Outdoor Photography How To

For those new to wildlife photography, birds provide a great opportunity for capturing impressive images. If you’re lucky enough to have a wildlife refuge nearby, that’s a great place to start. But you can also make some great photographs in your own backyard.

(Editor’s Note: Exploring Light is a monthly Shutterbug column featuring tips, tricks, and photo advice from professional photographers in the Canon Explorers of Light and Canon Legends education program. This month's column is by Adam Jones with tips on photographing wildlife and landscapes in our National Parks.

All photographers strive to make images with maximum sharpness and detail, but depending upon conditions that goal isn’t always easy to accomplish. Sometimes you can improve soft photos during the editing process, but the preferred approach is to use proper shooting techniques so you get what you want in the camera.

Mads Peter Iversen is a professional landscape photographer, but he freely admits that he still makes mistakes. Iversen even says that two major photography mistakes he makes are ones that beginner photographers typically struggle with.

There are a number of ways to portray sunset scenes, from images with a natural-looking effect to those that are more vibrant and intense. You can sometimes achieve the look you’re after in the camera, but other times a bit of processing is required.

Spring is long gone, and summer ended almost a month ago, but that doesn’t mean the time for capturing great macro images is over. There are many opportunities to pursue close-up photography year-round.

Landscape and travel scenes can be particularly striking when captured in black and white. Some photographers set their camera to monochrome so they can see the effect on the LCD screen, while others prefer to shoot in color and make the conversion during the editing process.