Nature Photography How To

There are few things worse than dull and flat monochrome images. After all, striking contrast and drama are two of the reasons many photographers forego color in favor of b&w. Fortunately, you can transform a photo from boring to dramatic with a few simple steps in Lightroom, Photoshop, or whatever editing application you use.

Everyone seems to have a preferred method of editing their images, and that’s to be expected because there’s no one “right way” to get the job done. However, as you’ll see in this tutorial, some editing techniques are just plain wrong.

Here at Shutterbug we’re constantly on the lookout for tutorials that will help you master camera settings, composition, exposure, and other shooting skills. But there’s one important consideration that has nothing do with technicalities, and it’s particularly important for nature, travel and landscape photographers.

Careful preparation is essential for all forms of outdoor photography, whether you shoot travel scenes, landscapes, or adventure images—especially when you’ll be in the backcountry far from home. To that end, one of our favorite instructors put together the checklist below, to help you avoid the unexpected.

It often takes considerable concentration to capture compelling images, and every so often we miss a distracting background element while focusing on our main subject. Other times we’re aware of the distraction, but make the shot anyway because there’s no way to recompose and avoid the problem.

When it comes to photography, there’s color and then there’s COLOR! In other words, sometimes you want to take a subtle approach while other times the goal is to create eye-popping images—either by choosing vivid subjects, using certain camera settings and shooting techniques, employing a bit of editing wizardry, or a combination of the above.

Every so often we come upon a simple tutorial that demonstrates a few “essential” skills that can actually change one’s approach to photography. And that’s what you’ll find here, as an experienced pro reveals the secrets to his success.