Monthly Theme October 2022 - Landscapes

We can't yet believe that the last Quarter of 2022 has arrived! Thank you all so much for showing up for the community each and every month, and getting involved in these fun monthly themes!

We absolutely LOVED your entries for the “Animals” theme, it's hands down one of my favourite themes every year! Scroll down or jump to view this month's shortlist and vote for a winner. (You can also check out all of the Animals theme entries here.)

But now, it's time to introduce our October theme...."Landscapes".

Every year we're treated to an abundance of beautiful entries for this theme and can't wait to see where you're all spending your autumn/spring - both times of year that nature likes to burst with colour!

A style of photography loved by professionals and amateurs alike, landscapes are something that anyone can have fun with, plus it's a great excuse to get outside and get moving!

For anyone looking to develop their skills and take their shots to the next level, we have five key tips for taking show-stopper landscapes:

1. Remember the "Rule of Thirds"

Thinking back to the first theme of 2022, we kicked off the year with one of the most fundamental photography techniques - the "rule of thirds". Using this simple rule allows even the newest of photographers to master great composition! You took some awesome shots back in January and can apply the same skills to landscape photography.

One of this year's theme-finalists,@gerry13 shared this fun birdseye perspective with Rule of Thirds composition and really emphasizes how isolated the boats are, surrounded by turquoise ocean and an empty beach - bliss!

2. Create Depth with Focus Throughout

When you are taking a landscape photograph, try creating a sense of depth by keeping all the different elements of the image in focus.

You might have a fancy built-in pre-set for landscapes, but there are also manual settings to play with. Typically, you'll need to use a small aperture, from f/16-f/22 because this keeps objects in both the foreground and background sharp. (Check out this handy blog post from the archives to better understand aperture!)

It's also useful to place your camera on a tripod when using a small aperture, to eliminate camera shake because your shutter speed might be slower to compensate for less light entering the lens.

We love this cool example by @lindasees - the composition with the tree in the foreground on the left is awesome too!

3. Go Wide

More often than not, landscapes have more to give than the standard frame size. Instead of being faced with the dilemma of cropping out interesting features, try playing with the Panoramic feature on your smartphone, or consider heading out with a wide-angle lens.

As well as capturing a broader view, and therefore giving a sense of wide-open space, they tend to provide a greater depth of field and work with faster shutter speeds because they allow more light in.

We can't stop looking at this stunning road trip shot by @exposure4u.

4. Try Getting People In Your Shot

A landscape doesn't always have to be about nature! Featuring people in a landscape setting not only captures amazing memories, but it can add perspective and even make the most simple of settings look magical. For best results, positioning people off-center (there's that rule of thirds again) will create interest and avoid stealing the limelight from the landscape behind.

We had to scroll down to the caption and comments to work out if this amazing shot by @maureenpp is real - what an incredible part of the world! We think the surfer really adds to this magic.

5. Play with Reflections

Finding spots with still water allows us to play with symmetry to capture double the beauty of a landscape!

This shot by @bjywamer is so majestic and serene! We love the hazy mountains delicately hanging in the sky, with a bold stripe of yellowy-green grassland cutting the scene in two.

We hope you enjoyed our tips and all have loads of fun with this month's theme, we can’t wait to see your entries!

How to enter the October theme

When uploading your photos use the tag section (on the edit/organise screen) and insert this week's theme tag: theme-landscapes.

Entry Guidelines: Photos must be your own and must have been taken and uploaded between Saturday, October 1st and Monday, October 31st. 6 finalists will be chosen in the first couple of days of October, then you'll get to vote for the winner!

p.s. Don't worry if you spot tagged photos from a previous theme, when choosing our six finalists we'll use a filter to only view images from October 2022.

Vote for a Winner of September's "Animals" Theme

There are so many amazing entries for this popular theme, so thank you to everyone who took submitted their "Animals” photos.

We've selected 6 finalists so now it's over to you to vote for the winner of September's theme .

To cast your vote, just reply to this blog post with the number (in digit form) of the photo you would like to see win, before October 15th. We’ll announce the winner in a separate post shortly after!