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Introduction To The Types of Natural Light

August 29, 2013 by Steve Berardi 7 Comments

Mojave Desert at Sunset / Photo by Steve Berardi
Mojave Desert at Sunset / Photo by Steve Berardi
Light is something you have very little control over in nature photography, but it has a big effect on the look of your photographs so it’s important to understand how different lighting conditions will affect the look of your photograph.

Here’s a short intro to the different types of light you’ll experience, along with a few ideas of what to photograph in each type of light: [Read more…] about Introduction To The Types of Natural Light

Filed Under: Tips Tagged With: affect, color, effect, landscape, light, lighting, look, moon, moonlight, moonlit, natural, overcast, sun, sunny, sunrise, sunset, type, view

How To Photograph Birds In Bad Light

December 10, 2012 by Vic Berardi 19 Comments

Photo by Vic Berardi
Photo by Vic Berardi
You’ve probably said it yourself and you’ve heard it said many times, “I decided to stay home today because the lighting was so awful.”

If you’re like many beginning bird photographers, then you check the weather forecast hoping it calls for sunny blue skies. But, then you get depressed when the forecast calls for “mostly cloudy skies” and a chance for rain or snow. You begin to wonder why you have all that expensive camera equipment!

But don’t fret too hard about it! Yes, it’s true that deep blue skies can be great for photographing birds in flight, but it’s actually cloudy skies that create the lighting situations for the most dynamic or dramatic photos, especially those of perched birds. [Read more…] about How To Photograph Birds In Bad Light

Filed Under: Tips, Wildlife Tagged With: birds, clouds, cloudy, dark, exposure, flight, handheld, hawk, light, low, overcast, perched, tripod

There’s No Such Thing As Bad Light

September 17, 2012 by Steve Berardi 9 Comments

California Poppy / Photo by Steve Berardi
California Poppy / Photo by Steve Berardi
In photography, there’s always a lot of talk about “good light” and “bad light.” Especially when it comes to specific subjects (like that popular rule that says the only “good light” for photographing landscapes is at sunrise or sunset).

But, as I create and look at more and more images, the more I’ve realized that these “rules” always have exceptions. There’s really no such thing as a type of light that’s always bad for a specific subject.

For example, it’s often said that the best light for photographing wildflowers is under overcast skies (I’ve even said it myself here on PN!). And, for a long time, I would only photograph wildflowers under overcast skies (or with some kind of light diffuser). But, then I started seeing all these great images of wildflowers under bright sunlight. I really liked how the bright sunlight helped “light up” the inside of the flower, so I started looking at wildflowers differently ever since then, and now I have numerous photos of wildflowers under bright sunlight (like the one above). [Read more…] about There’s No Such Thing As Bad Light

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: bad, bright, condition, exposure, good, landscape, light, lighting, overcast, sunny, wildflower

What To Photograph On An Overcast Day

June 12, 2012 by Steve Berardi 24 Comments

Photo by Steven Burke (used under the CC-Attr-NC-ND license)
Photo by Steven Burke (used under the CC-Attr-NC-ND license)
In Southern California, we have this thing called “June Gloom” where pretty much every day in the month of June is overcast or cloudy. Some people call it our punishment for having bright sunny days for the rest of the year.

But, I look forward to the overcast skies because although they produce some gloomy feelings, they also create some very unique lighting conditions that bring out some of the best colors found in nature. [Read more…] about What To Photograph On An Overcast Day

Filed Under: Landscapes, Tips, Wildflowers Tagged With: balanced light, clouds, cloudy days, diffused light, green, Landscapes, natural light, natural light diffuser, overcast, overcast day, rainy days, streams, Tips, waterfalls, weather, wildflowers

Free eBook on Wildflower Photography

February 27, 2012 by Steve Berardi 28 Comments

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

Filed Under: Tips, Wildflowers Tagged With: bloom, close up, ebook, flower, focus, free, light, Macro, nature, overcast, photo, photographer, photography, photonaturalist, sharp, spring, telephoto, wild, wildflower, wildflowers

Never Give Up On a Sunset

September 26, 2011 by Steve Berardi 13 Comments

After watching and photographing a lot of sunsets, it’s tempting to start thinking that you can look at the sky and predict how good a sunset will be a few hours before it happens.

You might see a bunch of thick and dark gray clouds up there, and think, “well, the sunset is gonna suck tonight, so I might as well just go home early.”

Or, you might even be in the middle of photographing a sunset and you think the colors just peaked, so you start packing up your stuff and walk towards your car or campsite.

But, then out of nowhere, the sky decides to explode with color again. Of course, you’re half way back to your car by now, so you quickly setup your camera, but before you can press the shutter button, the colors fade away again. And, this time they’re gone for good.

Sound familiar? [Read more…] about Never Give Up On a Sunset

Filed Under: Landscapes, Tips Tagged With: atmosphere, clouds, cloudy, desert, give up, golden hours, mojave, never, overcast, photo, sky, sun, sunrise, sunset, weather

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