Good images seem to have a sense of balance to them. They stay level when placed on a fulcrum point. Far objects balance closer objects. Something on one side cancels out the visual weight of something on the other side. It takes intentionality to compose images this way. Just one or two steps this way or that way can make all the difference.

Here you can clearly see what I am talking about. The tree and the sun on the right are heavy visually. In order to achieve balance something has to be on the left, preferably in the distance. To give the plant on the left more prominence I went for a low shooting position which makes the plant look taller. The two trees are now more balanced.

          You often hear me say the many good landscape images have depth. They pull the viewer into the image rather than looking at it from one side to the other. In this image we have what looks like a path going into the image. It is a patch of ground that does not have any growth on it and not many rocks either. This path is also bathed in warm light. To help ephasize this path I lightened it in post processing. The goal is to lead the viewer into the image. The viewer needs to want to stand there or walk into the image.

          Where we have balance and depth we typically have a nice image.