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The Perfect Tripod For a Hiking Photographer

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After the camera and lens, the tripod is the most important piece of camera gear you’ll own. In some of my favorite words from Scott Kelby, you should “become married to your tripod.”

Nothing will keep your camera more still than a tripod. If you want the sharpest photos possible, then you gotta use one whenever possible. Tripods have another benefit too though: they force you to slow down and think more about your composition.

But, carrying around a tripod can also be pretty annoying. They’re big, they’re heavy, and it usually takes a while to get it in the exact position you need it. So, it’s helpful to get a tripod that’s easy to setup and carry around. [Read more…] about The Perfect Tripod For a Hiking Photographer

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

When NOT to use mirror lockup

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IMG_0519_mirrorlockupMirror lockup is one of those little things you can do to get sharper photographs. Sure, by itself you may not see a big difference, but combine it with a few other little things, and you’ll begin to notice that extra sharpness.

It makes sense to use mirror lockup when you have a somewhat controllable subject, like a landscape or wildflower. But, when you need to take shots quickly (like when you’re photographing wildlife or insects), then mirror lockup doesn’t make much sense because it only adds more time to your shots.

You should also avoid using mirror lockup when you’re photographing a bright light source (like the setting sun). After reading Canon’s white paper on the XTi, I’ve learned that this can actually damage the shutter curtains. [Read more…] about When NOT to use mirror lockup

How to get sharp photos of birds in flight

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Photo by Vic Berardi
Photo by Vic Berardi
Trying to photograph birds in flight can be frustrating. It may seem like complete randomness at first, but there are actually a few techniques that will significantly increase your chances of getting a sharp photo, some of which are presented in this article.

Although there are many lens choices for photographing birds, our discussion will focus on the medium length hand-holdable telephoto lenses. [Read more…] about How to get sharp photos of birds in flight

Why you should always take lots and lots of photos (regardless of subject)

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Photo by Cliff Hutson (used under the CC-Attr-2.0 license)
Photo by Cliff Hutson (used under the CC-Attr-2.0 license)

When you decide to photograph a particular subject, how many shots do you usually take? Do you just hit the shutter once and move on? Or, do you take a lot of shots, and perhaps change your camera settings in the process?

Well, regardless of what your subject is, you should always take lots and lots of photos. This may not seem obvious for all subjects, so here’s a breakdown:
[Read more…] about Why you should always take lots and lots of photos (regardless of subject)

How to get sharper flower photographs

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Photo by Steve Berardi
Photo by Steve Berardi

This weekend I read an article by Wendy L. Turner in Nature Photographer Magazine, and learned a new tip on how to get sharper flower photographs: position your camera so the sensor is parallel to the most important plane of the flower.

When photographing flowers, you will most likely use a telephoto or macro lens with a wide aperture (to get that great blurry background), so proper focus is very subtle and extremely difficult to achieve.

Positioning your camera so the sensor is parallel to the most important plane of the flower will help put all important parts of the flower at the same distance from your sensor, so all those parts will be in sharp focus. [Read more…] about How to get sharper flower photographs