Add Scale to Your Shot

Landscapes can present a unique challenge: In landscape photographs there's often no frame of reference for scale. You know the glacier you shot on your trip to Alaska was huge... but, out of context, it simply looks like some dirty snow on a hillside.

When you run into situations like this, use a familiar object to add scale to your shot. Taking a picture of a vast field of sunflowers? Include the farmer's barn in your shot, and people won't mistake them for daisies. Shooting California's giant redwoods? Put a person at the foot of one to show how big those giants really are.

One of the advantages of digital landscape photography is that you can take a shot without something that adds a sense of scale, view it immediately and then decide if your picture might look better with an object that adds scale.