Outdoor Photography How To

Let’s face it: we’ve all seen, taken, edited, judged, read, or written about so many photographs over so many years, sometimes we get…well, jaded. Then, if we’re lucky, along comes something that delivers a jolting reminder of the surprise and delight photography is capable of delivering.

The great thing about bird photography it that it’s a passion you can pursue year-round. But let’s face it: Capturing superb images of our feather friends can be difficult unless you know a few tricks.

Most of our tutorials involve tips, tricks, and techniques you can use to capture more compelling images. But today we’re going to switch things up by describing what NOT to do when shooting landscape, travel, and nature images.

Quite a few photographers prefer making portraits with available light—either because they prefer the look, or they don’t own supplemental light equipment. It’s possible to do that indoors, like when using window lighting, but the typical approach is to shoot outdoors.

It was shortly after I’d completed a remote Zoom presentation to a group of camera-club members that I decided to share some of the images and main points of my talk in this column. I show photographs, explain the process of making them, and answer questions, and at a time when in-person workshops, camera club meetings, and field trips were impossible, doing Zoom sessions was a welcome chance for members of the photo community to stay connected, motivated, and inspired.

Let’s face it: Not all of us have the time or means to go on safari to photograph exotic animals in their natural habitat. The next best option is a trip to the local zoo with a long lens, and that can be a load of fun.

British pro Nigel Danson is one of our favorite outdoor photographers and image-editing instructors. So when he claims to have discovered a “secret” Lightroom tool he now uses to process every image he shoots, we stop and pay attention. And you should too.