Nature Photography How To

Today we're taking a quick look at boring white skies, and a very simple workflow for restoring lost detail that you didn't realize was actually there or thought was impossible to recover. It's all about understanding how to use Lightroom's easy-to-use Select Sky tool to get the job done to perfection.

Several years ago I decided to take on a challenge of focusing on macro photography right in my own backyard. No, I do not reside in the Sierra mountains or adjacent to a national wildlife refuge or conservation area. I live in a typical South Florida suburban subdivision surrounded by homes and asphalt. South Florida doesn’t even offer much in the way of seasons. Yet, I am amazed at how many unique images I have captured over the past several years.

Outdoor photographers are known for carrying tons of gear, so they’re prepared for just about anything they encounter. We’ve addressed this burden in the past for landscape shooters who often hike great distances into the field, and for travel photographers who want to carry a minimum of equipment.

Achieving fast and precise focus is a primary goal of all outdoor photographers, whether they shoot wildlife, sports, adventure, or travel images. Even landscape photographers want to hit the proper point of focus when capturing static scenes.

Yesterday we featured a straightforward guide to using Selective Exposure adjustments to get the light right in complicated images with a wide range of brightness levels throughout the frame. Today's tutorial from another image-editing expert demonstrates how to take a similar approach with Lightroom's powerful Selective Color tools.

Filing the frame with the critter isn’t required for great wildlife photography. Reflecting on how I first slanted my wildlife photography in this direction, it has its roots in the first lens I had to shoot wildlife. I started with a Vivitar 400mm f/5.6 on an old Minolta that was soon replaced with a Nikon 400mm f/5.6 on an F2. That 400mm was my main lens for a long time and it taught me lessons about wildlife photography that I still depend on to this day.

Understanding how to select the best point of focus is an essential skill for all sorts of photography. Not only does doing this right enable you to manipulate depth of field, but it helps you to direct a viewer's eye to exactly where you want it to go.