Nature Photography How To

We've all had the misfortune of returning from a shoot, only to discover that our "great" images are soft and unfocused. This problem can be overlooked if it's extremely rare, but if it happens consistently there's a few problems that must be resolved.

My wide-angle lens was perfect when the late-evening shadows crept across the mountains of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The sweeping landscape, wide open and treeless, was suited to the wide field of view. Until, that is, the weather turned, and with it, my perspective on that wild place. I woke one morning to rain pattering intermittently on the nylon of my tent. Between showers, I emerged to find the mountains obscured by scudding clouds.

If you're under the impression that a high-end camera is required for fast and precise focus, well, think again, because we're going to dispel that common excuse in the next 10 minutes. The good news is that you can achieve super sharp photos with whatever camera you own by using the pro techniques demonstrated below.

Life would be so much easier if we had a single set of camera settings that worked for all types of nature photography. Unfortunately, that’s simply not possible because of ever-changing light, a wide variety of subject matter, and the need to compose various images differently.

One specification that's important to many photographers when shopping for a new camera is the number of focus points available. But do you really know how to choose the best focus point(s) at your disposal when shooting different types of images? If not, read on.

Highlights and shadows can be the bane of landscape photographers who often confront scenes with a wide range of tones that exceed the density range of their camera. Today's quick tutorial from the folks at How to Use concentrates on the former, with a straightforward Lightroom method for eliminating blown-out areas within the frame.

Panorama photos are a lot of fun to make and can really grab attention. Some cameras can automate the process by merging successive shots to achieve a pretty good result. Doing it this way may require a tripod for absolutely precise merging, and you'll still need some post-processing to finish up  the job.