Who is Vincent Croce? Vincent is a landscape photographer. 3 years back, he went from passionate hobby photographer to full-time professional photographer. He travels to the most beautiful locations to take stunning photos, even though a little fog in his immediate area makes him just as happy. Landscapes are his favorite subject. He loves the anticipation, the planning, the serenity and the adventure of landscape photography.
Vincent will decide who wins the Xpozer Photo Contest with the fitting theme: Landscapes. Upload your best landscape photo and win the Xpozer 4Pack and a LeoFoto tripod (value $462.78).
The subject: Landscapes
Shooting landscapes is even more exciting when you’re well prepared. Research the location, both online and offline. Keep a close eye on the weather forecast and prepare for your trip. Your travels will most likely occur at night, to be able to capture the beautiful morning light. Vincent loves preparing for his shoots. And when he gets lucky with perfect weather and pretty light, he’s all the more excited.
A bit of luck
Landscape photography can take up much of your time. Disappointing weather is, unfortunately, quite common in this field. And you might not be able to try again every day.
The technique is not the most interesting part of photography to Vincent. Being in the right place at the right time, that’s what’s most important.
Vincent’s preparations
Visit the location multiple times to find out what the best composition is. You might be able to combine it with a family stroll through nature. Weather can be an unpredictable factor, which is often hard to predict.
Besides preparations, a big part of your success comes from sheer luck. And the more often you try something, the bigger your chances of getting lucky.
Editing
Vincent is not a very refined editor, so he says. He does the basic work in Lightroom and he uses Photoshop to clone unwanted items out. It’s not his favorite part of the process. His focus is on preparations and shooting incredible photos at the right time.
Location, location, location
Vincent loves exploring new locations. That’s not always a guarantee for the best photos. Sometimes, after traveling for an hour, you find out that the weather conditions were actually better close to home. But despite sometimes getting unlucky, the urge to travel wins from the familiar locations quite often.
Gear
Vincent’s go-to gear is Fujifilm’s, mostly because of the fair price, good quality, and lower weight of their products. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t recommend other well-known brands. To him, it’s a matter of what you’re used to, because all big brands produce great products. It’s tempting to put a lot of money towards your gear, but that’s not the most important thing. It’s all about what you do with it.
Composition
It’s not easy to define a good composition. Make your image as interesting as possible. Don’t overthink it, just try some different camera angles when you’re shooting.
Colors
Be careful not to oversaturate. A rich color palette is great, but your photo turns out better when the colors are more subtle.
Vincent Croce will check your photo on:
1) Emotion – Let your photo take Vincent away to a magical place. The photo needs to keep Vincent’s mind occupied for some time. And that’s very, very difficult, he adds.
2) Originality – Even a photo taken on a very popular photo spot can win. It needs to stand out, though. A surprising photo gets many bonus points!
3) Technical skills – Even though the technical skills of the photographer are not the most important thing, it does count towards the submission’s rating. Don’t use any ‘tricks’ if they don’t improve your photo. Use fitting techniques to get the best out of your image.
Good luck in the Xpozer Photo Contest!
Upload your best landscape photo here >
Photo credits: Vincent Croce
