Shhh. Don't tell anyone, but it's easy to take good landscape photographs. All you have to do is find a landscape, hold the camera steady while you click, then download the files to your laptop. If the picture doesn't come out quite right, a little digital manipulation might even the score.

Easy, right?

Maybe, but 99% of the time, you'll end up with a photo that looks like a million others of the same subject. If you can't make your photos striking and original and great, what's the point? We can tell you how to do just that -- with the help of Jennifer Wu, who recently sat down for an interview with 7PhotographyQuestions.com.

Inject Some Life Into Your Images

One of the simplest ways to improve your landscape photographs is by improving the depth of field. Find a nice foreground subject to contrast with the landscape, and use a wide angle lens that includes both in the scene. "I love getting that perspective from near to far," Jennifer says enthusiastically.

People are good choices, though rocks, trees, structures, boats, and many other objects will work, as long as they're small enough to contrast with the enormity of the backdrop. One suggestion: don't focus too tightly, and despite the temptation, avoid using a telephoto lens.

"The wide angle has more depth of field than the telephoto does," Jennifer points out. "[There's] more perception of depth, so the view we get doesn't look as flat." She advises using a hyperfocal chart, too, so you can determine the distance and f-stop for which all objects are acceptably sharp. Otherwise your landscape photos may be blurry.

Breaking the Rules

When taking pictures of the great outdoors, remember that the rules are different from those of indoor photography. You're not taking a portrait or documenting something; you don't have to center your subject, for example, and in fact you shouldn’t. Other than lighting issues, this is the most common mistake made by amateur photographers.

"One of the easiest ways to make more interesting photographs is to simply get down low," Jennifer observes. "Get low to the ground and look up at your subject, or get up high and look down." Most of us are spoiled by standard landscape photographs, so we usually just get out of the car at a scenic overlook and shoot.

The problem is, "It’s going to be midday, and it’s going to be eye-level, looking straight." In other words, the photo will look like everyone else's: boring lighting, boring angle, boring perspective, boring photo.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Take these pointers into account, and your landscape photographs will improve dramatically. Of course, you'll still have to put in the hours before you'll be able to practice these techniques instinctively and consistently. Jennifer has a few suggestions there, too.

"One thing I like to suggest to students is to go to one spot and stay there," she says. "Take a million photographs and really push yourself. It’s very easy to go, take a shot, and move on. Instead, use a telephoto lens, use a 50mm lens, use a wide angle, and create as many different images that you can."

Once you've done that, try this: "Take ten steps, take a photograph; take ten more steps, take another photograph. This makes me see everything. It forces me to look for a shot when I might otherwise keep walking." In the end, being forced to look for good shots wherever you happen to be will force you to take better landscape photographs.

You can find out more about Jennifer Wu and her brilliant landscape photography here, where we offer both podcast and transcript formats of our recent interview for your reading and listening pleasure. We invite you to sign up for our free "Secrets of the Master Photographers" Mini-Course while you're at it.