Nature Photography

Tips for Outstanding Nature Photography

Nature photography Photographers who consistently create outstanding nature photography have mastered both their equipment and their art. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced nature photographer, these tips will help you shoot great landscape, nature, wildlife and underwater pictures.

Choose the Right Gear for Nature Photography

Lens. A great lens is more important than your camera in nature photography. For landscape pictures, carry a lens that includes wide-angle capability of 28mm. For animal photography, choose the longest focal length you can afford.
Tripod. Choose the heaviest tripod you can carry. Five pounds is generally sufficient for stability yet light enough for travel. For extra stability, you can hang your camera bag from the tripod. If you’re shooting from a vehicle, you can substitute a beanbag for the tripod. Remember that you should not hand-hold the camera using a normal or 50mm lens at shutter speeds longer than 1/60 of a second. The longer the lens, the shorter the shutter speed that can be hand-held without blurring the image. For example, you should not attempt to hand-hold a 200mm lens at a shutter speed slower than 1/250 of a second.
Film. Use professional slide film for all underwater, landscape and animal photography. It has the lowest contrast and widest color range. Choose the slowest speed film your light conditions will allow. The finer the grain of the film, the larger you can print the final image without significant loss of detail. Grain will tend to show up in areas of a photo with large blocks of the same color. In nature photography it is often the sky that will reveal the most grain. The most common film for nature photography is ASA 50 or 100 slide film, and ASA 100 negative film.

Lighting Tips for Nature Photography

Shoot in the early morning or late afternoon, when long shadows begin to permeate the landscape. These shadows add a 3-dimensional feel to your pictures. If you shoot mid-day, use a polarizing filter. A polarizer makes the colors richer and the sky appear darker. The drawback to using a polarizer is that it can give the photo a slight green tinge. You can add a skylight filter that has a slight magenta tone, to correct for this.
If the ground is in shadow and the sky is still bright, use a split neutral density filter. Place the dark half over the sky and the clear half over the land. This will bring the two exposures closer together and display an image as your eyes see it.
When shooting sunsets, you can enhance the lighting effect by using a sunset filter. Place the colored half, usually red or yellow, over the sky, and the clear half over the land.
Understand how your light meter works to get good results no matter what the lighting. Study the instruction manual that came with your meter or camera.

Nailing the Shot in Nature Photography

Know the Subject. Understanding basic biology will help you get the best photograph. Become familiar with the habits of underwater and land animals and where you might travel to look for them.
Anticipate the Shot. Before you pack your gear, have the shot you want in mind. If you’ve prepared by knowing your subject, you’ll know what behaviors to expect.
Avoid Using Flash. If you’re close to your subject, you risk startling it and injuring yourself. If you’re far from your subject, flash is not useful.

Ideas for Unique Nature Photographs

Go out on bad weather days. Some of the best nature images are captured during inclement weather. Keep in mind that rain and sand pose a hazard to camera gear. To protect your equipment, pack a clean plastic garbage bag in your backpack. Slip the bag over the camera to protect it from damage.
Don’t feel compelled to always have your subject fill the frame. Add interest by including components of the animal’s habitat. Foreground should be minimized in animal pictures, but in landscape photography, more foreground can lend better perspective.
Get level with the animal. Change your perspective by getting down to dirt level with land animals, or change your buoyancy to get eye level with animals for underwater pictures.
Experiment. The way to improve your nature photographs is by trying things that you’ve never done before. Although you will sometimes be disappointed, you will occasionally find a technique that allows you to produce truly interesting photographs.