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nature photography tips and tutorials

Wildlife

How three bananas can help improve your wildlife photography skills

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(c) iStockPhoto / Lucas Cornwell
(c) iStockPhoto / Lucas Cornwell
One of the hardest parts about photographing wildlife is learning how to use a long lens. There’s a lot of little things you have to get used to with that big lens.

One of those is simply learning how to quickly locate your subject in the viewfinder. With such a long lens (around 400mm or greater), you have such a small field of view that it becomes hard to locate your subject.

Being able to locate your subject quickly is important because you usually only have a second or two to take a shot. This is something I learned pretty quick when I went to photograph hawks with my dad a few weeks ago.

Well, I’ve thought of a little exercise that will help you get used to locating your subjects through that long lens–and it involves three bananas. And, don’t worry: I’m not gonna tell you to use the bananas as bait! [Read more…] about How three bananas can help improve your wildlife photography skills

Quick tip for getting sharper wildlife photos

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Anna's Hummingbird (male) / Photo by Steve Berardi
Anna's Hummingbird (male) / Photo by Steve Berardi
Getting sharp photos of wildlife is a constant battle. With an uncontrollable and constantly moving subject, you usually end up with a lot more blurry shots than sharp ones.

To increase your chances of getting a sharp shot, you can do things like shoot in JPEG to help you take a lot more photos in a burst.

And, if you’re shooting in JPEG, there’s one more setting you should adjust to make your sharp photos even sharper. It won’t do anything for the blurry shots, but it’ll make those good shots even better. [Read more…] about Quick tip for getting sharper wildlife photos

7 great resources for winter photography

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Photo by Steve Berardi
Photo by Steve Berardi
We’re starting to get a good layer of snow on the mountains here in southern California, so I figured now’s a good time to start getting ready for some winter photos.

There are a few unique problems with winter photography because of the bright white snow and cold weather. So, here are a few resources to help you deal with these problems and capture some great natural light this winter season: [Read more…] about 7 great resources for winter photography

How to use the “special” RGB Histogram

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IMG_0506fA few weeks ago, I explained how to use the histogram to get a better exposure. And although the default histogram will give you a general idea of an image’s exposure, there’s actually a special histogram that’ll tell you a lot more: the RGB histogram.

Here’s how it works:

If you understand the regular histogram, then the RGB histogram is simple: it shows you the histogram of each individual color channel (red, green, and blue).

The bad thing about the regular histogram is that it lumps all these color channels together, making it hard for you to see if you’re underexposing or overexposing a specific color channel. And, on some cameras, I’ve heard that the regular histogram only shows you the green channel. [Read more…] about How to use the “special” RGB Histogram

How To Get Better Control of Autofocus

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IMG_0482cSometimes autofocus can be really annoying. For some shots it’ll focus on the right part of your subject, but then the very next shot it may choose to focus on something far and away into the background.

In a previous post, I shared a few ways to avoid problems like this, but I just found a new solution that I like a lot better: back-button autofocusing.

Here’s how it works:

Normally, your camera will auto focus when you press the shutter button halfway, but with back-button autofocusing, you have to press a button on the back of the camera instead, giving you complete control of when autofocus is initiated. [Read more…] about How To Get Better Control of Autofocus

RAW vs. JPEG: Who wins?

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rawjpegIt seems to be one of the biggest debates in digital photography–what’s better: RAW or JPEG? Who wins?

Some pro photographers say JPEG: you should always know the perfect settings for a photo. And others say always shoot in RAW: it’s better quality and you have more power to change things later on.

Well, I think both formats have advantages and disadvantages, so rather than take one side for everything, I’ll run through some of the key differences between them, and then suggest when each format makes sense. [Read more…] about RAW vs. JPEG: Who wins?