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impcviide · 3 years

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*•.¸☾―《 becky g, cis woman, pansexual 》victoria adlington is a 21 year old client who is a member level 3. she is described as kind-hearted but also innocent. it is known that they enjoy daddy/mommy kink & bondage, but they do not enjoy watersports & scat.

basic facts:

full name: princess victoria sofia ana maria adlington

nickname: tori

birthday: december 13th

height: 5′1″

abilities: singing, art, writing, & dancing

occupation: college student & crowned princess

+ traits: kind-hearted, intelligent, warm, & adorable

- traits: innocent, naive, gullible, & insecure

kinks: daddy/mommy!kink, toys, spanking, rough sex, d/s, anal, oral, bondage, public sex, threesomes, choking, sensory deprivation, orgasm control/denial, dp, being dominated, & orgys

anti-kinks: blood, watersports, scat, tba (most things i’m open to)

intro:

victoria was born in a small island country near mexico. she was born to the queen and king of the country and after her birth they had no more kids, which meant that she was the crowned princess and will someday be queen.

all her life victoria was preparing to be queen, she was homeschooled and never really left the palace, her parents were afraid of her getting harmed since she was the crowned princess and they needed to protect their linage. which led to her only friends being the people who worked around the castle and their kids who helped out. it wasn’t the most exciting childhood, but it was better than some people had it.

but victoria always wanted to have more than that. she wanted to have friends her own age, have fun, make mistakes, and not always have to follow the rules. but as long as she stayed in her country and under her parents roof, she could do any of that. she would need to stay their perfect daughter.

not long after she turned eighteen her parents revealed to her that they had found a nice guy in america who in a few years right before she took the crown she would marry, a tradition in their family, even in modern times.

victoria wasn’t the most excited about being in an arranged marriage, especially to a man she had never met, but at the same time; she knew she could use it as a leverage to get more things she want. and one of those things was to finish her higher education in america. her parents weren’t happy about it, but they agreed. so victoria quickly applied for universities in america and decided to go to ucla. she was excited to finally get to leave home and live her life parent free. while she had some bodyguards that came with her, for the most part they leave her be as long as she makes sure to check in with them.

she heard about ecstasy from someone at school and quickly got a membership there. it’s a place she knows that she won’t have to worry about cameras since she knew if any bad story was in the tabloids her parents will force her to come back home. though, she hasn’t had sex so the whole sex part of the club made her a bit nervous since she would totally be out of what she knew. but at the same time, she didn’t always want to have a sheltered life and can finally live her own life, not her parents.

#☆•.¸♡ victoria's convo ♡¸.•☆#☆•.¸♡ victoria's visage ♡¸.•☆#☆•.¸♡ victoria's muse ♡¸.•☆#☆•.¸♡ victoria's desires ♡¸.•☆#ecstasyintro

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karazor--el · 4 years

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Nicole Maines once offered lessons in becoming herself. Now, she becomes someone else for a living.

The Maine native first made headlines as an anonymous student who sued her school district in 2013 over bathroom discrimination. School officials had barred Maines, who is transgender, from using the women’s bathrooms. She won her case, and eventually went public to describe the experience in the family memoir Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family.

Maines’ activism also led to on-camera appearances in television and film discussing her experience as a transgender American. Her natural charisma also led to acting opportunities, including appearing as the first transgender superhero on American television with her role as Dreamer/Nia Nal on The CW series Supergirl, produced by Greg Berlanti. Last year, she also earned acclaim (and a Queerty Nomination) for her work as a vampire in the indie horror film Bit.

With her star on the rise, Queerty snagged some time to chat with Maines about the unusual trajectory of her life, her newfound acting career, and her survival lessons for the COVID-19 lockdown. Supergirl airs Sundays on The CW.

So, I must say, with everything going on I feel obligated to ask: how are you right now? Are you ok?

Thanks for asking. I’m really good. I came down to Austin; I’m staying with my parents. I try to keep myself busy any way I can. I’m playing lots of video games. I just re-downloaded Skyrim.

Oh yes.

I’m doing a playthrough. Always fun. I got Disney+, and they released the final season of Star Wars: Clone Wars, which was a big show when I was a kid. I love it, so I’m rewatching. It still holds up. It’s amazing. And I’m doing art with my tablet. I sit in bed and doodle away.

Maines as Dreamer in ‘Supergirl’

Sweet. So you’re one of the most prominent trans actors on television. I don’t want to call you a trans action hero; that makes you sound like an ATM.

[Laughter]

Trans superhero, yes.

What kind of responsibility is it to play a character like Dreamer, the first transgender superhero on TV?

I feel like being the first for anything has a certain amount of pressure. You’re setting where the bar is going to be. You want to set it as high as possible because you don’t want to be the one that messed up. It’s like oh, she messed up. No more trans superheroes!

[Laughter]

Right.

So I want to do so well so we can continue to have trans superheroes. Fortunately, the response has been responsible. People love Nia, the character. People who aren’t trans love the character, which is almost cooler than hearing that trans people love Dreamer. I was pretty sure that the response from the trans community would be very positive. My own reaction was so excited, so I knew the community would love it. But the number of cisgender people that come to me and say “Dreamer is my favorite character. She’s my favorite superhero.” Aside from her transness, she’s a really special character. She’s just awesome, and its been amazing to see people love her as much as they do.

It’s true. In looking at the show, what strikes me—you’re right—is that it’s not about her being trans. It’s about a woman in an extraordinary situation, who happens to be trans. It’s her relationships with characters like Kara and Brainy that are so relatable. She’s a woman finding her purpose.

Absolutely. It’s a true coming of age story. Her transness isn’t the biggest part of her story. Coming into Season 4, the biggest problem on her mind wasn’t her transness. It was seeing the future in her dreams and not knowing how to handle it.

She’s just trying to get through the day, yeah. It’s so simple that way. Nia has obviously been a huge part of defining your career. And you’re not even old.

Can that please be the headline?

[Laughter]

I’ll keep it in for sure. But this role, by the way, will follow you for the rest of your life. You will be forever associated with her. Is that daunting?

I mean, I think it’s exciting. It’s very exciting to craft this original character and see her thriving among all the major DC players. Crisis [a storyline that crossed over on The CW superhero shows] was so crazy for me. To watch it and see Dreamer, the first trans superhero, up there with Batwoman and Supergirl and The Flash. That was so cool. So I’m excited to have this character follow me. I’ve had so much fun. And I’m so attached to the character personally. I’m protective of her. She’s my baby.

That’s wonderful. You’re an actress who specializes in playing characters with extraordinary gifts. I want to ask about another character you played in a film called Bit.

Yes! Let’s talk about Bit.

It’s a cheeky, fun comic book horror film that you carry as the lead. You were nominated for Best Performance at the Queerties. I hope you are aware…

Yes, and I was so shocked, first of all, because it’s a genre film. So often, genre films don’t thrive in that kind of environment.

It took me by surprise at Outfest last year. I talked to Brad Michael Elmore, the director.

He’s one of my favorite people ever. He’s so smart and talented. He did such an amazing job writing this script. It’s so special. He’s very aware—and will be the first person to say–”I’m not the person who should be telling this story. I’m the straightest, cis guy out there. But I don’t see anyone else telling this story, so I’m going to.” And he did. He’s using his platform and privilege to lift people up. And he did a f*cking cool movie starring queer women.

Totally.

We had a female DP, which is huge. The whole movie was so amazing. The script was brilliant. Instantly, reading it, I fell in love. I hope people get to watch it soon. It’s just cool.

It’s cheeky fun. It’s kind of a female version of The Lost Boys, and I really related to the characters.

Yeah.

So it’s your first movie.

My first and only movie. I’m always on the phone with Brad. “Bradley, when are we making another movie? I’m getting bored.”

[Laughter]

So was it intimidating carrying the whole movie your first time out?

Terrifying. Dreadfully terrifying. I don’t know if anyone knew this, but I have no idea what I’m doing up here. I don’t have formal acting training. I’m not a Julliard actor. I haven’t been doing this for years. I show up and it’s like playing dress-up, you know? And on Supergirl too, I’m acting with juggernauts. It’s my first major [job] and I’m doing scenes with David Harewood. Cool, no pressure.

[Laughter]

I have to live up to something. I have to keep up with that. All of it is very scary. With Bit, trying to keep up with Diana Hopper and James Paxton. Most of my scenes are with them, and they are both so phenomenal. Acting is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever had to do. I have virtually no control over anything. I just try my best. And I’m really happy with Bit, and the response has been better than any of us could have asked for.

That’s marvelous.

It was supposed to be coming out soon, but the virus sort of threw that. I hope people get to see it soon, and I hope they get to see it in theatres.

It’s a film that I think will have a following. When I talked to Brad, he mentioned that he had read your book and consulted you doing research for the part. Then he decided he should cast you in the lead.

Yeah.

Were you at all reluctant to appear in a very queer film written by a cis straight man?

I didn’t really think much of it. The writing spoke for itself. It was phenomenal, well written, well researched. He’d talked to trans folks and read books. He knew what he was writing; he’d done his research to make sure it’s done well. And he made a movie where the trans character, like Nia, where her transness is not the only interesting thing about her. Brad knew: queer people are more than who we sleep with or where we use the bathroom.

Yes.

I found that very refreshing.

Well, and I’m not sure I should say this, but I did tell Brad: the first time I saw the movie I didn’t even catch that she was a trans character. I just thought Laurel was a woman played by an actress who happens to be trans, and that was it.

And that’s the beauty of it. It’s not something a lot of people are going to catch unless they’re looking for it. You catch it in certain places. It is there, and if you know to look for it, you understand. But otherwise, it’s not really pertinent to the situation. When we first meet her, with Laurel driving to Los Angeles, she’s passed a point in her life where her transness is her biggest issue.

Exactly.

Her biggest issue is her selfishness, and that now she has to kill people. She doesn’t want to kill people. It’s a story of a sort of amoral teen trans lesbian vampire.

I love it. When I talked to Brad, it was obvious he had this world very defined in his mind. Have you talked about doing another one? He hinted…

Yeah. It’s a possibility. Of course, I’m like yes, let’s do a trilogy. I want Bit Part II. I want to do all the movies. I have a running joke with him and James that Brad will be like 80 in a wheelchair, and James and I will be in Bit 16. We’ll never stop.

It worked for Star Wars.

I think it has the makings for a sequel, but first we need it frigging released.

So what else do you have coming up? I know Supergirl is coming back for Season 6. Are you part of it?

I believe that I can say I am, yes. I’m not going anywhere.

Beyond that? Other movies?

My life has just been Supergirl and Bit the past couple years. It’s funny: I see other folks doing other projects while they’re a regular on a series. And I’m like how do you have the time? It’s all I can do to get a night’s sleep. So right now it’s Bit coming out and Supergirl Season 6. I talked to the showrunner, and he told me what the plan is. I’m really excited. It’s a cool concept.

And I’m sure you can’t tell us what that is.

I can’t say anything.

It figures. Anything else you’d like to add?

Stay indoors. I feel like this could all be over sooner if people would just. Stop. Going. Outside. For stupid reasons.

Right?

Supergirl airs Sundays on The CW.

Queerty.

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gethypeforstuff · 7 years

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I had an idea!

Hi Tumblr! Long time lurker here, and in my time on Tumblr, I have noticed that people love diversity here. I do too! Diversity is great! I have seen that people argue that you are better than others the more diverse you are, which I wholeheartedly agree with. I mean, who would you rather have as a friend? A cis white hetero man, or a beautiful transgender black pansexual woman? If you answered "I'm a straight girl, so..." then know that your opinion doesn't matter, as being "straight" isn't very diverse. But today I wondered about something. Just HOW good are the specific diversities? We all know that being a WOMAN is better than being a MAN, and that BLACK PEOPLE are superior to WHITE PEOPLE. That's just an objective fact. But who should we like more? A WHITE WOMAN, or a BLACK MAN? What I suggest we do, is have a NUMBER BASED POINT SYSTEM. By having that, we can determine who is better than who, and who should be allowed to attack who. Here is a makeshift example of the point system, where I have just included some diversities off the top of my head. + DIVERSITY POINTS Woman = 1.25 DP multiplier to total Fat = 3 DP Points Black = 5 DP Points Asian = 4 DP Points Hispanic = 3 DP Points Homosexual = 3 DP Points Asexual = 4 DP Points Nanosexual = 4DP+5000 nDP (Nano-Diversity Points) Pansexual = 4 DP Points Transgender = 1.5 DP multiplier to total Nonbinary = 2 DP multiplier to total - DIVERSITY POINTS Man = 0,9 DP multiplier to total Cis = -0,15 to DP multiplier White = 3 DP Points Heterosexual = 3 DP Points Bisexual = 1 DP Points Skinny = 2 DP Points Bald = 2 DP Points Now I know that alot of diversities are missing, and I am truly sorry about that, but understand that this is just a very basic example, and I will leave the exact numbers up to you. Maybe you can even incorporate the Zodiacs into this, I know you love those. Because honestly this would be so helpful. Imagine if you see a problematic ship (like the heteronormative GregXRose Quartz from Steven Universe) or an artist who drew something you didn't like (for example, a male character kissing a female character). Check how many Diversity Points they have, and then compare them to yours. If you have more points than they have, you have the full right to tell them to delete the artwork, or tell them to kill themselves, because you are much more oppressed than they are. If you have less Diversity Points than the artist, you simply shut the fuck up. This also translate to actor roles. If you are miffed about a cis, white, heterosexual male actor playing a role, any role in a movie, even if the character they are portraying originally was all those things, you let the actor know that they are scum, and shouldn't be allowed to live. Go ahead. It is you who is more oppressed. Easy, right? If you like my idea, and you want to help expand it across this site, then leave me a "Kill yourself" in the notes to show your support, and always remember: Check your privilege.

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tumblunni · 6 years

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Huh! An Idea!

Hey I just heard about a very cool-seeming anime called (I think?) Rehibilitaion Of An MMO Junkie! It seems really nice cos its one of those stories about hikkomori (I think thats the japanese word for it?)- depressed people who stay at home all day and are socially anxious about going out in public. LOL RELATEABLE, AMIRITE? no but seriously beyond just Jokes, this is a very sad modern manifestation of a timeless mental illness, and i know these feelings well and i wish people could have less stigma about this and instead just give these people the help they need. And that’s why i love this anime concept, cos its a sympathetic take on one of these people as a protagonist, and how videogames as escapism can be A Good Thing and how long distance relationships Are Also Good. Like wtf, subverting all the cliches at once?? Its a really cute looking romance story of her meeting a guy online via vidjagaems, and their love being absolutely real and pure, and it rekindling her will to live and helping her find the courage to take more risks in real life and start the road to recovery. And then they work thru all their various issues as a couple and meet up in real life and have a happily ever after! :D

Now okay, that sounds really cool and I ABSOLUTELY want to watch this show and I will make more posts about it when I do! But also it gave me a bit of a story idea so i’m gonna ramble!!!!!

Okay so kind of a wasted potential thing here is how it has a plot about the two halves of the couple playing as the opposite gender online and like.. nothing is done with it? Nothing really creative or relevant to like.. gender. It just seems like a weird way they could invoke LGBT imagery but technically not be LGBT I guess? Like neither character is trans or has any deep reason for playing that character except ‘my fave colour is pink and people would make fun of me if they knew i was a dude’ and ‘i wanna play a hot guy cos i was kinda lonely and drunk when i saw this MMO’. But then a lot of stuff about it kinda feels like the writers were.. not predjudiced against LGBT or anything?? like the lady protag has NO angst about getting a crush on a seemingly female player, it seems perfectly acceptable in-universe and nobody even mentions homophobia. And there’s a pair of characters that for all extents and purposes looks like a gay couple for half of the game its just like a footnote that one of them is female in real life. So like I don’t know if this was someone being overly careful to censor stuff while still hinting at it, or like if it was never intended to look LGBT and it was all a weird accident?? But anyway thats why it made me go WTF THERE WOULD BE SO MUCH POTENTIAL IN AN LGBT MMO ROMANCE and hey here we go!

THE IDEA TIME what if there was an anime about someone who plays a (presumed) cis dude in an mmo who is actually a trans dude irl? so you could have the same plots about keeping a secret and having a big difference between real and internet personas, but also it could be a wish fullfillment persona and the plot could be less about ‘i’m lying about myself’ and more about ‘the only place i can be the real me is online’. And how sad that is and then how triumphant it could be at the end to be able to be himself in the real world too! and also like... its already coincidental enough that two people would fall in love in an mmo and then end up to be living in the same neighbourhood in real life. so if this anime has me have to believe that silliness, its not too silly to say that two trans people could bump into each other in an mmo! have a trans man and a trans woman who meet as their online personas without knowing either of them is trans, and then their adventures online forming their relationship, learning about each othr, and like meeting a bunch of other LGBT players and forming a guild to fight discrimination in the mmo community?

Also it could be interesting to maybe combine this with the ‘trapped in an mmo world’ genre? Like it’d be extra cool to be a trans dude who’s like.. one of the only people who doesnt want to escape the MMO world. And people could think he’s just a childish jerk who’s addicted to the fantasy life, not knowing about his secret reason he loves this new life. So maybe his personality could be a very ordinary and cute looking dude whose personality is like.. absolutely fearless monster battle man! Like everyone else’s mmo avatars are all super idealized cliche buff and hot people and his is just as close as he could get to his real self but post transition. So he’s five foot tall and chubby and has big ol soulful dragon ball Z krillin eyes and then his job class is something unfitting like gladiator or barbarian with an axe twice his body size! And then in retrospect that’s the most cliche masculine class so maybe the female lead could be a not cliche feminine class, so it doesnt seem like I’m making any statement? cos ‘youre not trans if you dont act stereotypically your gender’ is a real issue within the community, sadly. Oh! Maybe! Maybe theyre both buff classes! But like he could be a tank type that protects his allies and she’s just a regular warrior with no extra functionality. Or another DPS class like thief or black mage? But I like the idea of two very shy and adorable people who both prefer buffness, and then having kind of a badass hero role amoungst their guild and the plot itself. Like, winning the actual battles against bosses is less of a challenge than conquering their various real life worries and being emotionally ready to return home at the end of the journey. Its like a slice of life hiding as an action show! Except you still do see action, its just all comparatively effortless like one punch man. Oh and maybe while male lead made his avatar look just like himself but post transition, female lead’s avatar is kind of an exaggerated ideal stereotypical female thing? Because she’s self concious about being very tall and not very curvy and stuff, even post transition. And like she’s angsting about being forced into further cosmetic plastic surgery that she doesn’t really want, to get a body that she doesn’t really want, but feels like she HAS to have. Like maybe she has some sort of friend in real life who’s like a Fedora Wearing Fake Nice Guy who keeps trying to get her to give in and date him like ‘you’ll never get anyone else’, and trying to make her change herself. Negging champion of utter hateability!

And then female lead could be kind of a mentor role to male lead because she’s post transition, and motivates him to believe that someday he’ll be able to transition too and he doesn’t need to stay trapped forever in a fake world in order to be himself. And he could also be the same mentor role to her because he’s like... happy? Well, obviously he isn’t 100% happy because that’s his whole problem, but he doesn’t have the same social anxiety issues and he’s more confident in his anxiety without worrying that he’s wrong and he really is a girl, etc etc. Like he’s at peace with being trans and his obstacle is just feeling like he’ll never pass successfully without surgery, and never be able to get that surgery. It took him ages to even get on HRT, possibly because of something like being trapped in an abusive family that didnt aknowledge his gender? or possibly just because of being in a country where he’d need a lot of money to get the treatment he needs, or because of struggling to find a good doctor? So anyway now he’s just started HRT and he expected everything to be okay now, but he’s getting frustrated how long it’s taking to have the amount of visual change he needs to be respected by his coworkers and stuff, and now he’s had some sort of other money emergency and he may not be able to get top surgery in the end. So at the time of starting this MMO he was really un-optimistic about his future and looking for an escape. And she was looking for a similar escape because she didnt have any support group while transitioning, and had got trapped into an abusive relationship with this other dude that was making her feel like a fake woman who’d never be loved by anyone except him. So she was considering giving in and falling into his trap, and that’s her reason to be terrified of going back to the real world... And so they both are all OH MY GOD YOURE SO AMAZING I’M SO TRASH about each other, and they help teach each other two different aspects of self love that they were missing, and they make a bunch of other friends in the LGBT community, and generally find the love and support they always needed! And then in the end they could go back to the real world and move in together and slap negging man in the face, and keep in touch with all the other guildmates and create a better community for all queer folks playing this game! Woo! And also maybe the final scene could be like ‘wow we havent seen you guys for ages’ ‘yeah we were so busy with the wedding, we couldnt play!’ and then the guild’s wedding gift to them was saving up for a rare ingame item that lets you re-customize your character, and female lead makes one that looks closer to her real life appearance cos now she’s happy with herself! and then we pan out and see that male lead now also looks totally identical to his ingame self, and he did manage to transition in the end! ...and then i dunno, cliche anime everyone looks at the camera and jumps and the theme tune plays, lol

#blunni thoughts #also this reminds me of a manga i read once where the plot was like 'dude dissappears every month i bet he's a werewolf'#and then it turns out he's 'really a girl' or whatever and i just felt sad that he wasnt a trans man #and instead we had ANOTHER anime plot about someone forced to crossdress against their will for contrived reasons #like seriously why do people love plots about transition drama only as long as nobody is trans...

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joya34blanco · 7 years

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10 Step Guide to Improving Your Photography Without Buying New Gear

Will buying that new camera or lens or travel to iconic places automatically result in beautiful images?

Landscape photographers often dream about the latest gear or traveling to far away places to capture great images. For example, places like Iceland, Patagonia, Lofoten Norway, or Tuscany. The problem is that we spend too much time in front of our computers seeing all those great images on social media platforms and dreaming about photographing those vistas ourselves.

We believe that going to iconic places or buying the latest gear will automatically make us better photographers, or that this is the only way of capturing great imagery. As with any craft, you need to practice, practice, and then do some more practice. This way you’ll have the greatest possibility of taking that fantastic photo, either close to home, or once you finally go away on that travel adventure of your dreams.

Here are my 10 tips for how to improve your photography without buying new gear:

1) Learn the basics about your camera and photography

Start by reading your camera’s user manual. Yes, it’s very basic and should be obvious to everyone, but you would be surprised how often people buy a new camera and start using it right away, thinking that the camera is going to do all the work. Many camera stores also offer beginner courses. Ask your local camera store about this option before deciding to buy from them.

Learn about topics like leading lines, the rule of thirds, exposure compensation, and the relation between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. I will not go into this in more detail as it would merit a whole book, but these topics are available in printed books, e-books and here on dPS.

Read more here:

How to Use Leading Lines Effectively in Landscape Photography

5 Simple Techniques for Leading the Viewer’s Eye in Your Images

How to Use Exposure Compensation to Take Control of Your Exposure

Mastering the Exposure Triangle for Newbies

Understand Exposure in Under 10 Minutes

Using leading lines.

Using the rule of thirds.

2) Do your photography under the right conditions

A word photography literally means drawing with light (from the Greek photós meaning “light”, and graphê meaning “drawing, writing”). I would say that at least 80 % of your most successful images will be taken during the sunrise or sunset when the quality of light is the best. The other 20 % will be taken during cloudy days when the light is much softer than days with direct sunlight.

Many photographers don’t consider this second aspect enough. When starting out, I would often photograph during sunny days with clear blue skies with hard light that produced too much contrast. Today I try to do as much photography when there’s a shift in the weather pattern from high to low pressure or vice versa. The reason is that during this period there’s often a build up of dramatic clouds and the weather shifts between rain and sun creating more drama in your photos.

I suggest that you regularly check the weather forecasts and try to plan your photography for these days.

3) Scout for new locations and return multiple times to the same place

The majority of my best photos are from places very close to home. Most of the time they were not taken on my first attempt, but rather I had to come back many times to the same location before the conditions were right.

Google Earth is a great tool for your initial location scouting as are social media platforms like 500px, Instagram, or Google+. Remember that you should use these sites for inspiration, and not try to copy the same images that have already been taken numerous times before.

4) Change your vantage point

Have you ever considered the vantage point of your photos? The majority of photographers always take photos from the exact same position as they are standing – at eye level. This creates boring photos that all look the same. It’s also the same vantage point from which your viewers see the world.

By crouching down low or shooting from a higher position, like a hill or even from the top of a rock, it will drastically improve your photos. The visual appearance of your photo can dramatically change by just placing your camera a couple of meters in another direction. You should “work the scene” by looking for different viewpoints and not be satisfied with your first choice.

Taken from a low vantage or view point.

Shot from a low view point.

Taken from a high vantage point.

5) Use your lenses creatively

Use your wide-angle lens for creating depth in your image and your telephoto lens to compress the landscape. Both techniques are very effective and create totally different effects. By trying to pre-visualize how your want your photo to look, your choice of lens will be much easier. This takes time and comes more naturally as you gain greater experience.

For landscape photography, you often want to maximize your depth of field by taking photos between f8 and f/16. You could go higher than that but then you risk having softer images as most lenses have a “soft spot” between these parameters.

You could also try to zoom or move your lens during the exposure. This technique is more a trial and error basis and often you need to take many photos before you’re satisfied. Luckily all your frames in digital photography are free.

Use of a wide-angle lens.

Use of a longer or telephoto lens.

Created by intentionally moving the camera or lens during the exposure.

6) Use the elements in your surroundings to your benefit

Is there is a rock, a tree, strong colors, some leading lines, etc., that you can use to create interest in your image and lead the viewer’s eyes throughout your image?

Because we are fed daily with thousands of images, it becomes important to immediately catch the viewer’s attention and make sure that their mind is stimulated. Therefore, the image should have a clear object, this could be a person or a landmark, which the viewer can quickly identify.

If the photo is too busy with too many conflicting elements, the viewer will become confused and move on to the next image. Less is often better than more. Consider excluding elements that do not add to the image. It could be annoying things like tree branches entering the photo from the corner, paper bags and other waste in the photo, etc.

7) Invest in good quality accessories instead of buying the latest camera or lenses

There are some camera accessories that are more important than the latest camera or lens.

The single most important one is a good quality tripod. You should not waste your money buying a cheap aluminum tripod that will shake every time you put your camera on it, resulting in useless blurry images. In the end, you’ll be forced to buy a more expensive tripod anyway, adding unnecessary extra costs. Instead, spend the extra money on a quality tripod from Manfrotto, Gitzo, 3 Legged Thing, or any of the other top brands. Trust me, in the end, you will end up saving money.

Another very important accessory for us landscape photographers are filters. You definitely need a good polarizing filter to reduce the reflections on water and other shiny surfaces. Polarizing filters work the same way as your sunglasses.

Cameras are also limited in their ability to handle dynamic range. In short, this means the ability to register the darkest and lightest tones and everything in between. An example of this cis when you’re photographing a landscape and the foreground looks good, but the sky is too bright. This is where the graduated filters come into play. They have a dark and light part with a soft or hard transition in between. Generally, you should use a hard transition filter when photographing seascapes, as there is a clear definition between the sky and the water. A soft transition filter is preferred when photographing landscapes where there are trees, hills or mountains.

I’ve tested many different brands and would highly recommend LEE filters, They are expensive, but in my opinion are worth every penny. Lee also produces two neutral density filters called Little Stopper and Big Stopper. These filters enable you to slow down your shutter speed. When you see those photos with silky smooth water or clouds, most likely the photographer used such a filter.

While these accessories will cost you some money, they will be more of a one-time expense. Taking good care of them means you can use your accessories for many years to come.

8) Photograph in RAW format and learn to use a photo editing program

When photographing in JPG mode you let the camera do all the processing of the image. This means you have less control over the final outcome. It’s better to photograph in RAW format and then use a software like Adobe lightroom to post-process them yourself.

For me, the main reason for shooting in RAW is to have a greater dynamic range so that I’m able to save many images that are otherwise too light or too dark. Of course, it’s important to get the exposure correct from the start, but RAW files definitely give you some room for errors. There is a lot of information about RAW format and post-processing, read; RAW Versus JPG – Why You Might Want to Shoot in RAW Format and How to Use Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop to Make Your Landscape Images Pop.

9) Learn to focus manually

This is crucial for landscape photography. As mentioned above, you’ll hopefully be taking most of your photos in low light during the morning or evening. You will also be using a tripod to avoid camera shake.

During long exposure photography, it becomes very important to focus manually in order to avoid having the focus move during your exposure as is the risk when using autofocus. You should use a small aperture like f/11 and focus about a third of the way into the scene if you desire to have sharpness throughout the frame. Make sure you use your camera’s Live View mode or focus peaking if you own a mirrorless camera, for manual focus assistance.

10) Think before you shoot and study your photos afterward

Often I see photographers arrive at their location, take out their gear, and do the “machine gun “photography approach, taking dozens of photos from the same location over and over again. It’s important to work the scene, moving around looking for the best viewpoints.

The same applies when you’re done editing your photos at home. Try to study your photos and look for improvements. Compare your work with other established photographers to see how you can do things differently next time. This takes time, but after a while, you’ll certainly notice better quality in your work.

Conclusion

These 10 points are just the very basics to get you started. Make sure you search dPS for more information, study photography books, and feel free to leave a comment below or ask any question you might have. Good luck!

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