the best quality. I put the exposure mode on manual, and I set the aperture and the shutter as I’ve explained. I then put the ISO on auto. It will vary per the amount of ambient light that’s on the scene.

Scenario 6: You are using a wide angle lens and the camera position is within 1 to 3 feet of the immediate foreground as shown in the shot of a Patagonian lake, next page.

Definitely use the smallest lens aperture, but you also have to maximize the depth of field by using my hyperfocal distance formula. This is much simpler than actually measuring distances for the mathematical calculation. My approach has worked for me from the beginning of my career.

Take the focal length of the lens, say 24mm, and divide that by 3. The answer is 8. That is the distance in feet (not meters) where you should focus. When you focus to 8 feet with the smallest lens aperture -- probably f/22 or f/32 -- this will give you the maximum depth of field given the focal length of the lens and the distance from the camera to the foreground.

If you are using a 14mm lens, then you’d focus about 5 feet into the composition starting from the camera position.

You have to be on a tripod to be able to use a low ISO. The shutter speed will be long, but with non-moving objects that’s fine.

You can use the same technique handholding the camera, but you’ll need to raise the ISO until the shutter is at least 1/60th of a second. If it’s windy, I’d make the minimum shutter speed 1/125 while handholding. This should guarantee sharp pictures with a wide angle. §