Nature Photography How To

The great thing about bird photography is that it’s an accessible activity you can pursue close to home at a local park or nature center—or even in the privacy of your backyard. And if you want to take a drive to a nearby forest, lake, or seashore, even more opportunities abound.

Like it or not, one of the best ways to grow as a photographer is to learn from your mistakes. And, unfortunately, most of us have made plenty.

Some photography mistakes can be minor, but others can have a major impact on the quality of your images. And it's important that beginner photographers learn early on what to remember and what to forget, particularly when it comes to landscape photography.

At Shutterbug, we try to share the best photography tips, how-tos, and advice on the Internet. But not everything you hear on the web will be good advice. (Big surprise, right?)

It almost goes without saying: one of the most critical things in landscape photography is image sharpness. In fact, go on any web gallery or Internet forum where landscape photographers share their images and you’ll see endless debates about whether an image is sharp enough.

I have always held a deep fascination with the cosmos. As a child, I would look up at the stars and gaze in sheer wonder. Our ancient ancestors used the stars to guide their journeys and told stories of celestial beings hiding amongst the deep blue of the night sky, nestled between thousands of twinkling lights. So naturally, when I first began in photography, astrophotography was high on my list to learn.

Let’s face it: Some photographs simply look better in b&w, and we don’t always come to that realization until after examining our color images on the computer. That’s why most photographers shoot in color and make the conversion during the editing process, and some techniques work better than others.