Nature Photography - Tips on How to Emulate Your World
Nature photography is the best way to capture some of the most prestigious moments in time. The main factor that separates this niche from other genres of photography is the fact that you have to find a healthy mixture of both quality and quantity. Nature will not wait for you to keep up with her, so you must be willing contribute a substantial amount of patience and passion in order to create the perfect shot.
Preparing for Your Endeavor
The first step, as with any form of photography, is preparation. You have many options when deciding on where to shoot, but once you have taken some time to consider your revenue of choice, you will need to do a little research. Maybe you'll be taking a hiking trip - obtain some information from the wildlife center in the area so you can get a better grasp on what to look for. If you plan on taking photos at a zoo, you should look up what kind of animals the zoo has on display. No great photographer ever takes photos without planning things out beforehand.
And this doesn't necessarily mean that you only need to research your revenue - you must also invest a substantial amount of time in learning about the shot you're interested in taking. For example, if your goal is to take a shot of a grey heron swooping down to capture a fish, then it would be important to know what time of day grey herons hunt for food.
You would also want to know what actions indicate that a grey heron is about to go in for the capture so you can better anticipate the shot. This involves a lot of observation - once you arrive at your venue and find an ideal area to start shooting at, pay good attention to the actions of your subjects and familiarize yourself with the grand nature of your surroundings.
Patience Is a Virtue!
Yes, I know it sounds cliché, but it never fails to be true. In nature photography, you absolutely must exhibit a great deal of patience or you will never find the perfect shot you are looking for. Remember, in this genre of photography you are not making tweaks to your subjects or physically adding anything to your composition. The skill in this art is being able to identify when the best composition is available so you can capitalize on your opportunities.
Animals need to get close enough to your camera without being scared off; clouds need to be in the right places so that your lighting is perfect; your preferred time of day could pass you by quick and you might have to wait until tomorrow. A lot of different factors come into play here and not only do they all require patience, but they also require speed.
High-Speed Shooting
Ideally, you will want to use a camera that has a high-speed shooting option when doing nature photography. Capturing a specific moment in time involves expanding your options by taking several shots within a matter of seconds. If you're unsure about how to enable your camera's high-speed shooting mode (or are not sure if it even has one), simply look it up in your manual.
You can also increase the speed in which you take multiple shots by making sure you're using the proper memory card. Look up the technical specifications of your camera to find out what kinds of memory cards it can support and then go with the fastest option. Don't use a card that is faster than what your camera allows - it won't give you any extra advantage and you'll just end up spending more money than you needed to.
Lastly, if you would like to increase your camera's speed as much as possible, then you should only take your shots in one format. Taking photos in two different formats at the same time will significantly slow down your speed of capture.
Consider Adding Yourself to Some Shots
Many experts in the field of nature photography will sometimes incorporate themselves into their photographs. Pictures of you hiking, looking through a pair of binoculars or even just sitting down and taking in the scene can add some great affect to your shots that will make them more interesting.
Since it's important to incorporate your own skills into your work, it's better to use a tripod for this rather than to have someone else take the photograph for you. A heavier tripod is ideal and you will need to familiarize yourself with your camera's self-timer options.
Using the Proper Lens
Different lenses play different roles in nature photography, so you will want to use an SLR camera for maximum flexibility in changing lenses. A wide-angle lens will allow you to capture more substance in your frame and can help you put more emphasis on particular objects by getting closer to them. Macro lenses are terrific for getting close-up shots of smaller objects such as insects and flowers. Last but not least, using a telephoto lens will make the objects that are closer to you appear larger than the objects that are further away from you.
Adapting to Light and Adjusting Your Focus
Having the skills to make the necessary adjustments to your camera and flash is very important in nature photography, as is maintaining the proper focus. Aperture, ISO and shutter speed play the key roles in this matter and you must have extensive knowledge on how all three of them come together to make great shots.
For the most part, aperture is used to establish the desired focus. If you want your Depth of Field to be amplified throughout the entirety of your photograph, then you will need to use a higher F-stop (smaller aperture). On the contrary, if you are looking to keep your foreground or background out of focus, a larger aperture will do the trick.
Either way, once you've determined what portion of your frame needs to be in focus, you will have to adjust your ISO and shutter speed to compensate for the lack (or overabundance) of light. Higher ISO's capture more light as do slower shutter speeds. Take some time to experiment with these settings so you know which ones work best for certain situations.
Keep All of Your Photos!
Don't ever dismiss a photograph because it doesn't agree with your goals at the time. A shot that didn't produce the effect that you desired could easily catch your eye a few weeks, or even months later. Keep a healthy stock of photos that you may want to come back to - you could easily gain more post-production skills in the future that will allow you to edit these pieces to make them better suited for your portfolio.
Finally, be sure to enjoy yourself. A great aspect of nature photography is having the opportunity to get involved with the beauty of the world around you, so don't forget to allow yourself to bask in the scene of your shots.