Five Tips for Better Nature Photography – The Low Tech Way
Digital cameras offer so many functions and features that photography can seem too complex for the beginner. Frustrated, many new photographers simply switch their digital camera to auto mode and never learn how to use it properly.
If you read that and thought “That sounds like me!” she keeps reading; I have good news. There are great ways to take better photos without having to learn the intricacies of your camera. That’s right: leave your camera in automatic mode and still learn how to take great photos.
Of course, I encourage anyone to learn and understand aperture and shutter speed, settings you’ll need to understand to really improve as a photographer. However, the best encouragement is to start getting results quickly, so here are five easy tips to help you improve your photography… the easy way!
Better Photography Tip #1. Take your photo in the best possible light. You may have heard that the best light for most photography is very early or late in the day, when the sun is low and the light is soft and colorful. This is a good rule of thumb to follow most of the time. Not only is the light more attractive, you can also avoid the contrast and heavy midday shadows.
Some subjects actually work better on cloudy days. For animals and people, cloudy weather softens the light and overcomes the problem of the subject squinting at the light. In the forest, overcast skies prevent the strong contrast that is a problem on sunny days.
Better Photography Tip #2. Landscape photos: Create a more interesting composition. Many photos can be made more interesting not by zooming in directly on the subject, but by zooming out or further away to capture more of the environment. The important thing is to make sure you use the environment to add impact to the image.
For example, let’s say you’re photographing an old rustic farmhouse. You could add even more character by using a line of fence posts or a gravel path to guide the eye to the image. Or when shooting a waterfall, you can try going a little further downstream to shoot the creek with the waterfall in the background for a more interesting angle.
Better Photography Tip #3. Sunset and Sunrise. Everyone loves taking sunset (and sunrise) photos. A bright sky at sunset can be a great photo, but you can make it even better if you find a good foreground subject. The key is to find something that stands out against the sky, with an outline that people can recognize; a tree, a windmill, even a row of utility poles. The subject doesn’t have to dominate the photo; in fact, it’s probably best if it only occupies about ten percent of the composition so that the sky remains the main attraction. But if you can create an eye-catching silhouette, it will immediately add character to your sunset photography.
Tip for better photography #4. Animals (and people). Portrait-style photos are often marred by a distracting background. When you take a photo of a friend, a pet, or an animal, you don’t want the surroundings to take your attention away from the subject.
So here’s the trick. Don’t stand close to your subject and take the photo with a normal or wide-angle lens. Try to get further away from the subject and zoom in with your larger lens. This will have two results. First, it will reduce the area behind and around the subject that is visible in the photo. Second, it will minimize the depth of field, which means that only the subject should be in focus. Everything in front of or behind the subject will be out of focus and will not cause distractions.
Suggestion for better photography #5. to concentrate. Sometimes all it takes to make a photo a success is to move a little left or right, or zoom in or out a little more. If you just point the camera in the general direction of your subject without thinking about what you’re doing, your results won’t improve. If you slow down and really examine what you can see in the viewfinder before you hit the button, your success rate will win out.
Simple things to keep in mind include; trees and power poles that seem to grow out of the subject’s head (move yourself or the subject to a better position); garbage on the ground (pick it up); distracting planes or clouds in the sky (wait for them to pass); fuzzy branches on a windy day (wait for conditions to settle for a bit). All of these things and more can ruin a photo, and they can all be remedied by taking a good look to make sure your image has captured everything you want and nothing you don’t.
Here are some easy tips for good photography without getting obsessed with technology. Above all, heed tip #5 and slow down to focus on what you’re doing. The other golden rule: keep practicing, take lots of photos whenever you can. You will learn much more from your own experience in the field than if you were told what to do. Remember that with digital cameras it costs you nothing to continue photographing. With patience and attention to detail, you’ll be taking better photos in no time, guaranteed!
