PhotoNaturalist - nature photography tips and tutorials

nature photography tips and tutorials

nature

Setting Photography Goals

by 1 Comment

Photo by Steve Berardi
Photo by Steve Berardi
At this time of year, it’s common for us to reflect on the past year: what we accomplished, what we wished to accomplish, etc. It’s also the time we start thinking about what we want to accomplish in the new year.

I always like to create a list of goals at the beginning of each year, and check in on those goals throughout the year. But, I’ve never really set any photography-specific goals before. So, for next year, I’m trying something new: for each month, I’m thinking of a specific image I want to create that month.

For example, for January I want to create a black and white image of a creosote bush (a common plant in the California deserts): either an image showing one of them blurred by the strong wind of the desert or a close-up that shows the contrast in their branches. For May, I want to photograph the silhouette of an oak tree on a hill, and maybe with a crescent moon in the sky. [Read more…] about Setting Photography Goals

New eBook – Nature Photography: Understanding the Camera

by 4 Comments

Nature Photography - Understanding the Camera (eBook)Today, I’m very excited to announce the release of my new eBook, Nature Photography: Understanding the Camera. This eBook will teach you how to use your camera to photograph the wonderful moments you observe in nature. It covers all types of nature photography, including landscapes, wildlife, and close-ups.

I’ve been working on this eBook for years, and the reason it took me so long to write this book is that it was hard deciding what to include, what to leave out, and thinking of the best ways to explain some of the more complex aspects of the camera.

The concepts in this book apply to any kind of manual digital camera (any camera that allows you to change the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO), but many of the concepts apply to all types of cameras. The goal of the book is to give you complete creative control of your camera, without getting too technical. [Read more…] about New eBook – Nature Photography: Understanding the Camera

Composition Basics In Microphotography

by 3 Comments

Photo by Huub de Ward
Portrait of small Jewel bug: Magnification 7, f/9, ISO 100 and 1/250 sec.
Microphotography is magical because it takes us into a smaller universe of vibrant colors, exquisite details and extraordinary patterns that can literally take your breath away. I photograph invertebrates so close-up that they are transformed into large subjects. Through my images I aim to highlight the different characteristics of a variety of species – and their individual charm.

Microphotography can be challenging because it involves moving in close and magnifying what is there beyond our normal perception of it. As a consequence, we need to pay a lot of attention to every detail we see in the view finder because it will have a huge impact on the overall look and feel of the image. Where we place the subject in the frame (i.e. composition) is critical; even the smallest movement left-right, up-down, can substantially change its impact. [Read more…] about Composition Basics In Microphotography

Using Your Smartphone As a Post-Processing Playground

by Leave a Comment

Photo by Steve Berardi
Photo by Steve Berardi
Post-processing is one of the most important steps of creating a powerful image (as my dad wrote about in a previous post). Ansel Adams once said, “The negative is the equivalent of the composer’s score, and the print the performance.” In modern day digital photography, post-processing leads to the “performance” part that Adams refers to. A RAW file from your camera can go in so many different directions.

In the past year or so, I’ve been really trying to improve my post-processing skills (especially with landscape images), and I discovered that one of the best ways to practice is using your smartphone.

The great thing about the smartphone is that it’s a camera and a little computer built into one small device that’s always with you. There’s tons of excellent photo editing apps that have professional editing abilities—my personal favorite is Snapseed (available for iPhone and Android), but I’ll get more into specific apps in a future post. [Read more…] about Using Your Smartphone As a Post-Processing Playground

Benefits of Using a Flash Extender

by 7 Comments

Flash ExtenderNote from the editor (Steve): This is a post by our newest writer: Robert Visconti. He primarily photographs wildlife (especially birds), and he’s got some really cool ideas for DIY projects and optimizing your camera gear. In this post, he talks about using flash extenders and how to make one work better.

A flash extender is just that: it extends the flash’s output to a much greater distance by using a Fresnel lens. A flash without the extender literally “floods” the entire subject area with light. The extender takes this conical shape of light and concentrates it into a beam, hence its name. [Read more…] about Benefits of Using a Flash Extender

New eBook – 53 Tips For Nature Photography

by Leave a Comment

53 Tips For Nature PhotographyIn the last six years, we’ve published over 240 posts here on PhotoNaturalist. With each new post, it gets harder to dig through the older posts and find the ones you might be interested in. It’s one of the most common comments I get from new readers.

So, I thought now was a good time to create a “best of PhotoNaturalist” eBook that contains all of our most popular posts (but only including posts written by me, because I do not have permission to resell other writers’ posts).

The eBook is 108 pages, and has 53 of my top posts. I determined the “top posts” by looking at traffic, and how much each post was shared on social media. I also tried to include a nice balance of subjects, so I separated the posts into four sections: general, landscape, wildlife, and close-up. [Read more…] about New eBook – 53 Tips For Nature Photography