Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping.

And I'm really looking forward to learning with you today about landscapes in photography.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking, and exploring together in this lesson.

So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to review the range of ways photographers have been inspired by landscapes.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords we'll be using during this lesson.

Landscape is all the visible features of an area of land, often considered in terms of their visual appeal.

Vista, a broad view often used to create dramatic scenes in landscape photography.

Perspective, creating depth and distance in a composition.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson: a photographer spotlight of landscapes, a photographic deconstruction via landscapes, and personal connection in photography through landscapes.

So in this first learning cycle, we're going to explore the photographer spotlight of landscapes.

Why do you think landscapes have always been such a powerful subject in photography? Well, photographers across history and cultures have been inspired to create photographs featuring landscapes.

Photographers take different approaches when depicting landscapes in their work, exploring a range of techniques and themes.

Some themes and techniques photographers might use when creating a landscape photograph are depicting panoramic vistas, exploring scale, viewpoints, and perspectives, celebrating nature's beauty, using landscapes symbolically to explore other topics, and commenting on important issues.

Some photographers focus on the accuracy of their work, aiming to depict landscapes accurately, capturing the scene using realistic lighting, exposure, and focus.

And this kind of representation is common in Western approaches to landscapes.

For some, accurate depictions are less important than experimental compositions involving multiple viewpoints.

These images can carry symbolic, spiritual, or narrative meaning, and be created through digital manipulation or collage.

Yao Lu digitally manipulates photographs of urban construction sites covered in green netting, transforming them into landscapes that mimic traditional Chinese painting.

Jan Dibbets merges multiple-angled shots into a flattened, abstracted version of landscape space that he refers to as perspective correction.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Photographers are always interested in recording precise perspective in their landscape photographs.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that's false, you're right.

But why is that statement false? Can you explain to your partner why this statement is false? Pause the video here to have that discussion, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well, if you said something like: while some photographers use precise perspective to show realistic depth, others choose different approaches.

Not all landscapes aim to look realistic.

Some focus on meaning, feeling, or tradition instead.

So well done.

Landscapes let photographers explore scale, perspective, and composition from vast vistas to intimate details.

How might differences in these elements influence a photo's meaning? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well, Andeep says, "A broad vista can make me think about how big or magnificent the world is." Laura says, "A photo showing intimate details of a landscape might focus attention on one place or issue." And Lucas says, "Photographers might use abstract or experimental shots to challenge reality." Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which of the following best explains the benefits of using landscapes in photography? It only depicts accurate colours and textures, it focuses on people in nature, it lets photographers explore different scales and views, or it only shows wide open spaces.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that it lets photographers explore different scales and views, you're absolutely right.

Now photographers experimenting with how landscapes can be depicted include David Benjamin Sherry, who uses analogue large-format landscape photography with intensely saturated, unnatural colours.

Paola de Grenet is known for her conceptual, staged landscapes which blend people and place to explore identity and emotion.

Yasuo Kiyonaga incorporates surreal, dream-like features into his landscape photos, using painting and collage.

And Lucy Bentham photographs landscapes as spaces of escape, adventure, and responding to her personal emotional resonance.

Photographers can use landscapes to celebrate nature's beauty and foster appreciation for ecological diversity.

Can you think of any local photographers who do this in response to your area? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your peers, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Now photographers can use landscapes symbolically to express other topics.

Can you think of any topics that photographers might comment on through using the subject of landscapes? Perhaps look at this image here for some inspiration.

Pause the video here and give yourself time to have a discussion with your peers, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What subjects do you think photographers might comment on? Well, Izzy says, "I think this photo could be about the impact of human activity on landscape.

There are a lot of fallen trees." And Alex says, "The exposure and lighting settings create contrast, adding to the feeling of the scene being quite stark and sombre." Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Landscapes can only tell us about the visual characteristics of a location.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that's false, you're right.

Well done.

But why is that statement false? Pause the video here and explain to your partner why this statement is false, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said something like: photographers can use landscapes symbolically to express other topics through subject choice, camera settings, or digital edits, then you're right.

Well done.

Now photographers use landscapes to consider the relationship between people and place.

Andrew Tshabangu uses landscapes for social documentary, capturing spaces shaped by people and their stories.

Brenda Agard reframes landscapes as places for expressive storytelling by affirming identity through images.

Molly Landreth intertwines environment and identity through photography to subvert traditional notions of landscapes.

Photographers can use landscapes and the themes they symbolise to comment on important issues in society.

And this can be part of a social action project.

What important issues do you think photographers might discuss using landscapes? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your peers, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, photographers can use landscapes to address those important issues in the world.

River Claure uses symbolic, staged landscapes to explore collective identity, decolonization, and indigenous worldviews.

Miguel Winograd portrays dense eco-social landscapes, often turning trees into intimate portraits that blend environmental narrative and social context.

And Susan Rowe creates evocative landscapes from the vantage of disability, underscoring access and relationship to place.

Designers may also use landscapes as a subject in photography to document and report on natural disasters, to raise awareness of place or culture, to explore dystopia and utopia, to develop connection to a specific place, and to reflect culture or history through locations.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to select two or three photographers or specific photographs and compare them.

Consider these questions.

In what ways are the photographs visually similar or different? Think about the subject, composition, lighting, focus, exposure, colour, and style.

What themes, symbols, or ideas do the photographs explore? Are there any connections between them? And which techniques, processes, or creative choices in these photographs inspire you? And how might you use them in your own work? Pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at this learning task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Well, you might have said: David Benjamin Sherry creates landscapes which are highly saturated and explore the threshold of real and imagined.

Yao Lu also reimagines landscapes through experimental methods to comment on the climate crisis.

Or maybe: River Claure explores landscapes through the interaction of people, objects, and symbols, and they become a place to consider different worldviews and environments for cultural transformation.

Looking at these two photographers here, Miguel and Jan.

Miguel has high contrast black and white photographs, and the landscape documentation through photography, and he also builds narrative and mood, and he also builds narrative and mood, whereas Jan focuses on digital manipulation tools and experimental perspectives and compositions, and also abstract landscapes.

But similarly, both explore how relationship to a landscape is subjective and built over time.

So well done for having a go at comparing photographers or photographs.

This now brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to look at photographic deconstruction of landscapes.

What do you notice first about this photograph? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your peers, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well, perhaps you're drawn in by the reflection of the water in the foreground, or perhaps that house right in the centre.

Photographers use various techniques to communicate in their work, through composition, focus, lighting, and exposure, and through the elements of art, through line, tone, colour, pattern, shape, form, and texture, and through digital photo manipulation tools or other camera techniques, through imagery and subject.

And we can deconstruct these techniques to understand the work more deeply.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

How does analysing a photographer's use of elements like lighting, exposure, and composition help us understand their work better? It allows us to notice details that create mood, meaning, and focus.

It helps us see the techniques the photographer used to express ideas and emotions.

It only matters if the photographer explains their work.

It tells us exactly what the photographer wanted us to think without any personal interpretation.

So pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that it allows us to notice details that create mood, meaning, and focus, and it also helps us to see the techniques the photographer used to express ideas and emotions, then you're right.

Well done.

How are photography techniques used in this work? So the scene is well lit.

The exposure settings make everything visible.

The reflections in the water creates a balanced, symmetrical composition.

The small building floating on the water suggests a harmonious relationship between nature and people.

And the colours are natural, cool, and clear.

And there is also this depth and distance that's created by the shapes and forms of the mountains.

Many photographers capturing landscapes are interested in depicting depth and distance.

Considering the rule of thirds allows photographers to create depth by dividing an image into foreground, middle ground, and background.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

How might a photographer create depth and distance in their designs? Creating a zoomed in photo of something in the foreground, blurring the image entirely, using the rule of thirds to divide an image into foreground, middle ground, and background, or only working with digital tools and techniques.

So pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that photographers create depth and distance in their designs using the rule of thirds to divide an image into foreground, middle ground, and background, you're right.

Well done.

How has this photograph achieved a sense of depth? Well, the sky is in the background, then the mountain range is in the middle ground, and the grass and trees is in the foreground.

So the rule of thirds has been followed here.

The angle of this shot is low down, looking up at the scene, inviting the viewer to observe each section gradually.

And distinct sections appear in the foreground, middle ground, and background.

And each of these sections adds to the overall sense of distance and depth.

Photographers can use perspective or viewpoint in their landscapes in a range of ways: from above, from aerial views, at eye level, and also from below.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Photographers must use viewpoints from a standing position, at eye level, in their landscape works.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that's false, you're right.

Well done.

But why is that statement false? Pause the video here and explain to your partner why this statement is false, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said something like: photographers can use a range of viewpoints; some choose to include more than one viewpoint in a single work by digitally manipulating the image, mixing media, or collaging photos together, then you're right.

Well done.

This brings us to our second learning task.

I'd like you to select one photograph and describe it.

And describe what you can see in this photograph through the composition, the focus, the lighting, and exposure, the elements of art, any digital photo manipulation tools or other camera techniques that might have been used, through imagery and subject, and how the photographer used these techniques to communicate with the audience.

And you might record this as an idea shower around an image of the photo.

You might write a paragraph or create an audio or film recording of your ideas.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at this learning task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Well, let's have a look at this example here.

So this work is from an eye level viewpoint perspective, though depth and distance are still achieved from background buildings.

Not using colour emphasises the shapes, lines, and geometry of the architecture.

The composition is heavily weighted to the bottom half of the image.

There is more negative space than positive, causing an intentional imbalance.

And there is a very strong contrast between the sky and buildings, possibly made by overexposing the photo.

Then we've got this example here.

The landscape shows a tree, coastlines, skyscape, and reflection.

There is movement across the composition from the different directions of the clouds and the receding coastline.

The colours contrast and are vibrant and evocative, creating drama and atmosphere.

The blurred, out of focus reflection and the soft cloud shapes draws the eye in towards sharper details on land.

And the composition is split into three distinct sections, sky, land, and sea reflection.

So well done for having a go at selecting a photograph and describing it.

This brings us to the final part of our lesson.

We're going to look at personal connection in photography through landscapes.

Now, how can looking at a photographer's work help us develop our own work? Well, Aisha says, "Photos with a similar theme can help develop ideas rather than just a photo that uses the same technique." Jun says, "I'll look at techniques and perspectives and try to apply them to my theme." And Sam says that, "Work that has similar imagery or landscapes can inspire me, even if the idea is different." Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Can you fill the gap here in this sentence? We can look at other photographer's work to gain inspiration through their use of, imagery, and themes, helping to develop and enrich their, helping to develop and enrich their own creative ideas.

So pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that the missing word is techniques, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

There are a number of things which can cause us to have a personal connection with a design.

We can have connecting to the use of techniques, we can connect to the expression of themes, considering how landscapes can signify those deeper meanings, interpreting a theme within a landscape, and connecting to the symbolism that's being used.

We can often find links to our own work through deconstructing both the themes and techniques used in a photograph.

What themes or deeper meanings might this aerial view of a landscape represent? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your peers, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well, Aisha says, "I'm interested in how lighting is used to capture autumnal colours to respond to my theme of Seasons.

Jacob mentions that his theme is religion.

It makes him think about the different paths people take in life.

And Sofia says, "This road and surrounding trees reflects my theme of Home and travel by showing places we see while moving.

Can you think of any other theme interpretations? There may be many.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

We can only establish a personal connection with a landscape design if we are planning to make landscape photographs.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that's false, you're right.

Well done.

But why is that statement false? Pause the video here and discuss with your peers why this statement might be false, and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said something like: we can connect to a photograph by finding links to our own ideas and developing work, we can interpret different themes from the imagery and techniques used in a landscape, then you're right.

Well done.

This brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to select one photograph and consider your personal connection.

What themes, symbols, or ideas does this photograph explore? Are there any symbols, imagery, or connections that help create a narrative or show meaning? What techniques, processes, or creative decisions in this photo inspire you? And how might you use them in your own work? And you might want to record this as an idea shower around an image of the photo.

Write a paragraph or create an audio or film recording of your ideas.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at this learning task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you find that? Well, let's have a look at this example here.

So the theme here is reflections.

I like how the composition has been flipped upside down in this photo.

At first, the reflection convinces us that it is the real scene, subverting the expectation of traditional landscapes.

This highlights how much of our own views and perspectives can be influenced by how we see and interact with places.

I plan to capture reflections from water, glass windows, and mirrors to discover other ways of seeing landscapes.

For this image here, the theme is time and memory.

This eye-level view suggests how we see landscapes over time, how our memories of them can fade and change.

I'm drawn to the overexposed camera technique, which distorts the light in the scene, making the middle distance and background blurred, out of focus, and difficult to see, but still emotionally evocative.

I will photograph landscapes that are obscured, abstracted, or distorted, and possibly combine multiple perspectives together to visually communicate my theme.

So well done for having a go at selecting a photograph and considering your personal connection to it.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about landscapes in photography.

Landscapes offer a rich tapestry of colours, textures, and forms that photographers can take inspiration from.

Photographers can explore scale, vistas, perspective, and composition through landscapes.

Photographers can use landscapes to celebrate nature's beauty and foster appreciation for ecological diversity.

Photographers can use landscapes symbolically to discuss other topics.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next.

See you next time.