Tips For Beginners
nature photography
1. Pay special attention to the light.
Since landscape and wildlife photography is focused on the outside world, lighting is one of the more important factors to consider. If you shoot during the day, you’ll be working with direct, unfiltered sunlight, which creates harsh tones and lots of shadows—this makes it much more difficult to make your shots look dynamic, soft, or colorful. To combat harsh lighting, most nature photographers prefer to shoot during the “golden hours,” which are the periods of time just before the sun rises and just after the sun sets; during the early morning and early evening, the natural light is soft and indirect with a dreamy, romantic quality, which allows true colors to pop.
2. Use the rule of thirds.
One of the simplest landscape photography tips is to compose your image according to the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is a composition technique that helps a photographer position points of interest along an invisible grid. When looking through the viewfinder or screen, envision two horizontal lines and two vertical lines; placing your subject along the points where these lines meet will, in theory, yield the most aesthetically pleasing and balanced image, especially when shooting landscapes, which often don’t have an immediate focal point. Some cameras provide grid camera mode, which overlays the 3x3 grid onto the screen to assist photographers in getting that perfect shot.
3. Play with depth of field.
Many nature photographs focus on a main subject, such as a bird or flower. To help separate your subject from the background, use a wider aperture (f/2.0 or f/2.8). Aperture is the size of the lens opening, and it affects “depth of field”—wider apertures create a shallower depth of field, causing backgrounds to look blurrier and helping focus attention on the subject, while smaller apertures create an extended depth of field, causing backgrounds to look sharper and more detailed. Experiment with both and see which ones help your subjects pop.
4. Get creative.
The natural world offers endless possibilities for wildlife and landscape photography, so try to take advantage of them! Bring your own unique vision and ideas when you shoot, and let yourself try things other photographers may not have tried. Where others shoot wide shots, consider taking a close-up; where others shoot from a high vantage point, try shooting from the ground.
5. Study nature.
You’ll always be able to take better shots of things you understand well—and nature is no exception. By being more informed about different animals, plants, and areas, you’ll be better able to predict and follow their rhythm. For instance, a wildlife photographer who knows where certain birds like to perform their mating rituals will be able to set up in the right place for a great shot.
6. Always be respectful of the natural world.
Nature is an incredibly vast and abundant subject to photograph, with ever-changing landscapes and cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. A sense of curiosity and adventure, and the willingness to get a little dirty, will go a long way if your goal is to capture magnificent images of nature at work. However, one of the most important photography tips to keep in mind is respect.