Finding Locations

Growing your personal photographic vision is crucial, and as David Hay says, you can’t do it by copying others, just by trusting your own good eye

DAVID HAY

When landscape photographers want to visit new locations they often search for images on the internet to give them an idea of what to expect. Some will select their favourite views and then try and copy the exact compositions. As a photographic judge I sometimes come across precise copies of images that have done well in landscape photography competitions. I have also come across landscape photographers on location studying images on their smartphones and moving their tripods a few inches left or right to get exactly the same viewpoint as the top photographers they are copying.

While this can be a good way to start capturing good images, copying the work of others is ultimately unsatisfying and can prevent you from developing a style of your own, if copying is extensive and prolonged. A personal photographic vision can only grow when you allow yourself to ...