Nature photography can be fun anywhere you are and doesn’t necessarily require a lot of equipment or an expensive camera. I often take photos with a DSLR but almost just as often I use my iPhone or small mirrorless camera which doesn’t allow for as many options but allows for quick easy photographing. Dependent on where and what I want to photograph, I may bring along a tripod but often times I am wandering through a park or trail with my dog, camera and a coffee in hand, so don’t want a lot of cumbersome equipment with me. Here are a few simple tips to think of the next time you head outdoors with your camera.
Be watchful, pay attention to what is around you and take a photo to remember the moment, the scene, the beauty of what you see. Nature photography requires patience as you may need to wait for a bird to move into the light or the wind may be blowing and you’ll wait for a quiet, still moment to capture a shot of a flower. I often visit a local botanical garden and will sit and wait quietly as the birds flutter around, waiting for the right moment to take my photo. I tread quietly as I wander through the paths, always watchful of everything around me. There is nothing I enjoy more than spending some time outdoors, enjoying the west coast of B.C. and having fun taking photos. Each season offers something to photograph, and each time I re-visit an area I find something new and different that catches my eye.
Not only is it important to look at the foreground, at your subject, but looking to see what is in the background is equally important. Is there anything displeasing in the background that you might be able to eliminate or reduce the impact of by moving your position slightly. Often times, you only have a few moments to capture a shot with a moving subject but by shifting your weight from one leg to the other, this quick shift to the left or right can make a difference in what is captured in the background as you frame your subject.
Looking for uncluttered backgrounds is often preferred but sometimes you want the background to be more prominent, there may be something in the background that compliments your subject, or there may be interesting color, texture or patterns. Regardless of what you may or may not want in your background, just being aware of it, and thinking for a moment about the relationship of the background to the foreground will help you capture the photo you desire.
Looking at how the light illuminates your subject helps you to figure out where to position yourself between the light source (usually the sun) and the subject. Try moving yourself if possible, looking to see how the light illuminates when it shines directly on your subject or off to the side. If you are able to bring along a reflector, you can use that to bounce light onto your subject but I have to say that I almost never bring one because like I said previously, I like to travel light (even through reflectors are fairly lightweight).
Leading lines can help to draw your eye toward your subject i.e. waves, fences, branches, etc which direct your eye toward the subject. Repetitive patterns are also pleasing. Try focusing on your main subject but include other similar patterns in your framing.
Texture and shape is interesting when you get up close and it is especially important to pay attention to the light, where it is casting a shadow. If you have a camera that allows you to change your aperture, creating background blur helps to put more focus on your main subject or you might create blur in your foreground, which also puts more focus on your main subject while creating a blurred framing around your subject, such as looking through a chain-link fence at a field of flowers behind it. Tree branches can create a nice framing for your photo.
Nature photography has an abundance of color, such as a blue sky, greenery and flowers. By taking a look at what is around your subject, you may wish to include the colors or not, that may be around your subject. Ways to do this are to move your body, come in close or pull back, shoot upwards or downwards or shoot on a level plane.
Because I often shoot with my iPhone, I try to set up my framing before I take a shot, so that all I need to do is apply an iPhone Pic-Tap-Go filter and it’s ready to send to Instagram or scrapbook with. By taking a bit of time to check lighting, foreground/background, color and leading lines, I can be sure to capture a pleasing image. I try to get as straight a horizon as I can so I don’t need to crop later in editing and I watch for highlights and shadows, Whatever camera you have, grab it and head outdoors to see what you can find.
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