Nature Photography How To

Wildlife photography provides a number of unique challenges, not the least of which is locating the subjects you intend to shoot. One often has to deal with difficult light, whether it’s midday sun, deep shadows, or impending darkness when some species are most active.

One of the great things about photographing birds, especially during these days of relative isolation, is that you needn’t travel far to capture amazing images. In fact, with the proper skills, you can often shoot spectacular photos in your own backyard.

One way to give photos a different and dramatic look is to cast your subjects in a totally different light. In other words, expose for stunning silhouettes and forget about details. As you’ll see in the video below, this creative approach is easy to accomplish, and you needn’t limit your subjects to people.

We all know that it’s ultimately the photographer—not the gear—that’s responsible for incredible images. But there’s no doubt that appropriate, quality equipment will make the process easier and more enjoyable whenever you head out into the field.

Whether you’re a nature photographer, travel shooter, or portrait specialist, you’re no doubt familiar with several “Rules” of composition that are intended to help add impact to your work. There are two common themes running through of all of these guidelines. One is to grab the attention of those looking at your photos, and the other is to guide a viewer’s eye through the image in the way you intend.

If you're just learning about landscape photography you have, no doubt, heard about the importance of adding foreground elements to your photos when shooting with wide-angle lenses. But how does one find a good foreground subject of interest to use in a landscape image and what sort of elements should you look for?

It’s unfortunate so many photographer overlook color theory. That’s because whether you’re a beginner or an experienced pro, even a rudimentary understanding of this concept can make a huge difference in your images. Moreover, a bit of knowledge about how colors work together will change how you go about the image-editing process.