When it comes to landscape photography, so often we go out to some gorgeous location, look around and breathe a gentle sigh of awe and wonder at the beauty that surrounds us. Then we bring our camera up to our eye, snap a picture of exactly what we see and...it's a dud. The picture just doesn't capture the beauty you saw. Well, it isn't your camera's fault! That's simply a case of poor composition!

I've sorted through and condensed over a decade's worth of experience and hundreds of hours of teaching into this 4-week course that lays out every last piece of information I could think of when it comes to creating beautiful landscape compositions. People often ask me how I get such great landscapes - well, this course is the answer! It's time to turn your duds into masterpieces!

• Week 1: Compositional Basics
  • This week may be called the basics, but that doesn't mean "stuff that's only kind of useful" or "stuff you've already read about." These tools are called the basics because they are the most fundamental and powerful compositional tools on which all others rest. I'll cover such things as the rule of thirds, when to break the rule of thirds, the rule of fifths, balance, weight, dead space, eye trails, converging lines, image orientation and more! I'll also cover a little-known secret of the pros for creating compositions with more interest.
    • Video Presentation: Composition Basics
• Week 2: Focal Length
  • Why did I dedicate an entire week to focal length in a course about composition? Because focal length is one of the most valuable and understated tools in landscape composition! With my numerous examples and an illustrative video presentation, you'll see how the focal length of your lens can make or break the shot. I'll show you how to use focal length to your advantage so you can get the shot you envisioned, create more drama, highlight the landscape as you really remember it and make the scene appear more majestic. I even cover angle of view and digital sensor crop factors so you can get a better understanding of focal length.
    • Video Presentation: Focal Length & Perspective
• Week 3: It's All About Light
  • The title says it all: It's all about light. In photography, that is absolutely the case, so I've dedicated an entire week to dissecting light, teaching you how to use it to create better compositions. With my hundreds of hours of teaching photography, I can confidently say the biggest problem I see with students' images is use of poor light. But with the information I've broken down in this week's lesson, you can break that trend! From light direction to quality to color to contrast to how to shoot into the sun, I'll teach you everything I can think of when it comes to landscape light.
    • Video Presentation: Dissecting the Light of 5 Landscapes
• Week 4: Finding Dramatic Light & Compositions
  • Okay, so I've taught you all about composition and light, but the question remains: What should I shoot? Well, this week aims to help you sort that out. I've laid out every detail about finding what your composition should really be about, nailing down your communication, highlighting your subject, simplifying your image and more! Plus, I'll teach you the invaluable information of predicting a sunset or sunrise and how to predict dramatic light. This is where everything comes together and we really get down to the nitty-gritty. Get ready to get specific with your compositions!
    • Video Presentation: Predicting Sunsets & Sunrises

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Beginners to Advanced

No matter your skill level, if you're looking to improve your landscape compositions, this course is for you. Since I don't address any technical aspects of photography in this course (i.e. exposure, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, etc.) anyone can understand and learn the material. For beginners, you'll learn tons of amazing compositional tools to get your landscapes looking better even before you master the other stuff. For you advanced shooters already confident with the exposure tools and your camera, this course will reveal every last little detail for how I capture dramatic landscapes.

I cover everything from the very basic of basics in composition all the way to the "secrets" of the pros. If you've already studied a bit about composition, some material in this course may be review for you. But I assure you, there will be many things in this course that will be brand new to you, no matter your skill level. Take a look at some of my landscapes here. If you want to get compositions like that, this course will teach you how. If you've previously participated in my Landscape Photography Class at the Irvine Fine Arts Center, some of this material will be review, but I go far more in depth into these topics and there will be lots of new material not covered in any other class. Keep in mind that this course is strictly composition. It does not cover shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, camera controls or shooting modes. If you need help with those topics, you might be interested in my "Introduction to DSLR Photography" 6-week online course. You can read more about that here.

If you’re still not sure whether this course is right for you, please drop me a line at .

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• DSLR camera strongly recommended
• Tripod recommended
• No prerequisites required

This course is about composition - something that can be learned by anyone with any camera at any point in their photography experience. So, there are no prerequisites for this course and no special equipment necessary. I highly recommend you have a DSLR camera for this course (a point-and-shoot camera is quite limited), but it is not required. A tripod is also a good tool to have so you can better control your compositions.

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This course is composed of:

• 4 weekly lesson guides
  • 123 pages in all
  • 19,396 words in all
  • 226 example images total
  • 65 illustrations and diagrams
  • 4 assignments
• 4 video presentations
  • 60 minutes in all
• Unlimited email support from Nick Carver
• Image feedback and critiques

Although this course is “4 weeks,” you can take the course at whatever pace works for your schedule. All 4 weekly lesson guides will be available to you from day 1. Study as fast or slow as you wish and complete assignments whenever you’re ready. To learn more about how the course works, visit this information page.

Throughout the course, you will have unlimited email support with a direct address to Nick Carver. Emails are typically answered within 2 business days depending on my volume of emails. Phone and/or online chat support is also available for an additional charge. Drop me a line for rates at .

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