SUMMARY
Photographer Ben Harvey proposes a "shallow landscapes" technique to make landscape photography stand out in a crowded genre. This method borrows depth-of-field strategies from portraiture, advocating for wide apertures and close foreground elements to deliberately blur backgrounds. Harvey demonstrates how this approach, using lenses like a Canon 100-400mm or even a 50mm f/1.8, can create unique images from popular locations. The technique requires foreground depth to achieve visual separation, similar to how portrait photographers isolate subjects against textured backgrounds.
TAKEAWAYS
"Shallow landscapes" applies portrait depth-of-field to outdoor scenes.
Use wide apertures and foreground elements for deliberate background blur.
This technique helps create distinctive images from common locations.
Foreground depth is crucial for visual separation.