Landscape photography is one of those things. You know it when you see it. Everyone understands that. However, have you ever sat down to compose an actual dictionary definition of landscape photography? I just tried and it’s harder than I thought. Still, we’re going to tackle that very idea here today. So, what is a definition of landscape photography?
The term “landscape” in art was originally created by painters to describe their nature and scenic paintings. It’s since found its way into photography. Landscape photography has come to colloquially mean a wide sweeping view of a scenic natural setting which remains virtually untouched by human hands.
Please keep in mind just how broad and sweeping this definition is. Many different interpretations and subject matters easily fit under that heading. There are variants, such as cityscape photography, which challenge that general definition. Still, most versions of landscape photography often match up to that definition somehow.
Like I said before, landscape photography is something difficult to define with words. I can do a much better job defining it with images. So, here are some photos of mine which qualify as landscape photography.
Most people call a waterfall picture, such as the one above, a landscape photo. Now let’s check out some other typical elements, styles, and perspectives which you might see in landscape photography.
Just like me, I assume you looked at each of these photos and called them landscape photography. Like I said above, you know it when you see it. Photos make it easy to understand. Words don’t help as much there.
So, in conclusion, landscape photography is simply a photo containing a nature scene. It may or may not include a human touch or human disturbance. It’s what the subject matter is which makes the landscape photo compelling.
If you’d like to learn more about what landscape photography is, then check out this article on what is considered landscape photography. I do a much deeper dive into the subject complete with examples. After all, I couldn’t easily define landscape photography without examples here. This article is full of them.
If you’d like to check out more examples of my landscape photography for yourself, then head on over to my store. You’ll see my absolute best landscape photos up for sale there.
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