Use Nature Photography Tips for
STUNNING RESULTS

OK, then. Let's begin with the nature photography tips that can pretty much be applied to everything; not just for the water or sky.

In addition to your regular-old-everyday perspective, build up your awareness as a photographer first, and then as your viewfinder. As a photographer observes their surroundings, they are aware of light and shadows, 360 degree perspective on subjects, and numerous other criteria.

Simultaneously, there is an awareness of how much of the subject (whether it is an enormous landscape, or a macro view of a butterfly) can fill their camera's viewfinder (which is related to the size of their lens - wide angle to telephoto).

By thinking as a viewfinder when you observe your surroundings, you will be able to eliminate unsightly elements that exist, while you emphasize the subject you want.

As just one nature photography tip example, let's say that there is an unsightly mess in the middle of your ideal location. Rather than giving up and moving on to the next location, find the perspective and best lens size to capture it, while keeping the mess out of the viewfinder. Don’t be afraid to move around and completely change your perspective.

• Note the areas that are in light vs. shade. One is not necessarily better than the other... it depends on what you want to achieve.

• Generally speaking, it is easier to compose a good photograph that is entirely located in either sun or shade, than one having both in the same photo (too difficult to achieve ideal contrast).

• Shadows can have a dramatically different impact on a picture, depending on the angle from where the picture was taken.

• A basic nature photography tip concerns when to take photographs. Generally, the best light is within 2 hours of sunrise and the last 2 hours before sunset.

• When taking outdoor portraits, avoid direct sunlight on your subjects' faces. The best results will happen under overcast skies. Although not technically a "nature" photography tip, remember that bright sunny days are not automatically the best for taking pictures.

  Using fill-flash on a subject 5-10 feet away will produce a better result on a cloudy day than not using it on a bright sunny day.

• When taking family portraits, experiment changing your white balance setting from "auto" to either "cloudy" or "shade." See if you notice a warmer looking photo when using the cloudy or shade white balance settings.

• Many of these nature photography tips come down to personal preferences. Once you determine what YOU like best, go with that, regardless of what you read.

As a bonus nature photography tip, let's discuss those huge fountains that kids are always running into. If those kids happen to be yours, you can change the look of the water spraying on your children, in two dramatically different ways:

• A fast shutter speed (1/500 second and faster) will turn the spray into individual drops.

• A slow shutter speed (1/4 second and slower) will turn the spray into cotton candy. Only attempt this shot with a tripod and a stationary subject.

If there is too much light to have that long an exposure, you might want to get some neutral density filters. These handy filters are discussed later on this page. However, if you can't wait, look here.

Use the self-timer so you can also be in the shot. The only instructions to give everyone is to not move a muscle for however long the shutter is open.

Nature photography tip #244 1/2
Be Aware of Potential Cotton Candy Issue

Now that I've gotten you all excited, and you've probably made some wall space for the "Family Cotton Candy" photographs, you may run into a problem due to the limitations of your camera.

For any given outdoor situation, there is a specific amount of light available. Therefore, a shutter speed of 1/250 second combined with an F-stop of 8.0, will produce the same exposure for a photograph as a shutter speed of 1/400 second with an F-stop of 6.3. What?

Think of it this way: water pouring out a hole in the bottom of a bucket for 1 second will produce the same amount of water as a different bucket with a larger hole, but only pouring out for say, 1/2 second.

Make sense? (Didn't realize this was going to be such a scientific nature photography tip, did you?) A larger opening kept open for a shorter time period produces the same result as a smaller opening kept open for a longer time period.

F-stops equate to the size of the opening. The confusing part is that in photography, an F-stop of 8.0 is SMALLER THAN an F-stop of 6.3. So, since F-8 is smaller, it has to remain open for a longer period of time (1/250 second is longer than 1/400 second). Here's where we get back to the potential problem you may run into.

Pull out that trusty owner's manual and check your camera's limit on the smallest possible F-stop (largest F number). Is it F-11, F-18, F-22? The reason this is important is - if you need to set your shutter speed at 1 second (to get the desired cotton candy effect), that may equate to needing an F-32 F-stop. If your camera's F-stop doesn't go that small, you have 2 choices:

1. Keep the shutter open less than 1 second, and not get the desired photograph you want, or

2. Keep it open for 1 second, set the F-stop as small as it will go, and wind up with an over-exposing photograph.

Since neither choice is desirable, what do you do? You look up Nature Photography Tip #265... which states that you need to fool your camera into thinking it is darker out than it really is. The way to do that is with what's known as a "Neutral Density Filter."

All a Neutral Density Filter is, is a darkened piece of glass or plastic that you screw on or place in front of the camera lens. Because the camera now thinks it's much darker, you can keep the shutter open for 1 second at F-22 without over-exposing the picture.

Check for accessory filters available for your camera, and you will probably find them available in different strengths. There's no magic formula for how many of which strength (of darkness) is the right amount. It really depends on how often you think you'll want to do a long exposure during daylight hours.

In a pinch, consider placing the lens from a dark pair of sunglasses over your camera lens, and determine how much impact it will have. Just make sure it's well cleaned first.

In spite of what we just covered on the neutral density filter, almost all photographers agree that the single most valuable filter you can have is a circular polarizer filter. On the above photo, we were able to use a circular polarizer to turn the standing water into a mirror and capture the sky. (Not impressed yet? Read on.)

And, if that wasn't enough, by adjusting the filter, we made the sky even more blue. Oh, what the heck... here's another nature photography tip - this time, for how to photograph what is under the water. Turn the circular polarizer until you can see under the water! It's that simple. Photo-magic!

This versatile filter will also allow you to see below the surface of still water, and remove the glare or reflection from windows or shiny surfaces. And, if that weren't enough, using them in landscape photos will produce a more saturated-color look.

It won't take much practice to see dramatic results between your polarized and non-polarized photos. When using them for taking family portraits in front of landscapes, the filter will make it a little bit darker. In this case, consider using fill-flash for your family, while the polarizer handles the landscape very nicely.

The picture on the right is of the flags reflected off the surface of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. By intent, the names on the wall are in focus (although difficult to tell in this sized photograph), while the flags were intentionally out of focus.

These are just a few examples of what a circular polarizer can do. To find the best prices on ALL filters, tripods, shutter releases, etc, check it out on the internet...

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