How To: Use Wide Apertures for Unconventional Landscapes

As a genre, landscape photography tends to require the largest depths of field to throw focus over most of the scene. But sometimes, breaking photography conventions can be a great way to get creative. So what's the best way to create landscape photography with a shallow depth of field? Outdoor photographer James Popsys used two prime lenses with a wide f/1.4 maximum aperture — the Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM and Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM — to capture the stunning coastlines of Llŷn Peninsula, in Wales.

Follow James Popsys' advice and learn how to create landscape photography with a shallow depth of field.

I'm on the Llŷn Peninsula in Wales, and what a surprise this place has turned out to be. I recently saw a profile shot of a building on Flickr, and it looked just like a regular structure. So, you can imagine my shock when I arrived ten minutes ago and discovered that it was something entirely different! Still, it’s a beautiful location, and I’m eager to start exploring.

From this angle, you'd never know the building wasn't what it seemed in that Flickr image. That initial surprise set the tone for my visit—I came here expecting to see an interesting structure, but now I'm keen to explore what else this place has to offer.

I borrowed two lenses, the Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM and Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM. They're both Sony GM lenses, so I was very excited to use them. My goal is to shoot every single photo at f/1.4 to spark some creativity and see what results I can get. While it’s not particularly low light at the moment, this approach should still present a fun challenge.

For my second photo, I’ve switched to the 85mm lens. I want to capture a slice of the coastline from this angle. There’s a lot of contrast in the scene—it’s quite hazy today, but the dark rocks and bright sky create an interesting dynamic. I’ll likely enhance this contrast in post-production.

Use foreground elements

What I could really use is a bird flying through the scene. Unfortunately, I don’t see any at the moment. Another option is incorporating some foreground elements, which would enhance the three-dimensional effect of the image, especially at f/1.4. Perhaps this barbed wire fence could work? From this close with the 85mm, the perspective might be too tight to tell what these posts actually are. Maybe stepping back a bit would help.

I don’t necessarily know the story behind the barbed wire fence and the coastline, but this is the kind of creative thinking I need to embrace today—using foreground elements to frame compositions and create depth.

Incorporate buildings

Now, I’m trying another profile shot of the building, this time from a different angle. If I go a bit further back and higher up, I can include some of the coastline in the background, which would enhance the composition. Standing on these rocks might allow me to capture a perfect profile shot, with the rocks adding texture to the frame.

I’ll take another quick look at the fence shot using the 24mm. It might be too wide, but let’s check. At this point, I’m just eager to see what this little hut is all about. But first, I want to switch back to the 85mm because I’ve noticed the faint silhouette of mountains in the background, just up the Llŷn Peninsula. I think that could make for a compelling image.

I already wish I had brought a messenger bag for my lenses. Swapping them out constantly is getting cumbersome, but never mind. The silhouette of the distant mountains is still visible, so let’s see how it looks at 85mm.

This kind of image is exactly what I love—something that raises questions. What is that building? What’s it used for? How long has it been there? When was the last time someone visited it? These kinds of questions come to mind immediately when I see it, and I love how a shallow depth of field can guide the viewer’s eye towards the subject.

Even better, this beach has several other shacks and cabins scattered around. What a hidden gem! I’ve switched back to the 24mm now, though I’m sure you can tell from the images. I’ll try to keep you updated on which lens I’m using.

Create depth using reflections

I love photographing huts, but the challenge is capturing them in a way that shows their relationship to the landscape. These particular huts face away from the sea, which means I can’t use reflections in the windows to add depth. This makes composition tricky—I want to showcase the huts in their environment rather than just taking straightforward pictures of them.

That was an amazing little beach, but now I’m heading to another one nearby.

This next location is magic. The spray coming off the rocks is beautiful. I wanted to come back today to shoot in both good and bad light, which is a key reason to use an f/1.4 lens. That kind of aperture is particularly useful in low-light conditions, and I wanted to see how these lenses perform in those settings.

Isolate the subject

I really enjoyed my time with these fast primes. You’d think that as someone who hates tripods, I’d have spent more time with lenses like these, but I really haven’t. It was a fun challenge. Many people assume that lenses with such wide apertures aren’t useful for landscape photography, but I disagree. Sure, deep scenes often require multiple points in focus, but if you want to isolate a subject and create a dreamy effect, these lenses are fantastic.

Shoot in lower-light conditions

I found shooting in low light and in near darkness was particularly impressive—I was able to capture shots at 1/125th of a second with my 85mm lens while still at base ISO. That’s the beauty of fast primes. Of course, the trade-off is that not much of the scene is in focus, but when that works for your composition, it’s a powerful effect.

This one's just magic. There's a lot of spray coming off those rocks over there—beautiful. I wanted to shoot a little bit in good light. I really enjoyed my short period of time with these fast primes.

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