The final bridge photo is fantastic. Crop it a little so right is less important bright aera, bridge and left part is more "symbiose"... as a pc lens shifted... bridge is symmetric but you can include left without right ☀️
WOW ....... this is an amazing video Mads !!!! A ton of educational info and spectacular footage ! My favorite @7:18 is the vertical, it's simpler, nice glow left, the land behind is not going into the left, the leaves in the top left are not touching the center land part and the front of the boat is pointing towards the glow/ light .... everything works for me !!!! EPIC !!!!! The drone pictures of the fog are surreal ........ just like gigantic waves on an ocean .... LOVE IT !!!!!
Great topic. By looking at a photo in a whole but being able to break it down into it’s parts helps identify and enhance the pieces like removing the unwanted branches, zooming in to remove bright spots in the branches. Then the whole picture is better as a result. I think I like the horizontal shot better, mostly because of the greens in it. Both are still great shots.
When I see a potential photo, but something is not right, like the right side of the photo with the bridge, I still take the photo something a bit wider and different format. Then I will wait several days and revisit these photos, with a new eye. Very often I find out that I was stuck in some unnecessary constraint. With this new eye, I can edit it better, and because I shot it wider, I may find a new composition I didn't saw at that time. I leave time work for me when I'm stuck with an image :)
I can fully understand wanting to find the ideal scene for your photography when you are creating a video. However, I have to say that I really appreciate when you still make a video in a less than ideal scene! It really helps me to think more critically about what I am capturing. I do believe that learning what is distracting from a good photo is just as important as learning what makes a good photo. Thank you so much for putting in all the work towards creating content that helps educate other photographers! I know the work that both you and Nigel Danson do have helped elevate my photography the most in the past year.
I am really liking the portrait version of the boat on the right. The colours really appeal to me. Soft and dreamy! also love the misty birds at the end. Perfect. Thank you for your wonderful videos.
I like the horizontal boat photo the best. The vegetation provides a thicker frame. The video of the whispy tendrils of fog over the lake from above with thy drone were stunning.
As in the boat photo, I like both but I'd use them differently. If I was printing large and hanging the photo I'd pick the one with the trees framing the boat. However if I was viewing on screen then the colourful light photo would be better. Both are lovely for different reasons.
I agree as well. I was thinking large print for the landscape format and a more intimate scale print for the portrait format image. The scale of an image can have a huge influence on composition choices in my opinion. Both shots work for me with that consideration at play.
Ahh this hits home. Good on you for removing the branches. I wish I could remove electric wires that hangs in the air, ruining my photos. Theres always some. Even high up the mountains :)
Gorgeous morning. On the bridge shot I wondered if you should go superwide and put it in context....but then cropped in the viewer is left wondering where the path leads 🤔🍻
I liked both boat photos but I didn't find the trees a distraction as I saw it as a frame and I don't usually look at the frame when looking at a picture. It led my eyes to the boat.
Really liking your holistic approach Mads. As for the two boat photos, if I have to choose I would pick the vertical image because of the soft glow from the rising sun. Plus there is separation between the upper tree branch and the line of background trees. I also like how that line of background trees ends on the left before touching the foreground trees. Heck, they're both great photos. Glad you included the rejects also....very helpful! BTW, my lovely wife adores elephants (and who doesn't) so now I REALLY can't get them out of my mind!
What an amazingly peaceful spot. It has great light in the morning. I like those live oaks. I liked the zoomed out version of the boat photo as well. The composition was more balanced.
Great video, insights and images created on that foggy morning. Also, some pretty good wildlife captures for a Landscape photographer!!! Keep up the fine work.
The framing on the vertical photo works alot better than the horizontal one, plus in my opinion the horizontal one is a tad bit too green. The vertical one also has better light and the mist in the background becomes more prominent. it also tickles my mind a bit if it is reflections or real branches on the bottom of the photo which amuses my mind. They are both great photos but the vertical one has that little edge. Thanks for another great episode Mads!
Nice video about a topic that is not talked about a lot as Mads Peter mentioned. I like both boat photos. In the horizontal version I would have lowered the camera a bit. Then the upper branch wouldn't overlap the treeline.
Thanks Mads, that was insightful! On the boat photo - I prefer the vertical, but mostly cos in the horizontal the overhanging leafs are crossing over the trees in the background. 😄
I love the misty lake shots with the birds. They are beautiful and magical. I prefer this type of shot to standard landscape shots with boats and bridges etc as they are so ethereal and evoke a mood. I love the slight abstractness of them.I love the background music. I could look at these images all day. Thank you Mads for sharing.
I had this video on my 'to watch' list for a while and I'm so glad I got around to it. I'll be in the Lake District (UK) in October and I have taken away great pointers and inspirations for this trip. For me personally the boat picture zoomed-in and portrait has it. Fantastic light and a very Zen feeling. The landscape, zoomed-out version is more of a standard scene, still beautiful in comparison less special.
Bridge ,vertical or even horizontal(aspect ratios?) but only bridge from more right standing position so you get bridge and it's left side of river which has more similar luminosity range avoiding that blown highlight(direct sun,sky,water reflection with no features at all_balance only if the bridge is your main subject)-but if the light strikes ,wood,river and bridge are composition elements than ,yes horizontal with cut off completely highlight area on the right and not even using whole bridge balancing with river bands and woody area would make better result,of course it's hard to be sure just imagining whole situation based on your images from here,but...as opinion .(also your angle to light would change and polarizer could help at that case)
Great work on the video and I love the images. One of my favorite parts of photography is the unexpected images from things like the fog on the water at the end. Thanks for sharing.
I do prefer the horizontal photo of the boat. It seems to fit the natural way we see things when we are relaxed and taking in the view. For me vertical photos represent a more concentrating view - say if we were climbing along a mountain ridge etc. Also a vertical photo could compliment a wall display of 3 photos of the same scene. We all see things and appreciate them in our own way, which is great as we get variety. Thanks for a great video Mads.
What a beautiful idyllic scene. I look to the graphic nature of the composition first then the delicate tonal range taking you into the details of the photo. This view is a little too symmetrical a composition for me with the trees framing the boat in the center of the shot. Everything points to the boat. I envision moving the camera to the right then panning to the left, thus placing the boat closer to the right hand third of the composition.
I prefer the landscape one, and think you decision to include the branches thoughtfully real,y helped establish the inner "circle" around the boat better. Having a heavier or more visible outer boundaries by using the larger branches as visible framing stops i think helps the ete to be more contained inside the photo in the end without being too dominant ,ike in your first example,inmthe video where the branches beczme too dominant. good tip to work the scene loo,ing for,multiple framing ideas. Good video!
Both shots are nice. For me, the vertical is much preferred. The light... again it is the image maker. The light informs the image with emotion. The light suggests morning or evening, suggests a mood for those times, makes you feel something. The horizontal pic is a nice composition alright but still looks like a pic 'of' something rather than 'about' something with a story. You're right about viewing holistically...composition certainly important but does the image evoke anything in the viewer? Another layer to the composition discussion.
Have just come across your channel and subscribed halfway through this video. I prefer your vertical image. It seems more ethereal to me which I like. These two compositions also remind me of something that a photographer friend of mine sometimes comments about my photography. I can have a tendency to capture too much of a scene and, whilst it still looks good, there is not as much feeling coming from the picture. Of course, it is personal preference but, I get a magical spark from looking at the vertical picture. It is a mesh of the remoteness of the boat with the possibilities of adventure from the light coming from the left of the photo.
This will sound strange but the leaves on top and bottom makes me see an almost unrealistic 3D crop like I'm looking up at the trees and then there is a boat on the lake floating in the sky. Maybe it's all those damn Insta360 reviews I've been watching. Perception can be reality and it's not always a good thing IMHO. However, your work is so well grounded that I love it and constantly learn. Thank you for sharing Mads.
Hey Mads, I have skipped or deleted many images like the bridge photo because they don't really have a point. You need a model, a child, a woman in a gauzy white dress walking through the beams of light ...something to create a point of focus for the eye and give the bridge purpose.
Of the two boat photos at the beginning, I personally preferred the horizontal one with more of the context ("story") than the 2nd vertical where it was cropped in a context was lost. I actually liked the bridge photo that you showed at the end. I love the sunbeams, backlit trees and that nice weathered bridge.
Mads, Of the two photos of the boat, I prefer the landscape version. With the trees on both side bending into towards the center, I believe that this helps to focus attention on the boat or the main element of this image. Also like the mist trails over the lake….
For the boat image I love the light of the vertical one but the composition of the horizontal one. Light makes such a great difference to me aesthetically . Great video! Thanks!
Great reminder to mind the framing opportunities in photos. Too often I find myself concentrating mostly,onmthe subject, and. Not enouhg on the "supporting actors " in the scene, and as a result my photos are too boring because they ,ack well thouT out design choices inmthe composition. They are "Subject Heavy" and lack dynamic composition in the scene which draws the eye to exp,ore the whole scene further rather than just the subject. Subject is important, but efen more so I think composition makes or bReaks a scene. Just gotta make sure the composition doesn't overpower the subject, and become the subject itself, un,ess that is what you want from the scene.
Awesome photos! I'm sure you have heard this before but I would be interested in seeing the same photo before and after editing (something like a wipe-over or similar). That could also be used as an effective plug for your lightroom and photoshop courses. :)
What if for the second photo of the sunrays coming through the trees and the bridge, you cropped in on both sides of the bridge, and maybe did a mystical shot where the sunrays are really the focus, so I'm thinking of making the rest of the scene darker and making the rays coming through the trees, with perhaps patches of light (using a radial gradiant) to give a "mystical" feel to it.
You could probably have cropped the water from both sides of the bridge and made it all about the bridge/sunlight and it would still have been a great photo. As it is, the water on both sides gives it a bit of context
Hi Mads, Thanks for sharing your photographic experiences with us. Talking about the photograph of the boat, it is true that the branches are usually a point of distraction but in the horizontal photo you show, the second one I think, with the crop, those branches that enter the scene, give us some reading lines towards the central area, except the trunk itself. As for the vertical image, it is true that it is shown as a cleaner image in terms of the natural frame made by the leaves and the small branch on the left, also the light coming from the area on the left gives another different feeling and that influences the composition of it as a final result. As always an exceptional work. Thanks again.
NOT too busy Mads. Beautiful scene to my eye. And those beams just top it all off.
I prefer the landscape with the tree trunks included. Beautiful. Such stillness.
Loving that composition/image at 05:15 Mads. Really peaceful with great light. 👏
Whoa!! The image at 13:30 is a banger!!
That last image was magnificient! It's so surreal...
I like both photos of the framed boat at 5:30 in your video. I prefer the warmer tones in the portrait oriented photo.
Lovely views of the morning light, mists, etc. Thank you for being a morning person so we don't have to.
Classy video. Loved the birds in the fog, such beautiful luminosity
The final bridge photo is fantastic. Crop it a little so right is less important bright aera, bridge and left part is more "symbiose"... as a pc lens shifted... bridge is symmetric but you can include left without right ☀️
WOW ....... this is an amazing video Mads !!!! A ton of educational info and spectacular footage ! My favorite @7:18 is the vertical, it's simpler, nice glow left, the land behind is not going into the left, the leaves in the top left are not touching the center land part and the front of the boat is pointing towards the glow/ light .... everything works for me !!!! EPIC !!!!!
The drone pictures of the fog are surreal ........ just like gigantic waves on an ocean .... LOVE IT !!!!!
Very beautiful photos and the video too. 👍👍👍
It's serene and beautiful. Wish i could be there enjoying the view.
I like the horizontal boat photo. The trees provide a lovely frame. Great shot of the water bird with a fish in its mouth!
First time I've encountered one of your videos.
It certainly won't be the last!
Good information and beautiful work!
The bridge with the sun rays is not to busy for my taste. It's beautiful ❤️
I miss so so many images when vlogging. What an amazing morning light.
Perfect , Favorites were the horizontal boat photo and the shot with the bird and fish. Excellent instructional video Thank you.
Elephants!!!!! dang you, Mads. Hey thanks for the wonderful video with lots of good pointers! I like the vertical one the best
Amazing feeling hearing this calm music together with these epic photos :)
I like the framing and warmer tones of the vertical boat one
Love the photo with flying birds!
I always shoot in horizontal landscape. Thank you for your tips. Greetings from the Philippines.. 👍🤩
Absolutely love the photos of the fog! ❤️ Thanks for the great tips on composition and seeing the whole picture.....
Great topic. By looking at a photo in a whole but being able to break it down into it’s parts helps identify and enhance the pieces like removing the unwanted branches, zooming in to remove bright spots in the branches. Then the whole picture is better as a result. I think I like the horizontal shot better, mostly because of the greens in it. Both are still great shots.
You are a true artist! I prefer the horizontal boat photo. Thank you for sharing your skills and talents.
When I see a potential photo, but something is not right, like the right side of the photo with the bridge, I still take the photo something a bit wider and different format. Then I will wait several days and revisit these photos, with a new eye. Very often I find out that I was stuck in some unnecessary constraint. With this new eye, I can edit it better, and because I shot it wider, I may find a new composition I didn't saw at that time. I leave time work for me when I'm stuck with an image :)
I can fully understand wanting to find the ideal scene for your photography when you are creating a video. However, I have to say that I really appreciate when you still make a video in a less than ideal scene! It really helps me to think more critically about what I am capturing. I do believe that learning what is distracting from a good photo is just as important as learning what makes a good photo.
Thank you so much for putting in all the work towards creating content that helps educate other photographers! I know the work that both you and Nigel Danson do have helped elevate my photography the most in the past year.
Thank you so much for such a kind comment! It really means so much! 😊
The vertical boat photo is magical, and us exactly not how I would have taken the shot which is fantastic as it successfully challenged my thinking
Very nice Mads. I like the virtically photo bedst 😊👌
Excellent video, a great point, well explained as always 👍🏻
yes the horizontal looks great.
You got your bird! Beautiful shots Mads! Love the description of your interpretation of the holistic nature of taking photographs.
Extremely beautiful day... wow... ❤️
I actually like how that tree you hate helps frame the boat in with it zoomed out.
Thanks again. I like the left boat but wished it had the sun on it
The vertical. It is the second choise when ypu approach the scene but something different.
The portrait orientation boat photo is perfect, the balance of the gaps along the edges works well, the overall feel is very calming and peaceful.
I am really liking the portrait version of the boat on the right. The colours really appeal to me. Soft and dreamy! also love the misty birds at the end. Perfect. Thank you for your wonderful videos.
Like the vertical comp more due to the symmetry from the leaves and their reflection. I also like the edit and the warmth from the sunrise.
I like the bridge shot! Not too busy for me. The fog patterns on top of the lake were very cool!
That scene with the elephant in the calm water was really cool.
I like the horizontal boat photo the best. The vegetation provides a thicker frame. The video of the whispy tendrils of fog over the lake from above with thy drone were stunning.
As in the boat photo, I like both but I'd use them differently. If I was printing large and hanging the photo I'd pick the one with the trees framing the boat. However if I was viewing on screen then the colourful light photo would be better. Both are lovely for different reasons.
I agree...
I agree as well. I was thinking large print for the landscape format and a more intimate scale print for the portrait format image. The scale of an image can have a huge influence on composition choices in my opinion. Both shots work for me with that consideration at play.
Ahh this hits home. Good on you for removing the branches. I wish I could remove electric wires that hangs in the air, ruining my photos. Theres always some. Even high up the mountains :)
Gorgeous morning. On the bridge shot I wondered if you should go superwide and put it in context....but then cropped in the viewer is left wondering where the path leads 🤔🍻
I liked the second one the side light is nice it helps you go from the boat to the light
Excellent! Thank you.
Wonderful shots, Mads!
Very talented....thanks for the great tips.
I like the vertical one best. The overall composition and symmetry works better for me.
Maybe use a strong vignette on the bridge vertical shot?
I was impressed with the vertical shot but the zoomed out shot was so beautiful. The identical holes help make the shot so beautiful
Awesome video ! Quite lovely shot too !
Hi Mads, for the bridge picture, maybe a 1:1 crop would work better?
I came to the comments to see if anyone else thought the same
Love the horizontal.
Just put the sticks back; no big deal.
I liked both boat photos but I didn't find the trees a distraction as I saw it as a frame and I don't usually look at the frame when looking at a picture. It led my eyes to the boat.
Really liking your holistic approach Mads. As for the two boat photos, if I have to choose I would pick the vertical image because of the soft glow from the rising sun. Plus there is separation between the upper tree branch and the line of background trees. I also like how that line of background trees ends on the left before touching the foreground trees. Heck, they're both great photos. Glad you included the rejects also....very helpful! BTW, my lovely wife adores elephants (and who doesn't) so now I REALLY can't get them out of my mind!
Awesome pictures and footage. The bridge and boat image are my favourites. Great, carefully selected compositions.
What an amazingly peaceful spot. It has great light in the morning. I like those live oaks. I liked the zoomed out version of the boat photo as well. The composition was more balanced.
Great video, insights and images created on that foggy morning. Also, some pretty good wildlife captures for a Landscape photographer!!! Keep up the fine work.
The framing on the vertical photo works alot better than the horizontal one, plus in my opinion the horizontal one is a tad bit too green. The vertical one also has better light and the mist in the background becomes more prominent. it also tickles my mind a bit if it is reflections or real branches on the bottom of the photo which amuses my mind. They are both great photos but the vertical one has that little edge. Thanks for another great episode Mads!
Nice video about a topic that is not talked about a lot as Mads Peter mentioned. I like both boat photos. In the horizontal version I would have lowered the camera a bit. Then the upper branch wouldn't overlap the treeline.
Thanks Mads, that was insightful!
On the boat photo - I prefer the vertical, but mostly cos in the horizontal the overhanging leafs are crossing over the trees in the background. 😄
Stunning as always. Thanks
I was checking you out...great photos! :)
I love the misty lake shots with the birds. They are beautiful and magical. I prefer this type of shot to standard landscape shots with boats and bridges etc as they are so ethereal and evoke a mood. I love the slight abstractness of them.I love the background music. I could look at these images all day. Thank you Mads for sharing.
Thank you for such a kind comment, Chris! Yes, I really love those two photos with the birds too :)
I had this video on my 'to watch' list for a while and I'm so glad I got around to it. I'll be in the Lake District (UK) in October and I have taken away great pointers and inspirations for this trip.
For me personally the boat picture zoomed-in and portrait has it. Fantastic light and a very Zen feeling. The landscape, zoomed-out version is more of a standard scene, still beautiful in comparison less special.
Thanks for sharing your thought process. I've been there many times thinking how to best frame the shot...
Bridge ,vertical or even horizontal(aspect ratios?) but only bridge from more right standing position so you get bridge and it's left side of river which has more similar luminosity range avoiding that blown highlight(direct sun,sky,water reflection with no features at all_balance only if the bridge is your main subject)-but if the light strikes ,wood,river and bridge are composition elements than ,yes horizontal with cut off completely highlight area on the right and not even using whole bridge balancing with river bands and woody area would make better result,of course it's hard to be sure just imagining whole situation based on your images from here,but...as opinion .(also your angle to light would change and polarizer could help at that case)
Great work on the video and I love the images. One of my favorite parts of photography is the unexpected images from things like the fog on the water at the end. Thanks for sharing.
I do like your videos so stay with them. I think the horizontal boat shot was my choice but the vertical one was also great.
I do prefer the horizontal photo of the boat. It seems to fit the natural way we see things when we are relaxed and taking in the view. For me vertical photos represent a more concentrating view - say if we were climbing along a mountain ridge etc. Also a vertical photo could compliment a wall display of 3 photos of the same scene. We all see things and appreciate them in our own way, which is great as we get variety.
Thanks for a great video Mads.
What a beautiful idyllic scene. I look to the graphic nature of the composition first then the delicate tonal range taking you into the details of the photo. This view is a little too symmetrical a composition for me with the trees framing the boat in the center of the shot. Everything points to the boat. I envision moving the camera to the right then panning to the left, thus placing the boat closer to the right hand third of the composition.
I prefer the landscape one, and think you decision to include the branches thoughtfully real,y helped establish the inner "circle" around the boat better. Having a heavier or more visible outer boundaries by using the larger branches as visible framing stops i think helps the ete to be more contained inside the photo in the end without being too dominant ,ike in your first example,inmthe video where the branches beczme too dominant. good tip to work the scene loo,ing for,multiple framing ideas. Good video!
Both shots are nice. For me, the vertical is much preferred. The light... again it is the image maker. The light informs the image with emotion. The light suggests morning or evening, suggests a mood for those times, makes you feel something. The horizontal pic is a nice composition alright but still looks like a pic 'of' something rather than 'about' something with a story. You're right about viewing holistically...composition certainly important but does the image evoke anything in the viewer? Another layer to the composition discussion.
Thanks again for another enthusiastic video Mads, personally I think both images are strong in their own way, great stuff 🙂👍📸
Have just come across your channel and subscribed halfway through this video. I prefer your vertical image. It seems more ethereal to me which I like. These two compositions also remind me of something that a photographer friend of mine sometimes comments about my photography. I can have a tendency to capture too much of a scene and, whilst it still looks good, there is not as much feeling coming from the picture.
Of course, it is personal preference but, I get a magical spark from looking at the vertical picture. It is a mesh of the remoteness of the boat with the possibilities of adventure from the light coming from the left of the photo.
This will sound strange but the leaves on top and bottom makes me see an almost unrealistic 3D crop like I'm looking up at the trees and then there is a boat on the lake floating in the sky.
Maybe it's all those damn Insta360 reviews I've been watching. Perception can be reality and it's not always a good thing IMHO. However, your work is so well grounded that I love it and constantly learn. Thank you for sharing Mads.
Hey Mads, I have skipped or deleted many images like the bridge photo because they don't really have a point. You need a model, a child, a woman in a gauzy white dress walking through the beams of light ...something to create a point of focus for the eye and give the bridge purpose.
That one shot of the bird eating the fish is just amazing! Great Video :)
👏👏👏 thank you for honesty
Horizontal, great video too!
Of the two boat photos at the beginning, I personally preferred the horizontal one with more of the context ("story") than the 2nd vertical where it was cropped in a context was lost. I actually liked the bridge photo that you showed at the end. I love the sunbeams, backlit trees and that nice weathered bridge.
Hi Mads I love the vertical one a lot!!
Mads, Of the two photos of the boat, I prefer the landscape version. With the trees on both side bending into towards the center, I believe that this helps to focus attention on the boat or the main element of this image. Also like the mist trails over the lake….
For the boat image I love the light of the vertical one but the composition of the horizontal one. Light makes such a great difference to me aesthetically . Great video! Thanks!
Great video, thanks..... mojn
Love both pictures but prefer the horizonal one.... thanks for the great teaching on all your videos... enjoy your day!
Love the portrait version
I could not find your link to buy and also is not cleasr price for US Dollars?
Great reminder to mind the framing opportunities in photos. Too often I find myself concentrating mostly,onmthe subject, and. Not enouhg on the "supporting actors " in the scene, and as a result my photos are too boring because they ,ack well thouT out design choices inmthe composition. They are "Subject Heavy" and lack dynamic composition in the scene which draws the eye to exp,ore the whole scene further rather than just the subject. Subject is important, but efen more so I think composition makes or bReaks a scene. Just gotta make sure the composition doesn't overpower the subject, and become the subject itself, un,ess that is what you want from the scene.
Hi Mads, thank you for another inspiring video
Awesome photos!
I'm sure you have heard this before but I would be interested in seeing the same photo before and after editing (something like a wipe-over or similar). That could also be used as an effective plug for your lightroom and photoshop courses. :)
I do that occasionally 😉
Great suggestion The Allroth! It would be very helpful.
Re the boat - what about dropping down lower?
Peter, did you focus stack the picture with boat? Thanks.
What if for the second photo of the sunrays coming through the trees and the bridge, you cropped in on both sides of the bridge, and maybe did a mystical shot where the sunrays are really the focus, so I'm thinking of making the rest of the scene darker and making the rays coming through the trees, with perhaps patches of light (using a radial gradiant) to give a "mystical" feel to it.
You could probably have cropped the water from both sides of the bridge and made it all about the bridge/sunlight and it would still have been a great photo. As it is, the water on both sides gives it a bit of context
Or, similarly, move close to the bridge and start the frame from the bridge moving in, towards the light.
I prefer the horizontal over the vertical, but both are excellent.
Great video Mads.
Hi Mads,
Thanks for sharing your photographic experiences with us.
Talking about the photograph of the boat, it is true that the branches are usually a point of distraction but in the horizontal photo you show, the second one I think, with the crop, those branches that enter the scene, give us some reading lines towards the central area, except the trunk itself.
As for the vertical image, it is true that it is shown as a cleaner image in terms of the natural frame made by the leaves and the small branch on the left, also the light coming from the area on the left gives another different feeling and that influences the composition of it as a final result.
As always an exceptional work.
Thanks again.
Well im not into photography .... at all, but i love to watch your videos. Amazing work and skills. Cheers man.