Let’s face it: Not all of us have the time or means to go on safari to photograph exotic animals in their natural habitat. The next best option is a trip to the local zoo with a long lens, and that can be a load of fun.
Unforced errors are part of the photographic process, and the goal is to not make the same mistake twice. The quick video below will help prevent you from doing that by identifying a handful of common faux pas and explaining how to avoid or fix them.
One of the most basic components of great photographs is an accurate exposure with a broad range of tones, yielding details in both shadows and highlights. This goal can often be a challenge when shooting outside under complicated mixed light.
Lisbon-based travel and nature photographer Andy Mumford is known for awesome imagery, and his popular international workshops in all corners of the globe. Today he shares the advice he gives students regarding the best camera settings to use for compelling outdoor photos.
It’s not uncommon to have a distracting object or two in otherwise beautiful outdoor images. Sometimes that’s because you weren’t paying attention, while in other cases there was simply no way to compose the scene without the offending objects in the frame.
Photographers are known for chasing the latest and greatest gear, despite the adage that, “It’s the photographer—not the camera—that creates the image.” I’ll admit to owning a couple “state-of-the art” digital cameras myself. But my photo cabinet also includes a few “obsolete” models dating back to 2009.
You’ve probably heard the silly adage that “If the mode dial on your camera isn’t set to ‘M’ you’re not a real photographer.” While most pros would disagree, there are clearly advantages to choosing camera settings yourself.
One challenge with outdoor photography is that landscape scenes tend to be complicated, often confusing viewers and directing their gaze away from your main subject. One of the best methods for simplifying a busy photo is to blur the background, thereby emphasizing what you consider the key point of the shot.
You know the expression: "wisdom comes from experience"? That certainly applies to photography particularly when shooting landscapes, as landscape pro Mark Denney explains in the below tutorial.
Long telephoto lenses can be exciting to use, offering the unique ability to get in tight on distant subjects. But big glass doesn’t necessarily guarantee great photographs, unless you have the proper skills.
It was shortly after I’d completed a remote Zoom presentation to a group of camera-club members that I decided to share some of the images and main points of my talk in this column. I show photographs, explain the process of making them, and answer questions, and at a time when in-person workshops, camera club meetings, and field trips were impossible, doing Zoom sessions was a welcome chance for members of the photo community to stay connected, motivated, and inspired.
When one of our favorite photographers says, “these five tips changed my life” we pay attention, and you should too. We can’t promise that the video below will be a life-changing event, but it will definitely help you shoot far better photos.
One of the basic tenets of landscape photography is to “be at the right place at the right time,” which is why many of us prefer to shoot at blue hour—just before sunrise or after sunset. But what if you stumble upon a beautiful scene earlier in the day when the light isn’t quite right?
There's an easy way to improve your landscape photos quickly and all it involves is thinking negatively. No, not negatively like having a bad attitude about your photography but thinking about "negative space" in your image.
Understanding depth of field is a crucial factor in achieving the best possible images, particularly when shooting complicated outdoor scenes that include objects from foreground to background and everything in between.