If you're ike most camera owners and have a digital compact, this is your camera's time to shine. For most serious photographers, an SLR or DSLR is the obvious camera choice, but when it comes to landscapes, compact cameras rule because they offer a much better depth of field. All you need to do to get some great landscape photos is to set your compact to landscape mode and follow these tips. And before you know it you'll be hanging your landscape pictures in gallery picture frames on the wall for all your friends and family to admire.

Remember that the quality of light is one of the most important elements of photography.

• For lighting that is soft with a touch of warmth, take your landscape photos during the "Golden Hours" which is the hour after dawn and the last hour before sunset.
• For intensified colors and subdued highlights, shoot under an overcast sky.
• If you want dramatic shadows, take pictures under a cloudy sky.
• Enhance the quality of your image and add drama by photographing a landscape scene with contrast; for example, red and gold autumn leafed trees against a strong blue sky.
• To get a very soft light, shoot on a foggy day.

The next most important element is composition. Here are some tips for composing perfect landscape pictures.

• Compose your landscape picture so that the horizon appears straight. When taking a horizon, don't get creative and try different angles as they need to be straight or your picture won't look right.
• Fill two-thirds of your frame with the subject of most interest, whether it be a dramatic sky or an interesting foreground.
• Look for lines. These could be anything from the obvious road or river to a shadow running along sand dunes. If your image has lines, try to have the major lines lead the eye toward the subject of the image. For example, a road winding its way up the mountains and the mountains are the subject of your photo.
• Compose your photo with a point of interest in the foreground. This could be anything like a tree, person, animal or house. The focal point won't be the main subject (the landscape is),but it adds depth, draws the viewer into the image and gives the eyes a place to rest, thus engaging the viewer longer with your photograph. In short, a focal point makes your landscape photo more interesting and more enjoyable to view.
• Watch out for clutter. In a landscape photo, clutter could be a power line or a branch in the way or garbage on the ground. If you can't get the shot you want without the clutter, use a decent photo editor like Photoshop to remove it.

And another tip for mastering landscape photography is to properly frame your picture in a picture frame that complements your image. In most cases, landscape pictures look best in frames with clean lines like simple metal frames or a classic wood picture frame.

There's always more to learn with photography, but just by following the tips above you can start taking great pictures of your favorite landscapes.

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