Outdoor Photography How To

Regular readers know that I emphasize in these columns the idea of visualizing opportunities that will set your images apart from the rest. There is another aspect to that idea, and that’s setting your images apart from each other. In other words, adding variety to your photography by adding, and even combining, techniques.

One primary task of all photographers is to guide a viewer's through an image to the primary subject within the scene, which is one reason why judicious sharpening is so essential. It's also a well-established fact that the human eye is generally most attracted to the brightest and sharpest areas in a photo.

Selective focus is a popular technique when you want to separate a prominent foreground subject from the background. Other times, especially with landscape photography, the goal is to shoot the scene so everything appears sharp—from the foreground to the background.

Outdoor photographers often confront a confounding challenge when shooting scenes with an extremely wide range of tones from deep shadows to bright highlights and everything in between. The problem is this: Their cameras lack sufficient dynamic range capabilities to nail an exposure in one shot.

Regardless of the genre of photography you enjoy most, sooner or later you'll be asked to shoot a few portraits of family or friends. Many photographers shy away from this task, either because don't know where to begin, or they're under the misconception that a studio and expensive/complicated lighting equipment is an absolute necessity.

Many photographers shy away from portraiture because of the misconception that a studio, expensive lights, and special skills are required to make images that impress. The quick tutorial below, from Adorama TV, dispels that myth and demonstrates how to make beautiful images outdoors with available light (and a few pro tips).

You don’t have to be an experienced landscape photographer to appreciate the magic of sunset and sunrise. In fact, these spectacular scenes are among the most commonly photographed by anyone with a camera.