Capturing nature’s beauty on camera can be tricky. Getting the exposure right along with the angle is not a piece of cake. How many times do we miss the perfect shot just because the camera focus wasn’t right or that the subject’s habitat was cropped from the frame?
We understand your agony. Hence, why we’re here with a few tips and tricks you can keep handy every time you’re out in the wild improving your nature photography with your camera lens.
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Histogram
Image Source: B&H Photo Video Pro Audio
The histogram helps you get the perfect exposure on your images. While some believe in fixing the pictures during post-production, checking your histogram during shooting will give you an accurate idea about what’s actually hitting the lens. The ideal histogram must be arched in the middle and slightly touching the sides. Although, some files may not provide such exposures so there’s no need to reshoot in such cases.
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Wide Angle Lens
A landscape’s best friend is a wide angle lens. You can follow different techniques of wide angle photography to work with your wide angle lens. From focusing on the subject to capturing the subject in its environment, a wide angle lens gives you the freedom of experimenting with the landscape and creating masterpieces.
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Weather Forecast
Instead of curling up with a good book and a hot cup of coffee on a rainy day (although, I wouldn’t mind doing that) grab your camera and get out. Overcast days may seem gloomy to get a good picture but if you can manage to capture a streak of sunlight sneaking through the clouds, my friend, you can create magic.
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Camera Angles
Don’t resort to traditional camera angles. Try to work your tripod and your camera in ways with which you can get, not just the subject, but it’s habitat on film too. Try to create a build up to your subject through your camera. Make the audience anticipate how captivating the subject is.
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Follow the Sun
Get up early, grab your gear and start exploring the wildlife around you. Try to capture them in first light when there is not too much of a crowd. Sunlight and sunset provide the best light for shooting. Unlike mid-day, it’s not too bright for overexposure and not too dark for underexposure, like the evening.
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Attention to Detail
Look around and think what would stand out in the picture. Is it the mountain in the distance or the vast field of wildflowers? Take your time to soak in the habitat. Capture multiple pictures and decide what your subject should be. Experiment with the environment and don’t leave out any detail. The littlest of flower buds could give you your best picture.
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Know Your Device
Experimentation is essential with the device you’re working with. Your camera should be more than a machine; it should be a part of you out in the wild. Test all its settings, try different angles (as mentioned above) and work with all the modes it provides – night, shutter priority, manual. Trying out different camera settings. It’ll only help you understand what settings you need to get what you want out of your nature shot.
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Patience
Probably one of the most important tips to get that perfect nature shot – patience. You may have to wait for hours or even days to get the shot you strolled out in the wild for. Wildlife is unpredictable. If you’re shooting animals, you will have to judge their behaviour before you go in to take pictures. Even if you do get them in the position you want, you still may not get a good shot. But you will learn from experience. And as the great French photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson, once said, “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”
So take your gear and camp out in the wild. Set up your camera and you could be the next stalwart in nature photography. Take in the moment. Breathe in the scent of nature and watch the wildlife go by as you mix yourself in and make some memories for yourself.
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This article was written by Sienna Thibault. If you want to contact her for feedback, send her an email.
