Buying Landscape Photos

A Buyer’s Guide to Landscape Photography

Almost any photographer will tell you that landscapes are a pleasure to shoot. This sentiment is shared by most viewers of the pieces; landscapes comprise a form of photography that is definitely not just for art collectors. Landscape photography attracts all types of people, showing up often around homes, stores, streets, and offices. In fact, we buy landscape photographs all the time; just consider how many postcards, tourist shots, and calendars are prominently displayed somewhere on your living room walls or office desk.

If you are interested in purchasing some more serious landscape art, there are several channels through which you can do this. You could visit art libraries and collectors, especially for more classical and historical photographs. Or you could take advantage of the speed and convenience of the internet, particularly if you want your art to turn out in digital form.

If you use the internet as your shopping cart, you can visit thousands of photographers’ websites and see small-scale samples of their work. Search engines make it easy to narrow down these thousands of vendors to those who sell a particular style or era that you like. These websites will allow you to order prints online in your choice of paper, size, and format.

Many types of services are available online, but there are many variables which affect the costs of these services. For example, a photographer may choose to limit the number of editions of his or her photograph that are sold. If you’d like to be the sole owner of a particular print, you will need to pay quite a bit extra. You will need to decide whether the photograph is one you’ll use once or twice, or whether you’d like unrestricted rights to it. If your intention is to use the photograph for commercial purposes, this will definitely drive up the cost of the piece.

One disadvantage of the online method is that you will likely never get to meet the artist or owner of the landscape photograph you end up buying. If this is a feature you feel is missing in the digital age, consider visiting a landscape photography exhibition, library, or private collector instead. Here you will find more exclusive pieces, all in paper format. More time and energy may need to be invested this way as you will need to travel around to find a wide selection of art. Start with the collectors and sellers in your own city, and ask them for suggestions on how to find others. Your shopping travels will bring you into contact with more experienced artists and sellers from whom you can draw knowledge.

Before you begin shopping for landscape photographs, take a minute to think about what kind of art you’d like. Styles of landscape photography include representational, impressionistic, and abstract forms. The representational style is the most realistic looking of the three. The photograph shows what is there, and only what is there, in very precise and accurate detail. The pictures are intended to provide an exact representation of what you would see if you traveled to the scene where the photograph was taken.

Impressionistic photographs, on the other hand, give more subtle and vague impressions about the landscape. These pieces may have a ghostly, unreal quality to them. Abstract works, the most modern of the styles, take the elements of a scene and include them in an order or style which alters and jumbles them. In some of these cases, the original form of the landscape can’t be discerned at all. Instead, the various pieces are worked together into some kind of new image that was based on the actual landscape.

Spend some time educating yourself on how the landscape photographs are taken. This will enable you to pick out pieces in which the artist has spent a lot of time and care. Aesthetically train your eye to avoid spending money on poor quality pieces which you will later regret buying. If adding to a room in your home or office, consider how this piece will look there. Will it blend in with the other interior decorations? What effect will the photograph have on those who enter the room? That being said, the most important quality to consider in a landscape photograph is the effect the piece has on you. Choose a selection that is particularly evocative or pleasing every time you look at it.

Here are my favorite do-it-yourself landscape photography tips and techniques sites;

Not always in this order however they are suited to varying skill levels –

1) This guide is for the intermediate to pro level and is impressive with how-to videos and lots of examples to help you through. A quick glean of the site helps you to realize the extraordinary value here.

3) This one’s not bad either and is less expensive if your budget is getting in the way and you can’t afford the two above. You can see it here.