In the world of nature photography, where landscapes and wildlife can tell a story without saying a word, every photo speaks volumes. In this blog post, we will introduce five tips and tricks to upgrade your nature photography skills, ensuring that you'll capture the beauty and intricacies of the natural world through your lens every single time.
1. Bring the Proper Equipment
Bringing the proper equipment not only helps you capture technically and creatively elevated shots, but allows you to adapt to the diverse and dynamic environment that is the outdoors.
Here are some ideas of what to bring:
DSLR camera (iPhones and Androids work just fine, too)
Extra lenses for versatile shots
Reflectors, diffusers, or external flashes if natural light isn't cutting it
Tripod for stability
Waterproof camera bags or lens hoods for wet weather conditions
2. Take Advantage of Long Exposure for Moving Subjects
Fast shutter speeds are useful in low-light situations, or in situations where it's essential to freeze fast movement. This includes slow-moving wildlife, moving water or clouds. It adds a smoothing, motion blur effect to the photo, but still maintains the pixel intensity and brightness.
3. Utilize Composition Techniques
Traditional composition techniques should be applied in nature photography, too. The rule of thirds, leading lines, negative space, and reflections are all standard photography practices designed to make photographs visually compelling. Consider integrating these guidelines when shooting landscapes and wildlife.
Rule of Thirds: Visualize your image into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. This guideline suggests that you should place your subject in the left or right third of the image, leaving the other two thirds open.
Leading Lines: Leading lines guide the viewer's eye through the image, either toward a focal point or subject of interest. Not only does it create depth and visual interest, but enhances the overall composition. Examples of leading lines in nature include rivers or streams, tree branches, coastlines, or trails.
Negative Space: Negative space is the area around the subject of the photo. It emphasizes the subject, but also encourages you to observe the space around the subject. This technique fosters a sense of minimalism, balance, and mystery.
Reflection: This photography hack adds major visual interest to your landscape or wildlife photography. It encourages the viewer to explore the photo further.
4. Improve Photos With Natural Light
Midday light can create harsh shadows, overexposed highlights, and unflattering contrasts. Instead, opt for morning or evening sessions, where the lighting is softer and subjects are illuminated evenly.
Golden hour, which occurs an hour after sunrise and before sunset, is another ideal time for outdoor photography. The diffused light and warm glow from the sun evokes certain emotions within a photo.
5. Shoot Subjects in Their Natural Environment
Photographing animals in their natural habitats maximizes the impact of your work. It reinforces authenticity, encourages emotional connections, and sheds light on wildlife and their ecosystems. Take the image below, for instance. You can feel the majesty, power, and strength of the hippopotamus in its natural environment.
Armed with these techniques and a passion for the great outdoors, you will advance your photography skills and develop a deeper appreciation for the world around us. Feel free to join the discussion, and share any outdoor photography tips in the comments down below!