Readers reply: why do photographs of beautiful scenery never do it justice?

Choosing a viewpoint well in advance and a time of day with dramatic light can make a huge difference. Go for early mornings or evenings, when the shadows are longer and colours glow; avoid harsh, direct midday sun. Take a look at how the great photographers such as Ansel Adams or artists such as David Hockney approached the Grand Canyon for a bit of inspiration and food for thought. James1000

Ansel Adams certainly did justice to landscape photography, mainly by using cameras with large- or medium-format sensors (film or plate negatives) and lenses with long focal lengths, often tiltable to correct for foreshortening of tall, distant objects. All these features are minimised in modern cameras, although correction to a degree by in-camera AI is possible. Of course, he also printed in black and white. Modern professional landscape photographers either use versions of the older technology, or have learned to use processing tools such as Photoshop to modify their images. You have to decide what your image is for, and whether adapting your kit or technique is going to be worth it … daibeaver

Neither photographs nor paintings do a scene justice. The smells, the sounds, the breezes, the changing of the light and the effect of the viewer’s movements are all included in the appreciation of the scene. That said, a good landscape picture can evoke memories of a visit and with it recall the emotional effect on the viewer. It can also be an artistic expression in its own right, conveying the visual components in a manner that invokes an emotional response entirely without context. RollyW

Photography is a skill and an art form. Most of us are not skilled artists, as is evident from our holiday snaps. We wouldn’t expect to match the artistry of a Michelin chef or an old master portrait painter, who have built on their talent with years of study. Why do we all expect to be able to take fantastic photographs? Randomusername222

I’ve done a fair amount of photography in the south-west of the US and the Grand Canyon is notoriously challenging because it is so vast. Your eye manages – or think it manages – a sense of perspective and therefore awe (although once in a while you’ll see a plane flying down in the canyon and suddenly realise that your own perspective is bewildered by the size, too).

The three tips for taking pictures in the GC are: go for golden hour – all my best pictures of it are taken at sunset or sunrise; there are some phenomenal light effects; make sure you get some images of specific features or lines of sight, rather than the canyon as the whole (which almost never captures what you’re seeing); and, if you can, get something in it that gives a sense of perspective. This is also really hard with the Grand Canyon, because people on the other rim will be completely invisible. I also always buy some postcards as a backup. Use what photos you did take to remind you of the feeling, and enjoy having seen a wonder, like Everest, that can’t be captured on film. You’ve been there!

“Dimension means nothing to the senses, and all we are left with is a troubled sense of immensity.” (Clarence Dutton on seeing the Grand Canyon.) Thomas1178

A camera, however expensive or sophisticated, is an incredibly simple device compared with the human brain. Our eyes can take in an incredible amount of information in 3D; that allows the brain to build up a complex picture that a camera with a shutter operating at, for example, 1/200th of a second can’t possible do. It’s impossible to capture in a single picture what our eyes are seeing over a period of time. ChrisGC

A good view is rarely a good photograph. I think a photographer’s best art lies in finding and isolating something that others miss. PascalsFire

Because all the best viewpoints are blocked by hordes of narcissists taking selfies. ShrinkProof