It may not seem like it, given the horrendous winter weather that swept across the country last week, but the onset of spring is barely a month away. And the new season brings with it a variety of interesting opportunities for macro and close-up photography.
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.
An ultra-wide-angle lens would seem to be a fun tool to use for landscape photography, but it comes with some inherent problems that are hard to avoid, explains landscape pro Mark Denney in the below video. When Denney switched last year from a Sony full frame camera system to a Fujifilm crop sensor camera, he ended up buying a Fujifilm 8-16mm lens, which is the equivalent to a 12-24mm lens.
Sometimes you capture a really nice landscape photo that needs just a bit more punch. And that what you’ll learn to do in this quick Photoshop tutorial from one of our favorite image-editing instructors.
Lens Filters were more commonly used back when everyone shot film, perhaps because some digital photographers are imbued with the notion that “You can always fix it in Photoshop.” And that’s a shame because putting a filter on your lens is an easy way to “get it right in the camera,” rather than resorting to post-processing enhancements.
Using long exposures during the day is a great way to create unique landscape and nature photos. This technique results in an ethereal look, with soft, dreamy water and cotton-like clouds. The typical approach is using ND filters to dramatically reduce the amount of light entering the camera, but there’s a post-processing trick for getting the job done.
Wildlife photography provides a number of unique challenges, not the least of which is locating the subjects you intend to shoot. One often has to deal with difficult light, whether it’s midday sun, deep shadows, or impending darkness when some species are most active.
One of the great things about photographing birds, especially during these days of relative isolation, is that you needn’t travel far to capture amazing images. In fact, with the proper skills, you can often shoot spectacular photos in your own backyard.
One way to give photos a different and dramatic look is to cast your subjects in a totally different light. In other words, expose for stunning silhouettes and forget about details. As you’ll see in the video below, this creative approach is easy to accomplish, and you needn’t limit your subjects to people.
Wide-angles lenses are an important component of a landscape photographer’s arsenal, because they make it easy to capture the splendor of expansive vistas. In this tutorial you’ll learn a specific application for wide-angle nature photography; namely, shooting beautiful sunset and blue hour images.
We all know that it’s ultimately the photographer—not the gear—that’s responsible for incredible images. But there’s no doubt that appropriate, quality equipment will make the process easier and more enjoyable whenever you head out into the field.
Sometimes you come across a great scene, apart from the fact that two or more objects in the frame are too close together for an ideal composition. In some situations it’s possible to rectify the problem by changing your vantage point, but if that’s not possible there’s a quick editing fix.
Life would be so much easier if there was one “best” way to shoot various types of images. Unfortunately there’s not, because photography is a subjective art. That said you will increase your odds of creating winning landscape photos if you follow the advice outlined below.
Whether you’re a nature photographer, travel shooter, or portrait specialist, you’re no doubt familiar with several “Rules” of composition that are intended to help add impact to your work. There are two common themes running through of all of these guidelines. One is to grab the attention of those looking at your photos, and the other is to guide a viewer’s eye through the image in the way you intend.
If you're just learning about landscape photography you have, no doubt, heard about the importance of adding foreground elements to your photos when shooting with wide-angle lenses. But how does one find a good foreground subject of interest to use in a landscape image and what sort of elements should you look for?