Knowing how to visualize a shot in your head before you take it is an important step in the creative process, else you’re simply firing off shots and hoping for a good edit to come out of the process. This great video follows a landscape photographer from pre-visualization all the way to printed photo.

I think the biggest thing I overlooked when I got into landscape photography was the importance of pre-visualization. I would find a nice view or scene, frame up a shot, and go home with no idea of how I wanted to edit it. This caused my progress to stagnate for quite a bit, as I wasn’t developing a vision, just coming home with some ok starting images and seeing where I could go from there. As Nigel Danson details in this great tutorial, your photos will get better the more you shoot to the creative vision you have in mind. Part of this is because what makes for a great scene to our eyes doesn’t always make for a great photograph (and vice versa) and part of it is because you will develop a stronger personal style and know how to consistently shoot to further refine and augment your catalog. Give the video a watch to follow the process from start to finish.