Outdoor Photography How To

Polarizing filters make pictures look like they were taken at either the North Pole or the South Pole. Rotating the Polarizing filter shifts the appearance from North Pole to South Pole and back again. They are not always used to photograph Polar Bears; it’s easy to understand the confusion, but there are no Polar Bears at the South Pole. Polarizers are important because our ice masses are disappearing, melting away and raising the sea level around Miami. When the ice caps are gone, the only way we’ll have to recreate them—or Miami, for that matter—is with Photoshop.

Okay, I made some of this up. But I do know how Polarizers work and why you should use one. Please read on…

The sunny days of summer are drawing to a close, and overcast autumn weather is right around the corner. That means numerous opportunities for capturing the moody days of fall. In the video below, you’ll see how to shoot fantastic photos once the evening temperature drops and fog rolls in across the morning landscape.

One of the keys to a great portrait is to create separation between your model and the background, to minimize distracting elements and direct the viewer’s eye to your subject. This is particularly true when shooting outdoors where cluttered backgrounds are common.

If you’ve seen the classic 1973 film “Day for Night” you’re no doubt familiar with the cinematic technique, popularized by director Francois Truffaut, of making imagery shot during the day look like it was captured at night. And with a few quick steps in Lightroom, you can do much the same thing with your photographs.

The great thing about bird photography is that it’s an accessible activity you can pursue close to home at a local park or nature center—or even in the privacy of your backyard. And if you want to take a drive to a nearby forest, lake, or seashore, even more opportunities abound.

The Rule of Thirds is a very helpful compositional guideline that is a great reference point for beginner photographers or seasoned professionals. As with any photography rule, they really are meant to be broken, so take this as more of a general guideline than a defined rule.

How do you decide which lens to use for a particular shot? For outdoor photographer Mark Denney, who only owns two lenses, the choice would seem to be relatively easy. He still has to determine though, which one to pick.