Common Mistakes in Wildlife and Nature Photography |  |
- Common Mistakes in Wildlife and Nature Photography
- Interesting Photo of the Day: Happy to Be in Austria
- Using Umbrellas to Help Imitate Natural Lighting for Portrait Photography (Video)
- Newspaper Responds Poorly to Copyright Infringment Claim (Video)
| Common Mistakes in Wildlife and Nature Photography Posted: 04 Oct 2013 04:48 PM PDT Wildlife photography is both rewarding and frustrating, even for experienced photographers. While a great photo is something to treasure, the challenges of wildlife photography can leave beginners feeling a little lost.  Photo captured by ahmad reedzuan (Click Image to See More From ahmad reedzuan) “It was wonderful to be there, but this photo doesn’t really do it justice.” Does this sound familiar? Too often we have a great experience in nature, and even though we have our camera at the ready, we fail to get the shot. This is not because the camera lets us down; it is because in our rush to get a photo – any photo – we fall victim to any one of a number of mistakes that can ruin a good wildlife photography opportunity. Wildlife Photo Mistakes and Tips to Overcome:Mistake #1. Fail To Get Close Enough To The Subject. This is probably the most obvious mistake you can make. You may see a bird in a tree, but your photo turns out to be all tree and no bird. In wildlife photography, the ‘less is more’ approach is often best. Ask yourself what is important for your photo, and eliminate everything else. In most cases you are best to get as close as possible to the subject, and/or zoom in with your largest lens. This eliminates the distraction of the background so that the viewer’s attention is entirely on the subject itself. Mistake #2. Distracting Depth of Field. This is closely related to mistake #1. When you set your camera to automatic, you allow it to set your aperture and shutter speed settings for you. To get the best results, you need to make these decisions for yourself. If you take your photos on a small aperture setting, you increase the depth of field around the subject, allowing the background to become more of a distraction. You are better to set the widest aperture setting you can. This narrows the depth of field, concentrating the focus on the animal. As an added bonus, it will also allow a faster shutter speed, which helps to freeze a moving subject.  “The Pair” captured by Derrick Smith (Click Image to See More From Derrick Smith) Mistake #3. Get Too Close To The Subject. When the opportunity arises to get a good close-up, some people go a little too far. A good wildlife photo wants a little space around the subject, otherwise your composition can look cramped, with the animal squashed into a space where it doesn’t quite fit. In these situtions, try zooming back just a little, to allow a little ‘headroom’ around the animal. There should be at least a small amount of space above the head, and on each side. If the animal is facing to one side, adjust your composition so that there is a little more space in front of the subject than behind it. That way the animal will be looking into the picture, not at the edge of the frame. Mistake #4. Bad Timing. Animals move, they blink, they turn their heads, they flap their wings…sometimes it seems they are on a mission to foil your best attempts at a good photo. In every wildlife encounter, there are a thousand opportunities to take a bad photo, and maybe one or two opportunities to take a good photo. A nature photographer learns to be ready for that perfect moment. This is a matter of patience and perseverance. You need to spend as much time as possible with your subject, and take a lot of photos. Expect most of them to be rubbish, but take delight in the good ones because they are hard to come by. In particular, watch the animal’s movements and behaviour. The trick is to try to catch a moment that expresses something unique to set your photo apart from millions of others. You won’t get that perfect shot every time, but when you do it is a moment to treasure. Mistake #5. Poor Lighting. We all love to get out and about on sunny days, but these are not necessarily the best conditions for a good photo. Bright sunshine produces shadow where you many not want them; in particular across the face of the subject. In the middle of the day when the light shines from above, you can find that most of the face and all of the underside of the subject is lost in dark shadow. The solution? If it is a sunny day, take your photos early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the sun is at a lower angle. You will also find lower contrast and warmer colour in the light, adding character to the whole photo.  “Sandhill Sunset” captured by Debra Vanderlaan (Click Image to See More From Debra Vanderlaan) In many cases it is best to take your photos on a cloudy day, when the light is even and the contrast is low. This light can work best for some subjects by completely eliminating glare and heavy shadow. About the Author: Go to full article: Common Mistakes in Wildlife and Nature Photography |
| Interesting Photo of the Day: Happy to Be in Austria Posted: 04 Oct 2013 03:29 PM PDT Nestled in a wooded mountain valley in Austria's Salzkammergut region, Gosausee Lake was once called "the eye of God" by renowned world traveler and writer Alexander Freiherr von Humbolt—and for good reason. When the lake is calm, the crystal-clear water provides breathtaking reflections of the surrounding foothills and the towering Dachstein Mountains. In this photograph, a tourist basks in the rich sunlight streaming into the Gosau Valley over rugged mountain peaks:  Tourist basks in sunlight at Gosausee Lake, Austria [via Imgur; click to see full size] Go to full article: Interesting Photo of the Day: Happy to Be in Austria |
| Using Umbrellas to Help Imitate Natural Lighting for Portrait Photography (Video) Posted: 04 Oct 2013 01:44 PM PDT Umbrellas are great lighting tools for beginners and pros alike. They’re not too hard to figure out, and they give you great light coverage that you didn’t have before. A more advanced technique with umbrellas is using them to imitate natural light. In this tutorial, Jay P Morgan shows you how to use umbrellas to create a natural daylight look: One factor that Morgan doesn’t address is the color temperature of your light. There is little that will make your strobes look more like artificial lights than if they don’t match the color of the rest of the natural light in the image. Here are some ways to control your lights’ color:
 For this shot, Morgan made large movements with the camera at slow shutter speeds and used the strobe to freeze most of the action Don’t forget to take into account the angle of your light. Daylight never comes from below. Keep your light up high, or move it down a little if you’re trying to imitate window lighting. Go to full article: Using Umbrellas to Help Imitate Natural Lighting for Portrait Photography (Video) |
| Newspaper Responds Poorly to Copyright Infringment Claim (Video) Posted: 04 Oct 2013 11:33 AM PDT What happens when you are flipping through a magazine and stumble across a photo that you took that the magazine stole from you, never having asked permission (much less paid) to use the image? When a similar scenario happened to professional music photographer, Kristen Pierson, she did what any self respecting photographer would do, she contacted the magazine directly. The response the magazine gave her, however, was not what she was hoping to hear. Listen to the interaction between Pierson and the magazine in the following video clip: Listening to the dialog of the telephone message, it’s clear the magazine was ignorant to the laws regarding copyrights. Whether it was by choice or by sheer uneducation is up for you decide. Regardless any professional level publication should make a point to learn the laws.  Newspaper image use Above is a screencap of the photo appearing in the publication in question. At this time, it’s not clear whether or not the photographer has resolved the issue (Via Petapixel). Part of the reason why she has made the case public is to encourage photographers to learn about copyright law and so they may protect themselves if they ever find themselves to be in a similar situation. Go to full article: Newspaper Responds Poorly to Copyright Infringment Claim (Video) |
| You are subscribed to email updates from PictureCorrect Photography Tips To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment