PhotoNaturalist - nature photography tips and tutorials
nature photography tips and tutorials
An out-of-focus background is essential to a good close-up photo, because it helps draw attention to your main subject.
But, it’s not always easy to get that nice background. Sometimes the background is just too close, or your subject has a lot of depth (forcing you to try a smaller aperture, which then puts more of the background in focus).
So, how do you deal with this constant battle? Well, here are a few ways: [Read more…] about How to Win the Battle of Close-up Photography
With spring beginning here in the southwestern United States, I thought it was time to update our free ebook on wildflower photography. The original version was released about three years ago, so it was due for an update.
Most of the content is the same, but I’ve learned a lot in the last three years, so I’ve updated just about every page in the book, and replaced a few tips with newer articles.
Anyway, here’s a sneak peak of what you’ll learn in this ebook: [Read more…] about Free eBook on Wildflower Photography
But, there’s always that list of “essential” items we bring on a hike, so here’s a little peek at what I carry in my bag when I know I’ll be doing some closeup photography:
Since you won’t always have the most ideal lighting conditions, it’s helpful to carry around some tools to help you control the light. A light diffuser will probably be the one you use the most, because they help balance the light on your subject. You can get a light diffuser at a camera store, or make your own out of a wire clothes hanger and a shower curtain. [Read more…] about 5 Essential Tools For Closeup Photography
But, photographing a landscape with the moon is a little tricky and requires some patience.
One of the problems is that the moon won’t always be where you want it to be. And, since the moon is so far away, sometimes it’s hard to get both your foreground AND the moon in sharp focus.
So, here are a few tips for dealing with these problems: [Read more…] about How to Photograph Landscapes With the Moon
Sometimes autofocus can be really annoying: it’ll search and search for an object to focus on, and either never find it, or go through multiple cycles until it finally finds the right object to focus on. And by that time, you may have already missed the shot–especially if you’re photographing a quick moving subject like birds.
In previous posts, I’ve talked about a few ways you can get better control of your autofocus. But, there’s also a little switch on your lens that can help it focus faster. [Read more…] about Quick Tip for Getting a Faster Autofocus
In a previous post, I explained how you can use an extension tube to focus closer with your lens. Using one of these hollow tubes can help you fill the frame when doing close-up photography of things like flowers or butterflies.
Well, when you’re also using a teleconverter on your lens, it’s important to attach the extension tube in between the teleconverter and the lens (so, the teleconverter should be closest to the camera body). This is a little trick that I just learned from an article by Arthur Morris in the latest issue of Nature Photographer Magazine.
I was interested to find out just how much the order matters, so I did a few tests with my Canon 300mm f/4L (a lens that I love to use for close-up photos) and a 25mm extension tube. Here’s a table that summarizes my results: [Read more…] about How to Focus Closer When Using Teleconverters