Taking landscape photography to the next level with Canon telephoto lenses

Do you naturally associate landscape photography with wide-angle lenses? A good telephoto lens can raise a landscape photographer's creative game considerably – whether to draw out natural patterns that are less apparent when viewed through a wide-angle lens, or to enhance the density of a scene to capture a more naturalistic sense of scale.

Landscape photographer Vladimir Medvedev believes using telephoto lenses for landscape photography isn't just an interesting flight of fancy, but is essential for creating amazing photographs. "Using different focal lengths is one of the most powerful artistic techniques in the photographer's arsenal," he says. "Telephoto lenses enable you to emphasise details that cannot be achieved with wide-angle optics. No amount of processing will help compensate for the lack of a long-focus lens, so I can't imagine any expedition where I would go without a telephoto."

Here we examine the creative benefits of using telephoto lenses for landscape photography, and look at the best Canon telephoto lenses to use, with insights from Vladimir and fellow landscape photographers David Noton and Radomir Jakubowski, plus expertise from Canon product specialist John Maurice.

John also points out that for Canon EOS R System users the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM lens – the third in the Canon trinity of RF-mount zoom lenses with constant f/2.8 aperture – offers exceptional image quality in a compact design that truly makes it stand out against other f/2.8 lenses. "The compact nature of this f/2.8 zoom makes it remarkably portable when compared to similar lenses," he continues, "and the wide aperture will allow you to isolate subjects while simultaneously adding compression when capturing landscape scenes."

While telezooms typically have the upper hand when it comes to their zoom range, a fixed telephoto lens such as the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM can offer improved sharpness and a wider aperture that could be more beneficial in low-light conditions. John says: "This is a stunning telephoto prime that makes for images that truly impress with isolated depth of field and razor-sharp results even at f/2.8, or using teleconverters for extra reach."

Vary compositions from a single spot

The focal length flexibility in telephoto zooms gives photographers the option to recompose their landscapes without having to move from their shooting position. When shooting landscapes with telephoto lenses, David leans towards telephoto zooms because of their durability and flexibility for composition.

"Both the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM lens are optically superb lenses offering a convenient focal range, and are portable, rugged and weatherproof," he says. "Working with a zoom allows me to accurately compose without the need to crop. Every pixel is precious, after all."

Capture rich colours

Vladimir says zooms are especially useful when shooting from obscured locations or when vantage points are scarce. He also finds shooting landscapes with telephotos can often provide better contrast and colour accuracy than shooting with a wide-angle lens because telephoto lens hoods are usually longer, so block out sun flare better.

"I always shoot my telephotos with a lens hood," says Vladimir. "This increases the micro-contrast, removes unnecessary glare, and even protects the optical glass. Lens hoods on telephoto lenses are, for me, the most effective, and allow you to shoot even against the sun, achieving good rich colours."

Shoot in the golden hour

The two favourite times to shoot landscapes are around the golden hours of sunrise and sunset, with twilight giving serene deep blues that flood the skies. But lower levels of light bring a problem: longer exposure time. To counteract the camera blur that may result, Radomir likes to open the aperture wide to let in as much light as possible. "At night I prefer to use a fast lens such as the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM lens," he says. "You need the extra wide aperture of f/2.8 to let more light in and allow you to see something at night through the viewfinder."

John agrees. "The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM lens is known for its reliability and constant f/2.8 aperture," he says. "It's versatile and offers powerful Image Stabilization and sharpness."

However, Radomir points out that this doesn't prevent other telephoto lenses with maximum apertures of f/4 and greater from being useful, too. It all depends on the light that's available when shooting. "If you use the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens wide open at f/4.5 during low-light and night shoots," he says, "you just need to make sure there's enough moonlight to see through the viewfinder."

David finds that shooting in twilight hours, during long periods of low light, are when he gets his favourite landscape photographs. "The evocative blue and golden hours are when I'm out there, stood by the tripod, waiting for the light," he says. "At night all sorts of possibilities unfold. Shooting in such low-light situations is not easy, but fast apertures and sensitive autofocus help."