Outdoor Photography How To

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.

If you’ve been around the block more than once you’re no doubt familiar with many of the “rules” of composition. Budding outdoor photographers are told to use the Rule of Thirds, always include the foreground to create a sense of depth, and never position a subject in the middle of the frame or bisect a shot with the horizon.

There are numerous “rules” regarding the art and craft of photography that have been espoused by so-called “experts” for years. Some of this conventional wisdom is truly essential, but several things you’ve heard are subject to debate. And still others are simply myths or misconceptions.

We all love new gear, and many photographers are constantly chasing the latest innovations in cameras, lenses, and accessories. But in many cases you can capture amazing images with the gear you already own, especially if you refine your skills with a few simple tricks.

We’ve all had the misfortune of traveling to a beautiful destination with a lake in the foreground of a stunning landscape, only to discover boring light, a drab cloudless sky, and water devoid of the brilliant reflections we anticipated.