How to take landscapes on the Fuji film X-T2.
Landscape photography is one of the most popular photography styles in the world. Mainly due to the power of the landscape on the human mind. It can be beautiful and ever changing with the weather. In this blog I will aim to teach you how to take landscapes on the Fujifilm X-T2. This is my most modern camera currently but there are much newer models now such as the X-T3 and X-T4. This blog is about how to take landscapes on the Fujifilm X-T2 but it will apply to others in this range including earlier models like the X-T1.
The perfect landscape. | How to take landscapes on the Fujifilm X-T2
“The perfect landscape is in focus from the very front to the very back.” I’ve put this in quotation marks but I’m not sure who decided this or if anyone has ever quoted this phrase as such. This statement, however, seems to be the main thing that’s discussed in photography competitions. If your photo it’s not in focus from the front to the back it will very likely be discarded from landscape competitions. But this does not mean that you shouldn’t break the rules.
I entered the following piece of art in the NZIPP Iris awards and it bombed, big time! It is not fully in focus through the whole frame. However it takes pride of place on a wall in my house as I love it so much.
Landscapes as a work of art | How to take landscapes on the Fujifilm X-T2
The landscape on a wall as an art work tends to look better with everything and focus. The reason for this is most likely to do with paintings that were done in the past. If you were to take an artist who painted and gave them a camera they would probably shoot everything at F22. Artists don’t blur out items in their paintings generally speaking. This is a general rule, but the human eye when painting can adjust from the foreground subject to the background and back again. This means everything is in focus to the artist if they are looking at things individually in the scene. I think this has transferred into modern day photography.
Getting it all in Focus | How to take landscapes on the Fujifilm X-T2
To take the perfect landscape just set your camera on F11 put your ISO on the lowest possible setting (ISO 200) and then have your shutter speed on whatever you need to get the exposure you want.
This is a very simple way of taking a photo that you know will be good every time.
If you were taking a landscape photo in the middle of the day, you would most likely be able to handhold the camera The advantage of this is that you can take a photo without other gear such as a tripod. The shutter speed must be over 1/30 of a second at the very slowest. It is probably better to be on 1/125 of the second instead to avoid camera shake. The X-T2 has all the dials on the top of the camera. This makes it exceptionally easy to see your settings and to adjust them quickly to get the perfect landscape.
Don’t use the middle of the day if you can help it
The middle of the day however it’s not the best time of the day to take a landscape photo. The reason being that the lighting is often harsh or flat and the landscape won’t have the moodiness that makes you gasp. The sky is often not as dramatic although this often depends on the day and the time of year and the weather conditions.
This photo was taken in the middle of the day. It has won a bronze landscape award. I took it because the clouds were so incredible going in streaks over the Kaikoura Peninsula. I’d never seen this before in my life. I said to my Mum who was standing next to me that my sister would be saying not to bother taking this photo. I must say the result was very flat and boring.
Editing to improve the landscape
I had to turn it black and white to get some impact and then the cliffs needed some shading done in photoshop. If the clouds and evening light and coincided then it would have been an amazing shot with very little post processing, but sometimes you will never see these clouds again and certainly not at sunset, so it’s best to take the photo and get that image that has made you go “Wow!” Don’t miss the wow moments in your life.
An example of a photo at dusk
This photo was taken though a window in a holiday house in Queenstown. I didn’t use a tripod just bumped up the ISO and quickly took a shot and got it perfect at F11. You can see that the quality of the light on the mountain is so much better at dusk. The thick clouds also caused the light to come through a slot in the clouds creating a lovely shaft of light over the mountain. I love this piece so much. It would have looked nothing at midday!
The best time of year to take landscapes at noon | How to take landscapes on the Fujifilm X-T2
If I had to say which is the best time of year to do a shoot to do a landscape shoot in the middle of the day, I would say winter. The best time of year to do a landscape shoot in the evenings would be autumn for me. This is because of the colours in the land in trees and often it is not as windy. You also don’t have to go out late at night to get dusk or get up terribly early to get dawn light. A great landscape can be taken at 5 pm in New Zealand in late autumn. This means you can be at home in time for tea and relax in the warmth of your house. You will have time to edit in the evening and finish off that lovely landscape that you just took.
If you live in Europe my answer would be totally different. The light over there can be magical in the middle of the day in summer and the clouds have colours like I’ve never seen in NZ. Maybe it’s the pollution, or the meridian that the country is on. There are yellows and greys like a Constable painting even in the middle of the day in summer. In New Zealand our clouds are more grey, whitish or blue and have a different feel. Our light is harsh and flat and summer is the harshest time. The light is very very strong and colours are bright.
Tripods at dawn and dusk
If you were going to take photos at dawn or dusk you definitely need a tripod. A tripod keeps your camera stable and avoids camera shake. That means you can have your ISO on the lowest possible setting. In the case of the Fujifilm X-T2 that is 200 ISO. It means you can have your F stop or aperture at F11. This aperture will give you an infocus photo from front to back and is often the optimal place in the lens for sharpness. If you go to F16 or F22 you may find that your image has a slight blur at the corners. This is to do with the way the lenses work. Often the optimal point is around F11 for sharp focus across the whole frame. If I had one tip on how to take landscapes on the Fujifilm X-T2 it would be stick with F11.
Shutter speed with a tripod | How to take landscapes on the Fujifilm X-T2
You can now have your shutter speed on whatever you want while using your tripod. If it is getting dark out you may find yourself going to one second for your shutter speed. Or even longer. The best setting to use is T which is on the shutter speed wheel. Use the wheel on the side to adjust your seconds. Your electronic view finder will show you what the photo is going to look like. Plus you can view the graph and make sure the exposure indicator is in the middle, meaning correct exposure. You can then adjust the wheel until you get the perfect exposure that you were after.
Things you won’t see in the electronic viewfinder | How to take landscapes on the Fujifilm X-T2
If you were taking a photo of the ocean you will see whether the waves are blurry once you take the photo but you won’t see this effect in the viewfinder. The shorter you go with your shutter speed the milkier the waves will look. The longer you go with your shutter speed the more cloud-like the waves will look. This also depends on how rough the sea is at the time you’re shooting.
I have taken long exposure photos on a calm where the water has appeared milky and green and you can see the stones underneath. . The long exposure didn’t do much to the sea except to make it like milky glass. It can be a beautiful effect.
I have also taken the same kind of photo but with a rough see and very very dark lighting conditions. When it is really dark you need a longer exposure so will get more movement in the photo. You end up with rocks sharply in focus and extremely cloudy waves. I don’t always like this look. It can look like a mist and be very distracting to the eye.
Moving trees during long exposures
If you were taking a landscape with moving trees in a gale force wind full then you will find that a slow shutter speed may not be the right thing on that day. Or it might be the best thing you’ve ever taken! It may pay to come back when the wind is not as strong and try the photo again if it is not a look you like.
The other option is to bump up your ISO to a high level so that you can make a faster shutter speed. You risk having some noise in the landscape. At the end of the day I always say that it’s better to get the shot than not at all. There have been many shots I’ve missed because I have been wrangling with my tripod and the light has changed while I’m trying to adjust a leg.
If I’d just taken a safe shot at ISO 1600 and shutter speed 1/125 of a second then I would have got a shot that was good enough to frame up and hang on the wall. I could then have gone and wrangled with my tripod for half an hour to get the perfect shot.
Tripods are often not fun
Tripods are not my friend. I find them the hardest on sloping beaches when I have to adjust one leg longer than the others. It takes a lot of time and often you just can’t get the angle on the camera that you want. It pays to have a very good quality tripod that you know won’t fail you. Mine is a very good quality midrange tripod and there is nothing wrong with it, it’s just that sometimes it’s easier to take that safe shot handheld. The image below was taken hand held as there was plenty of light.
Composition – the back bone of landscape photography
The other thing that you have to do to get the perfect landscape is think about the composition but that is a whole other lesson click here for the blog on composition.
Double Exposure Landscapes | How to take landscapes on the Fujifilm X-T2
If you want to be really creative, try doing double exposures while taking landscape photos. You will surprise yourself with your creativity and the artworks you can create.
This photo was a photo of a ploughed field with the sea behind. I took one photo of the field with a straight horizon and then the second photo I twisted the camera.
This photo is of a hill with cabbage tree. I waited and waited for the seagull to fly into the frame. The second frame was taken of slight ripples on the sea but I twisted the camera at an angle to give more interest. The final artwork is award winning with a Silver award at the NZIPP Iris awards.
I hope you enjoyed my blog on how to take landscapes on the Fujifilm X-T2.