Landscape photographers have a unique ability to capture the world. Not only through the scenes they depict but how they convey emotion through their images. They let the viewer experience the grandeur of the Dawn Wall or the sublime nature of Victoria Falls.
Landscape photography is for nature lovers. We use these images to bring the world into our homes or onto our desktops. They transport us to the most amazing locations around the globe.
27 Most Influential Landscape Photographers
The skills for capturing the perfect landscape are constantly changing. Let’s take a look at the top 27 most influential landscape photographers to give you a taste of the outdoors.
1. Justin Minns
Minns is a British photographer who specializes in the landscape of East Anglia. He has a remarkable ability to capture the British landscape.
It can be hard to convey the cold and harsh British winters as well as their warm and inviting summers. But Minns is all too familiar. He can have you craving a hot cup of tea just by looking at his winter landscapes!
He is no stranger to a wide range of subjects. He is experimenting with infrared abilities and adding alternate views to the landscape. If you’re interested in traveling to the British countryside, I recommend looking at his work.
2. Zach Doehler
Doehler is a photographer from Canada who has been working with a camera since he was 15 years old. Growing up in the British Columbian landscape has profoundly affected his work.
This resulted in Doehler shooting the beautiful landscapes in his backyard. On his website, he splits his style into three sections—mountains, oceans, and dreamscapes. Each one is more dramatic than the last due to his incredible editing style.
In fact, his editing style is so brilliant that we had to get him on board to teach his signature style. Check out our Epic Landscape Editing course!
3. Mandy Lea
Mandy Lea is a travel photographer who runs a fun little blog. This blog is for those who enjoy the outdoors with all the bells and whistles that come with it. Her portfolio spans all travel photography subcategories, like landscapes, nature, and wildlife.
Her work would be good to look at if you want to start a travel blog. Here, you will see how she travels so much while doing what she loves.
3. Tim Parkin
Parkin is a professional landscape photographer and the editor of On Landscape magazine. A few people you will see on this list have been featured in this magazine. Parkin photographs both digitally and in large format film.
He has a great ability to create warm landscapes, even in cold settings! This is executed through excellent framing and exposure. His natural approach makes the landscapes feel believable.
4. Trey Ratcliff
Trey Ratcliff is a famous photographer based in America who has been almost everywhere. With so many social media followers, it is no surprise that many people see him as influential.
Ratcliff was born blind in one eye and claims this has helped with his photography career. He is also a travel photographer, which he documents well on his StuckInCustoms site.
He is also an HDR professional. And he boasts the first-ever HDR landscape to be displayed in the Smithsonian Museum. Anyone who enjoys landscapes where colors and tones prevail should take a close look at his work.
5. David Noton
Noton is a British-born photographer who spent most of his time growing up in the Americas. He claims growing up in Ontario, Canada, helped shape his eye and passion for the landscape.
It’s not surprising that his catalog includes images from every continent on Earth. He is an honorary fellow of the Royal Photographic Society who also gives talks around Europe.
Noton’s unique quality comes from the way he displays light. It looks natural and believable. It’s almost as if he’s always in the right place at the right time. There is a fine line between artificial colors and actual light, and he traverses it well.
6. Verity Milligan
Milligan is a British photographer who creates dreamlike images. Her images are almost like a fraction of the landscape presented.
By focusing on these fractions, Milligan creates an ephemeral feel in her photos. Emphasis is evident in the way she deals with light in the landscape.
I would suggest looking at her work to see how photography can create a certain feel. This is mainly done in her post-production work. She handles different colors and tones to create an image that differs from the true landscape.
7. Christian Hoiberg
Christian Hoiberg is living the escapist’s dream. He is a Norwegian photographer currently based north of the Arctic Circle.
There, he guides photography workshops around these unforgiving areas. You can tell he is familiar with the landscape. And this familiarity has captured the essence of the landscape perfectly.
Hoiberg is not afraid to use low amounts of contrast in his landscapes. This can usually mean a loss of depth in the photograph. But he uses it to his advantage, creating some great scenes.
This is not his signature style, though. His signature style involves these grand landscapes that give you a sense of place bordering on the sublime.
8. Jake Guzman
The youngest photographer on this list is 24-year-old Jake Guzman. He has become established in a short amount of time due to his unique style.
His style lends itself well to advertising. This style involves shooting landscapes with a long lens. Framing each photo with towering features that portray nature on an epic scale.
The way Guzman displays his colors is idealistic. He keeps a uniform color pallet. These edits are almost more like how you want to remember a location rather than the reality of it. Take a look at his work if you want to take a similar route in photography.
9. Philip Slotte
Phillip Slotte is another young landscape photographer. He is based in Sweden and his work has been featured in National Geographic and many others. Slotte presents you with dramatic landscapes that lean toward the darker side.
This darkness adds to the sublime nature of the landscape. It creates almost scary scenes where you are truly overshadowed by nature. I would recommend looking at how he deals with reflections in the landscape.
10. Dustin LeFevre
LeFevre is a photographer skilled in creating sharp, detailed landscapes. You can tell he prefers the rockier side of life from his chosen material. Despite this preference, he has photographed a wide range of environments.
He usually focuses on specific fractions that almost start to not look like a landscape. This takes the landscape out of its setting. It makes us think about the natural forms created by the world.
11. Suzanne Mathia
Mathia is an American photographer who has been published in many photography and outdoor magazines.
There is no surprise that she is everywhere, as her work is truly ubiquitous. She photographs anything that finds itself in the landscape, from wildlife to derelict machines.
She is also known to be very vocal in her practice. This can be helpful for beginner photographers who need inspiration. Be sure to check out some of her videos to get a better understanding of her landscape photography.
12. Huibo Hou
Huibo Hou is a fine art landscape photographer based in the United States. She is best known for her black and white landscapes. From her work, we see scenes that are more similar to paintings than reality.
But in these photographs, you see the world void of color and context. This gives the images a timeless feel.
Her sense of composition makes these images successful. She almost constructs a vision rather than framing one. Hou is an excellent reference for landscape photographers who want to create their own worlds.
13. Kilian Schönberger
Schönberger is a famous German photographer who creates wonderful environments.
These environments tend to be on the darker side, almost making you glad to be in the comfort of your home. You see harsh winters and dark forests displayed in a perceivable way.
This photographer is well known for his commissioned work. If you want to look at capturing landscape photos for clients, check him out.
14. Thomas Heaton
Thomas Heaton is a British photographer who is very well-traveled. His method of making simple forms out of landscapes sets him apart from others. This can almost be seen as oversimplifying the landscape, but I think it is done well.
A theme throughout his work shows that he understands light very well. This allows him to work with his images without them seeming too unreal. Heaton also runs a photography blog alongside his work.
15. Simon Roberts
Simon Roberts is a renowned British landscape photographer who has made his way into the art world. He is well known for his large-format, tableaux-like photographs of British settings. Roberts is now a Leica instructor for landscape photography.
Roberts’ work shows the everyday landscape with people in the frame. This highlights the surroundings as you create stories in your head of how the spaces are used.
This makes the work very much “of a time” rather than timeless landscapes. Check out his work if you want your landscapes to talk about more than just a location.
16. Andy Farrer
Farrer is an award-winning photographer who has published works in various locations. His skill in the crafting of landscapes has brought him to offer his own workshops. These are all done in the UK, where he is based.
His work is predominantly shot with wide-angle lenses. When used effectively, it is easy to imagine yourself standing at the foot of the scene he is depicting. This is something Farrer does well.
For some, the skill of filling the frame sometimes falls short. But not in his case.
17. Vanda Ralevska
Ralevska has her own unique style. She is a photographer who is very aware of the landscape and what can be done with it.
Through her post-processing techniques, she comes up with surreal scenes. These scenes portray landscapes and how they appear when we idealize them in our heads.
Shots like these can translate into commercial work well. Take a look at her portfolio if you want to produce calming landscapes. Also, please take note of her brilliant sense of composition.
18. Carla Regler
Carla Regler is a British-based photographer who is very skilled in her craft. Her skills have led her to give photography tours across the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.
She has a style that is as close as you could get to a textbook landscape photographer. She can split up a frame and keep the viewer engaged for a long time.
Regler is an excellent reference to study if you are starting in landscape photography. I would particularly recommend her storm photographs which carry an immense force with them.
19. Paul Sanders
Sanders is a Fujifilm ambassador as well as a speaker and mentor in the photography world. He started his career as a fashion and advertising photographer.
He now creates still photographs that are aptly named the Still series. His work takes a minimalist approach to landscape photography.
This mindful approach to photography produces landscapes that let your mind wander. This is why many people like the work as prints. They allow the viewer to create their own world.
20. Lizzie Shepard
Lizzie Shepard is a British heavyweight in the landscape photography scene. Specializing in landscape, nature, and travel, she understands how landscapes best fit into a frame. She does this by putting a hectic setting into a formal composition.
Shepard is now on the judging panel for the Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards. Her time and skill in landscape photography have become noticed by the best in the field.
21. Charlie Waite
Charlie Waite is one of the world’s leading landscape photographers. He created the Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards.
With an extensive career based around photographing the landscape, Waite has earned his spot on this list. His unique eye brings a new approach to landscape photography that sets him apart from the rest.
As the founder of the Light and Land photography workshop, he has provided workshops for over 25 years. Waite is currently known as one of the best landscape photographers in the field.
22. Ted Gore
Now for one of the American stars, Ted Gore. With an eye for making super dramatic images, Gore has refined his technique to create unique images. He also writes about his process a bit, so be sure to check out his work.
The way he handles color is what sets him apart. The viewer sees colors that aren’t quite natural. This puts the subject on pedestals, making them jump out of the image. By doing this, you pay more attention to these elements.
23. Stephen Shore
Shore continues to be one of the most inspirational landscape photographers to this day. His work has set the standard for large format photography.
A lot of his photography depends on the viewer’s contextual knowledge. Whatever is outside of the frame is almost as important as what is in it. This style of landscape photography is essential. It shows a reflection of another place and time.
This is made evident by the release of his book Steel Town which takes place in the ’70s. The relevance of that work is almost greater now than when it was created.
24. Edward Burtynsky
Burtynsky’s photographic career is bigger than landscape photography. He is a Ukrainian photographer who is known as one of the best landscape photographers.
He uses the landscape to talk about the world. This seems like such a simple concept, yet it is what he chooses to photograph that makes it effective.
Scenes are composed in a sort of one-step-back approach. This almost removes you from the landscape so much that you can see it for what it really is. He is a master of interesting composition. Look into his work if you want your photos to do more.
25. Simon Norfolk
Simon Norfolk is a Nigerian-born British photographer. His style of landscape photography has made him a regular contributor to National Geographic.
Norfolk uses landscapes to talk about issues that have transcended different eras. This is done by using the timeless nature of landscape photography and putting it into context.
Norfolk’s personal work focuses on conflict. He uses this landscape to talk about issues that can be seen only if you are in the right place.
26. Ansel Adams
The Godfather of landscape photography, Ansel Adams. He is known for his black and white images of the American West. They are still known as some of the best landscape images to this day.
His style is not just composition. His post-process is held in high regard.
Adams was a founder of the infamous f/64 group, creating a new standard for all photographers. If you’re looking for a quick burst of inspiration, Adams will satisfy your need for nature.
27. Richard Misrach
Misrach is a modern legend in landscape photography. His use of color is what sets him apart from others.
Every scene is made with a feeling that you can step into the landscape. There are no artificial colors or HDR effects. Just nature and natural light. I would say he is one of the best landscape photographers.
He uses the power of beauty to get people to talk about important issues. This is most evident in his series Border Cantos, which explores the Mexico-USA border. To those who want to produce beautiful landscapes, study his work carefully.
Conclusion—Most Influential Landscape Photographers
There is a wide range of styles when you look at landscape photography. As you will see from this list, composition is the most important factor while on location. This is then closely followed by how you handle the light.
One of these landscape photographers on the list should quench your thirst for nature. Be sure to look into each photographer and study their style. Eventually, you will find your own, but only if you put in the time outdoors. So get exploring!
Check out our Simply Stunning Landscapes course if you want to take your landscape photography to the next level!
