After buying a telephoto or macro camera lens, most budding photographers will immediately want to start taking frame-filling photographs of animals and plants against smooth backgrounds.
Whilst this type of nature photography is certainly stunning, it can become dull after a while if this is the only style used. By following a few tips, photographers such as John Quarenghi can take beautiful nature photographs every time.
In addition to tips for the photography itself, there are certain safety steps that photographers should take if they are shooting off the beaten track. You can find out more about these safety steps by taking a look at the embedded PDF.
Bad Lighting
Many nature photographers make the mistake of dismissing lighting that isn’t perfect, but in fact, this can be more exciting to look at. Photographs taken in these conditions can often be stunning because they are different than the norm. To create something new in this way, look out for backlight, harsh sunlight, and even cloudy skies.
Wide Apertures
By shooting with a wide-open aperture, photographers can benefit from a fast shutter speed without needing to resort to high ISO values. In addition, the shallow depth of field this results in will allow for more control over the image’s background.
Some new photographers will worry if the entire photograph isn’t in focus. However, some of the most aesthetic nature photographs are those where only part of the subject is focused.
Don’t Fill the Frame
Photographers do not need to completely fill the frame to achieve great nature photos. If the subject seems like they are too far away, forget cropping. Instead, this should be seen as an opportunity to take gorgeous photographs that include the environment around your subject. Photographing in this manner can be more difficult because photographers will need to think about the composition of their photographs.
Take Advantage of Water
Many locations and subjects will look even better if you take advantage of any surrounding water. Reflections of mountains in lakes or forests in a river are all examples of stunning photography work.
To take truly stunning mirrored images, photographers will need to use a tripod. A slow shutter speed will produce the best reflection quality; however, this does mean that you will need to eliminate shaking where possible.