Recommended Camera Settings for Landscapes from Experts

Those specializing in landscape photography state that it’s necessary to choose camera settings very accurately in order to get a crisp and detailed image with even the smallest details clearly visible.

If you want to get a high-quality photo, you need to use a narrow aperture, which also means choosing a slow shutter speed.

However, if you take images at a slow shutter speed, you risk blurring your frame due to hand shake. It is paramount to find a balance between the elements of the exposure triangle - aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

Basic Camera Settings for Landscapes

basic camera settings for landscape photography

Adjusting your camera is like describing the scene in front of you in a way understandable to a shooting device. By choosing the proper values in the menu, you can receive a beautiful image that displays what your own eyes see as accurately as possible.

The basic camera settings landscape photographers should know are:

  • Exposure mode: Manual or Aperture Priority Mode
  • Focus mode: Auto
  • Shutter speed: 1/160th
  • Aperture: f/16 to f/22
  • ISO: 100
  • Lens: 18-24mm
  • White balance: Daylight or Cloudy
  • File format: RAW

Exposure — Pick Manual Mode

exposure camera setting for landscapes

With the Manual Mode on, you have full control over the aperture and shutter speed. You should opt for manual adjustments if a camera fails to choose proper values automatically due to the intricacies of the shooting spot and overall conditions. This happens quite frequently in landscape photography.

Getting the correct exposure is also possible by activating the Aperture Priority Mode. Thus, you’ll be able to customize the aperture manually and the system will select the shutter speed automatically. In the end, you will receive the exposure that is ideal for your current scene.

Shutter Speed — Choose 1/160th

shutter speed camera setting for landscapes

I have extensive experience in landscape photography and highly recommend you choose a shutter speed of around 1/160th. With such a shutter speed for landscape shooting, your images will be properly lit. Besides, there will appear no blurring that can spoil a photo.

Pro Tip: For long exposure photography, you can keep shutter speeds equal to 1, 2, or 5 seconds. At the same time, a photographer can hold a manual shutter release mode open as long as he/she wants.

Aperture — Vary from f/16 to f/22

aperture camera setting for landscapes

Similar to camera settings for sunset, you’d better choose higher values, e.g., f/16 - f/22. Such apertures are known as narrower.

A camera sensor will collect less light, so you’ll need to pick longer shutter speeds. Such a combo will result in perfect light exposure.

Pro Tip: If you work on a gloomy day, you should steer clear of fixed apertures because clouds will appear earlier than the sun, which means you’ll have to take 2-3 f stops for a single photo. In general, aperture camera settings for landscape photography in cloudy weather should range from f/2.8 to f/4.

ISO - Set It to 100

iso camera setting for landscapes

In fact, the best ISO landscape value is 100. However, it doesn’t mean you should always stick to it considering that shooting conditions change all the time.

If you want to fill your image with light, you should raise ISO a bit. But keep in mind, that the performance of a camera at higher ISO values depends much on its capabilities and age.

White Balance - Experiment with Daylight or Cloudy Mode

landscape photography settings

When it comes to landscape and nature photography, it is common to set WB to 5000K. It is called a neutral range when images receive slight warmth.

Pro Tip: Seasoned landscape photographers recommend sticking to 6000-6500K when taking pictures on cloudy days. When working in murky conditions with shades, it is better to raise the value even more – 7500K will do just fine.

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Want to Receive Eye-Catching Landscape Photos?

If something was wrong with landscape photography settings during shooting, and now your images look far from perfect, you can address the FixThePhoto experts and they will make the needed corrections.

They can improve white balance, remove deep shadows, adjust tones, and more.

File Format – RAW

setting for landscape photography

If you want to receive the best possible image quality, you should opt for RAW shooting. All JPEG files have less technical data, which means you don’t receive enough details to use for image editing. This is probably the main reason why JPEGs take up so little space.

Pro Tip: Like with camera settings for portraits, it is better to underexpose in RAW format if you have problems measuring light. Such pictures are easier to enhance than overexposed shots during processing.

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FAQ

  • • Why do my landscape photos lack sharpness?

Such a problem usually chalks up to incorrect focusing. If you adjust the focus manually, you may accidentally the focus too far or vice versa. Such slight mismatches cause sharpness issues.

It takes time and practice to understand how to focus properly. Or, you can use AF if it’s available in your camera.

  • • Why shouldn’t I use Auto WB as basic landscape photography settings?

The caveat concerning auto white balance to keep in mind is that such a setting isn’t very accurate in terms resulting of colors. Moreover, the produced tones are different from frame to frame.

The general idea behind this auto setting is that Wb should constantly change and adapt to different conditions and photography locations.

  • • What is the best focal length for this photography genre?

Experts recommend choosing 28mm on a 35mm camera because this focal length covers a wide angle of view without bringing many distortions to a photo.

  • • Why isn’t the bracketing landscape camera setting included in the basic settings?

Bracketing is needed only if you are interested in HDR or digital blending at the editing stage.

If you adjust your camera for bracketing photography, you will get 3 images of the same scene with different exposure values, namely, +1, 0, and -1. Make sure to use a tripod for camera stabilization.

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