Photography tips

Light and shadow

Historic buildings and church tower top in the old town of Lucerne in clear daylight.

Key tips

  1. Look for side lighting to highlight the sandstone texture through the interplay of light and shadow.
  2. When composing your shot, pay attention to the interplay of light and shadow to emphasize the silhouette of the mountain range.
  3. Utilize strong contrasts between light and shadow to emphasize architectural shapes.

Photographs on this topic

5 photographs with tips

The exact camera settings for each shot are shown below it - a starting point for recreating the look yourself. Click through to a photograph for detailed photography tips on that specific shot, under "Photography tips for this image".

All subjects Architecture Mountains City Lucerne Pilatus
Historic buildings and church tower top in the old town of Lucerne in clear daylight. 45 mm · f/22 · 1/80 s · ISO 160 Close-up of the stone lion paw at the Lion Monument in Lucerne with side lighting 150 mm · f/10 · 1/320 s · ISO 200 View of the silhouette of Mount Pilatus and Lake Lucerne at sunset 62 mm · f/5.6 · 1/500 s · ISO 200 Facades in a narrow alley in Lucerne with a lantern 135 mm · f/13 · 1/160 s · ISO 160 Detail view of the snow-covered Eiger North Face in the soft light of the setting sun with rising clouds. 400 mm · f/8 · 1/640 s · ISO 125

Related topics

  • Architecture
  • Mountains
  • City
  • Camera settings
  • Composition
  • Light
  • Lucerne
  • Pilatus
  • Evening light
  • Fog
  • Snow
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