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Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

Weekly Photography Challenge – Silhouette

24 Oct

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Silhouette appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime.

This week we’re looking forward to not seeing the subject of your photographs because the theme is ‘Silhouette’ we hope you’re up for it! #dPSSilhouette is the hashtag we’d like you to use (add it to your post wherever you post it: details at the end of the post)

See ALL of our weekly challenges right here

Weekly Photography Challenge – Silhouette

Not sure how to make a silhouette photograph? Have a look at these articles!

Photograph silhouettes in eight easy steps

18 Shape defining silhouette images

Perfect outdoors silhouettes

Weekly Photography Challenge – Silhouette

Great! Where do I upload my photos?

Simply upload your shot into the comments field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see. Or, if you’d prefer, upload them to your favourite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them.

Weekly Photography Challenge – Looking Up

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSSilhouette to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

Follow us on Instagram?

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Silhouette appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime.


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Photography Equipment for Beginners: What to Buy When Starting Out

24 Oct

The post Photography Equipment for Beginners: What to Buy When Starting Out appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

You’ve decided you want to get more serious about photography, move beyond just making snapshots with your cellphone, and perhaps even pursue making money from your hobby. You’re ready to start shopping for a better camera and the accessories that go with it.

Many articles about photography equipment for beginners will immediately start recommending makes and models. Or, if you walk into a traditional brick-and-mortar photo store, a salesperson might start showing you equipment, eager to make a big sale.

photography equipment for beginners
Your needs should dictate what to buy. Might a simple point-and-shoot be a good starter camera, or will you need a full-frame DSLR with a long lens and a big tripod? Don’t just buy what a salesperson or someone else tells you is “the best.” Ask yourself some important questions.

Ask other photographers, “What should I buy?” and many will launch into a list of equipment they like, probably favoring the make and model of the gear they own.

(Stay far away from “fanboys,” people who will tell you Brand X is the only way to go and only idiots would buy anything else.)

I’m here to suggest that, rather than immediately seeking a make/model answer to the “What should I buy?” question, you should instead start by asking yourself some more general questions.

Assessing your needs

Cameras and associated equipment will not make you a great photographer, any more than buying an expensive sports car will instantly make you a winning race car driver. To take that analogy further, why would you plunk down the big bucks for that exotic sports car when all you need is something to drive to the grocery store?

The same goes for simply buying the “latest and greatest” gear because that’s what other photographers are excited about, or because that make/model is the buzz of trade magazines and online photo sites. Porsche sports cars have a great reputation, but do you need one? The new mirrorless cameras from the big-name camera manufacturers are exciting, but are they right for you?

If money is no object (I wish that were my situation!), does that mean you should buy the most expensive, sophisticated camera and all the lenses and goodies to go with it? Will that guarantee you have the “best” and most capable gear that will ensure you make stellar photos?

I hope you don’t just reach for your wallet. Instead, do a little self-assessment and homework first.

photography equipment for beginners camera
You could just buy the top-of-the-line flagship camera from one of the big-name companies and figure it would do everything you’d ever need. But when you’re still learning, the plethora of buttons, dials, knobs, and menus would likely overwhelm you. Then you’d be paying for things you won’t use or understand. The “best” is not always what is best for you.

So, let’s explore the questions you should be asking yourself as we dive into photography equipment for beginners.

What do you already know about photography?

If you’re looking for photography equipment for beginners, here’s the first question you should ask:

What do you already know about photography?

How much knowledge and experience do you already have? Have you only made some “pretty pictures” with a single press of the shutter button on your cellphone? Have you heard of the exposure triangle? Do you understand what ISO, shutter speed, and aperture are and how they interact to control exposure, depth of field, and motion capture? Have you had or might you have an interest in pursuing formal instruction to better learn both the artistic composition of photos and the technical operation of the camera?

exposure triangle
What do you already know about photography? Do you understand the exposure triangle? When exploring photography equipment for beginners, your pre-existing knowledge, as well as your interest in learning, should be factors in deciding the right gear for you.

Sure, you can buy a fancier, more expensive camera with the idea that you will “grow into it.” Of course, that more sophisticated camera with buttons, knobs, dials, and cryptic menus could also overwhelm you as a beginner. Sometimes simpler is better, especially when you’re still learning.

On the flip side, a cheap point-and-shoot, highly automatic camera might be easy to learn, but can very quickly create limitations for you as you grow as a photographer.

The real question here is, “How serious are you about photography?”

Do you simply want a camera you will use on occasion, perhaps take on vacation, and that will make good photos with its automatic modes? Or do you plan to make this a serious hobby in which you will invest time, study, and frequent practice? Do you want to dig in and really learn?

What type of photos will you be making?

Cameras don’t make photographs; photographers do. A camera is simply a tool a photographer uses to create a photograph.

In any endeavor, having the right tool for the job makes the work easier and gives improved results. So, when choosing the right camera for your photography, an essential question is, “What kind of photographs do I intend to make?”

I purposely use the word “make” rather than what many people say about “taking photos.” Snapshooters might take photos, seeing something of interest and quickly, without much thought, snapping a shot. Serious photographers, however, are craftspersons, thinking about composition, camera settings, and many other things involved in creating and “making” a photograph.

Whether you just want to take snapshots or make photographs will also influence what kind of equipment you should buy.

So what kind of photos do you want to make? What subject matter is your favorite?

I hear some saying, “I’d like to make all kinds of photos of whatever catches my eye.” So let’s ask the question this way: “What kind of photos do you envision making 80% of the time?” Photos of your kids as they grow up? Formal portraits? Landscapes? Vacation photos? Wildlife photos? There are hundreds of photo genres to explore and, while some camera and lens combinations might be able to handle a greater variety of these, expect to pay more for such photography equipment.

Specialized kinds of photography, such as bird or wildlife shooting where fast camera responsiveness and long lenses are required, will take more specialized gear. Perhaps you want to take photos of your kids playing soccer or engaging in other sports. You might consider an inexpensive point-and-shoot camera, but even if it does have a built-in 10x “superzoom,” will the lag-time between when you press the shutter and when it fires cause you to frequently miss the action? Will the tiny built-in flash have enough power to light your kid at the other end of the basketball court as he hits the winning shot at the buzzer?

Finding the balance between spending enough to have the most versatile equipment and yet not paying for things you will never or only rarely use can be hard. Back to the “80% factor” I mentioned: Buy the gear that will accommodate 80% of your needs. If you suddenly get to photograph that African safari and don’t have the equipment you need, then you can upgrade or, better yet, rent the equipment to handle that unique opportunity.

How will your photos be used?

Before digital photography and the internet, a photograph meant a print. Today, it’s becoming rarer and rarer to see printed photos. Some of these statistics are from 2017, so they’re already dated, but still amazing to consider:

  • An estimated 1.3 trillion photos are taken each year
  • 75% of those photos are taken with cellphones
  • Less than 13% of photos are taken with dedicated digital cameras
  • Approximately 121.5 million digital cameras were sold in 2010; that dropped to 14.8 million in 2019
lots of photos are taken each year
Over 1.3 trillion photos are being taken each year, the vast majority with cellphone cameras. Just a small percentage of those are printed. If you don’t plan to make prints, do you need a high-megapixel camera?

Do you wonder why companies such as Olympus have folded and even the largest digital camera makers are struggling? Sure, you’re reading this because you intend to continue pursuing digital photography, but the question I’m heading toward is, “What percentage of your images do you intend to print?”

Do you need a high-megapixel camera?

Top-end camera manufacturers like to boast about the high-megapixel cameras they are producing and, yes, these can produce some amazing images. Cameras from the top manufacturers now tout specs showing sensors between 40 and 60 megapixels (with prices to match).

The question is: If the vast majority of the images you shoot are only for display on your monitor or online, do you need such high megapixel counts? You can print a beautiful 300 DPI 16” x 20” print with a 4800 x 6000 pixel (28.8 MP) image.

At the time of writing, the Sony A7R IV is the highest megapixel full-frame camera, and it produces a 9504 x 6336 pixel (60.2 MP) image. Printing that at 300 DPI would give you a nice 20″ x 30″ print, and it would be quite easy to go far bigger than that.

On the other hand, if the largest you’d ever print is 8″ x 10″ (about an A4 size using European standards), a 7.2-megapixel image would be just fine. Most current smartphones produce higher resolution images than that.

photography equipment for beginners printer
If you do intend to make prints, think about how large you’d like to make them. My Canon Pixma Pro-100 can print up to 13″ x 19″. To print at 300 DPI, that means I need a 3900 x 5700 pixel image. My Canon 6D is a 20.2-megapixel camera with a maximum resolution of 5472 x 3648 pixels. 13” x 19” is about the maximum I can go with good quality. There are ways to go larger, but give consideration to your printing needs when purchasing a camera.

I don’t mean to confuse you with math. But I want you to ask yourself the question, “Do I expect to be printing my photos and, if so, how large might I print them?”

Do you need an expensive, full-frame, high-megapixel camera if all you’ll ever do is share your work on social media?

Nikon Coolpix 950
My first digital camera was the 1.2 MP Nikon Coolpix 950. I still have it.
seaside tree
Here’s a slightly-cropped image from the Nikon Coolpix 950. The maximum resolution for that camera was 1600 x 1200 pixels, just enough to make a 4″ x 6″ print. If all I wanted to do was post images online or to social media, however, that still would be plenty of resolution. What you intend to do with your photos should be an important consideration when purchasing a camera.
bee on flower
The little Coolpix 950 excelled at macro shots.

Size, weight, and environmental factors

You’ve heard the saying, “The best camera is the one you have with you.” I suppose the corollary to that is, “The worst camera is the one you left at home” (or in your car, or anywhere that is not with you). If you buy a camera (and lenses, and tripods, and other equipment) that becomes a nuisance to bring along, or makes you wish it were smaller and lighter, you’ve probably bought the wrong gear.

Interestingly, many people believed the way to save on size and weight was to move to the latest mirrorless cameras. Yes, mirrorless cameras are marginally smaller and lighter, but lenses for them are not appreciably smaller and lighter. Many mirrorless cameras also draw more battery power, and so the weight saved with smaller equipment is offset by having to carry more batteries. About the only thing that has grown appreciably lighter are photographers’ wallets, because the new smaller, lighter cameras often carry a premium price.

Something else to be considered when shopping for photography equipment for beginners is where and how the camera and accessories will be used. If you’re taking a camera on vacation for travel photos, how much equipment do you want to pack and carry around all day? If you’re a backpacker or outdoorsman, do you want to take a tripod? An array of lenses? Might one of the more sophisticated bridge cameras be a better option for a travel camera?

Another consideration might be the operating environment in which you intend to make photos. If you will frequently be in dusty environments, you may not want a camera with interchangeable lenses. Maybe you frequently shoot in the wet, rain, snow, or in other inclement weather. If so, a camera that is weather-sealed might be worth considering.

Upgradability

If you intend to pursue photography for many years, you will want to give consideration to upgrading your equipment as you improve, as new innovations come along, as you diversify in your shooting, or even as equipment wears out.

Photographers who shoot with interchangeable lenses often find that they soon have more money invested in good lenses than their camera bodies. “Good glass” that can still be used when a camera body is replaced becomes a good investment. Because camera manufacturer lens mounts are usually proprietary to that brand, once you select a make and purchase a few lenses, you will likely want to stick with that manufacturer in the future, rather than sell off everything and start all over.

camera setup
Once you start buying lenses and accessories, you will soon have invested more than the price of your camera body. Because each camera make typically has its own proprietary mount, picking and sticking with a camera brand makes upgrades less expensive. You’ll be reluctant to switch brands if it means selling off everything and starting over.

New, used, or refurbished?

Some people only want to buy new equipment and, if paying full-price for equipment to get factory-fresh gear with a full warranty is worth it to you, go for it.

But sometimes, when researching photography equipment for beginners, substantial savings can be had by buying well-cared-for, used equipment (with stress on well-cared-for). Here’s a good article from Jaymes Dempsey about considerations when buying used photo equipment, and here’s another by Tom Mason. I have had generally good experiences buying used equipment because I:

  • Buy from photographers I personally know who take good care of their gear, or
  • Buy from top resellers such as B&H, Adorama, KEH, and others that check and give their used equipment full inspections, ratings, and even limited warranties, or
  • Buy directly from manufacturers who service, inspect, sell, and warranty refurbished equipment.
new and used equipment
Do you need the “latest and greatest” as a beginner? Do you need new equipment, or might a slightly used and well-cared-for earlier model save you some money and be more than adequate for you?

Excellent savings can often be had by purchasing used when new equipment is just coming out. Photographers with GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) just have to have the latest, greatest thing. Many of these shooters, eager to trade up, are willing to sell their slightly used equipment for bargain prices.

Now, as a beginning photographer, you don’t need the newest cutting-edge equipment, because you likely still have to master the basics. If last year’s top (and now slightly used) camera can be had, helps you learn the basics, allows you to better understand your needs, and fits the bill at a reduced price, so what if you only have it a short while before you upgrade?

Who to purchase from?

Some good advice about buying photo equipment (or anything else for that matter) is the Latin phrase caveat emptor. You likely know that means let the buyer beware.

It used to be that you could walk into a camera store and deal face-to-face with the store owner or at least a salesperson. Even then, you always had to be wary of the unscrupulous salesperson who, once you were pegged as a beginner without much knowledge, would try to upsell you into purchasing far more gear (or more expensive gear) than you really needed. You hoped instead that you’d get a dealer who really wanted to understand your needs and outfit you with the best equipment suited to your budget and needs. This second type of dealer would ask the kinds of questions we’re exploring here, knowing that a satisfied customer would tell others of their good experience and thus bring in more business.

Sadly, these kinds of brick-and-mortar camera stores are becoming rare (the last dealer in my town closed shop about a month ago after 74 years in the photo business). That doesn’t mean there aren’t reputable online dealers who offer good customer service on photo equipment. You just have to do your research. Talk to experienced photographers and ask them where they buy their equipment, who gives good deals, who provides good advice and service, and who honors warranties.

Idaho camera
Idaho Camera had been the camera store in my town for 74 years. They closed permanently this past month, a victim of changing economic times, competition with online dealers and, finally, the Covid-19 crisis.

Always be cautious of dealers who have questionable reputations and, even more so, offer deals that are too-good-to-be-true. Often photo equipment manufacturers will require all dealers to offer their equipment at the same price, and so where you shop won’t change the price. Some dealers will thus come up with their own incentives and offer packages of accessories they throw in to sweeten the deal. Look carefully at whether this is really worthwhile. You might get a cheap cleaning kit, a worse-than-nothing tripod, or a shoddy camera bag, stuff that’s not worth it if it tempts you to do business with a shady dealer.

Also, beware of the dealer who tries high-pressure tactics to get you to add on stuff you didn’t initially intend to buy or a questionable “extended warranty.” And beware of “gray market” equipment, which most manufacturers won’t warranty at all.

Using online buying guides

I have refrained from suggesting any specific makes or models targeted as specific photography equipment for beginners. If, after asking yourself the questions I’ve outlined, you think you’re ready to begin looking at specific gear, there are some great places to check out.

Here on the Digital Photography School (dPS) site, check out the Cameras & Equipment section.

photography equipment for beginners DPS gear section
Check out the Cameras & Equipment section here on dPS for good information and reviews of photo equipment.

Another place I particularly like is the Digital Photography Review site (DPReview.com) and their Buying Guides section. The Cameras by Use Case pages are great for helping suggest makes and models based on how you intend to use your camera.

I’ve primarily discussed cameras, but if you’re shopping for tripods, lighting equipment, or any other kind of photo accessories, places such as dPS and DPReview offer a wealth of information. There are also forums where you can learn from other photographers about the ins-and-outs of specific gear.

Do be cautious, however. Fanboys and trolls like to hang out in places like that, so don’t just go with the first opinion you read.

photography equipment for beginners DPReview
The Digital Photography Review site. Cameras by Use Case is great for helping you explore photography equipment for beginners and is specifically geared toward how you intend to use your equipment.

Photography equipment for beginners: The questions to ask

I’ve thrown out a lot of stuff here, so let’s summarize with a list of questions to ask yourself:

  • What are my needs for a camera (or other photo gear)?
  • How much do I know about photography?
  • How serious do I intend to get? Will I pursue learning opportunities?
  • How often will I use this equipment?
  • What kind of photos will I be making (use the 80% rule)?
  • Do I want to specialize in a particular photo genre/subject?
  • How will I use my photos? (Online? Print? Sell?)
  • How much resolution (megapixels) do I need?
  • Is size/weight an important factor?
  • Where will I use my gear (environmental factors)?
  • Do I plan to upgrade, add lenses, and add accessories?
  • Do I want new gear, or might I consider used or refurbished equipment?
  • Who should I buy from? A store, an online dealer, or a private individual?
  • Have I done research (via buying guides, and/or discussions with trusted photographers)?
camera on money
Here, take my money! I guess if money is no object, you might just buy what someone else tells you is the “best.” But, for most of us, research will help you get what you need, and what will be the best tool for the job at the best price.

Now take my money

Some people aren’t much for researching purchases and simply want someone to tell them what to buy. It’s easy to find salespeople perfectly willing to tell you what you “need” and take your money.

I suspect that, if you’ve read this article, you are not one of those people.

So, in writing this guide to photography equipment for beginners, my aim is not to tell you what to buy, but rather to have you ask yourself the right questions. If you do that, you can best make a wise purchase and get the photo tools that best suit your task.

The ultimate objective is that you learn and grow as a photographer, enjoy photography, and make increasingly better photographs. Best wishes!

The post Photography Equipment for Beginners: What to Buy When Starting Out appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.


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Manual Exposure Cheat Sheet for Beginners: How to Expose Manually

22 Oct

The post Manual Exposure Cheat Sheet for Beginners: How to Expose Manually appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Photographers are visual people. Learning is often made easier for us with the help of graphics and images. In this article, I want to break down this classic manual exposure cheat sheet:

manual exposure cheat sheet

Beginner photographers, and even more experienced ones, often think that Manual mode is complicated.

It’s not.

But to learn how to use Manual mode well, you need to understand a few basics. These are the three camera controls that manage exposure:

  • Aperture
  • Shutter speed
  • ISO

You also need to use the exposure meter, LCD, or viewfinder to assist you in choosing the best settings. If you read the light, you can then set your exposure.

This manual exposure cheat sheet will help you understand these few essentials.

Woman in a red sofa outdoors manual exposure cheat sheet
© Kevin Landwer-Johan | Nikon D800 | Nikon 35mm f/1.8 | 1/125 sec | ISO 100

Reading the light

All modern cameras have a built-in exposure meter. This tool indicates when you have your settings balanced to achieve a good exposure. In most cameras, it looks something like this:

Exposure meter illustration manual exposure cheat sheet

Some cameras use a number system and a + or – symbol to show the exposure value.

Whatever display method your camera uses, you are aiming to have the meter read “0.” This is the indication you have a good exposure. If the display indicates the exposure is toward the – side, your photo will be underexposed. If it’s showing that the exposure is toward the + side, your photo will be overexposed.

This is a very simplified explanation of the metering system. To gain a more in-depth understanding of how it works, please read this article: Understanding Exposure Metering Modes.

With many cameras, you can also use the rear LCD to help you determine the best exposure settings. Additionally, mirrorless cameras allow you to see the effect of changes you make via the viewfinder.

To discover if your camera has this function, turn on Live View and set your camera to Manual mode. Now adjust your aperture and/or shutter speed. Can you see the brightness value of the LCD change as you do this? If so, you can use your LCD screen and/or viewfinder to help you manage your exposure settings. If you are new to using Manual mode, this method will make learning easier.

Whether you look at the exposure meter graphic or use your viewfinder/LCD to help you choose your settings, treat these as a guide. Your camera does not know what the main subject of your composition is. You must control the exposure so the most important part of your image is well exposed.

Tropical sunset manual exposure cheat sheet
© Kevin Landwer-Johan | Nikon D700 | 20mm | 1/125 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 400

Adjusting your aperture

Every lens has an aperture. This is an adjustable diaphragm that controls how much light can enter the lens. Each aperture setting corresponds to an f-stop.

A smaller f-stop number indicates more light will enter the lens. A higher number means the opening is smaller and less light will enter.

Aperture illustration for manual exposure cheat sheet

On this manual exposure cheat sheet, you can see there is a range of aperture settings. The smallest aperture setting, on the left, is f/16. To the right of the graphic is the widest setting, at f/1.4. Not all lenses have the same aperture settings. Some will have wider or narrower minimum and maximum settings.

Along with governing the amount of light that enters the lens, the aperture setting influences depth of field (DOF).

DOF is the amount of the photo that is acceptably sharp. The wider the aperture setting you choose, the shallower the DOF will be. You can see this on the cheat sheet graphic of the person and tree. At f/16, both the person and tree are sharp. At f/1.4, the person is sharp and the tree in the background is out of focus.

A narrow aperture setting allows less light to enter the lens. It also means you’ll have more of your photo in focus. A wide aperture setting allows more light into the lens and the DOF is shallower.

You can adjust the aperture setting to help balance your exposure and control how much of your composition is in focus. The amount of DOF can be used creatively in your photographs.

Woman taking a photograph manual exposure cheat sheet
© Kevin Landwer-Johan | Nikon D800 | 105mm | 1/320 sec | f/2.8 | ISO 100

Setting your shutter speed

Inside your camera, there’s a shutter. This typically consists of two “blinds” that open and close when you press the shutter release button. Opening the shutter exposes the camera sensor to light, which allows it to create an image.

The duration the shutter is open for controls how much light will affect the sensor. If the shutter is open for too long, the photo will be overexposed. If the shutter is open for a duration that is too short, the photo will be underexposed.

Your choice of shutter speed can also affect how sharp your photos will be.

If you choose a shutter speed that’s too slow and your camera moves during the time the shutter is open, your photo will be blurred. This is known as camera shake.

If you have a moving subject and use a slow shutter speed, your subject will be blurred. This is known as motion blur.

Using a faster shutter speed will help you avoid camera shake and unwanted motion blur.

Shutter speed illustration manual exposure cheat sheet

In the manual exposure cheat sheet, you can see the graphic of a person running. At a shutter speed setting of 1/1000s, the figure is sharp. At a setting of 1/60s, the figure is blurred a little. At a shutter speed of 1 second, the figure is very blurred. The relationship between how fast your subject is moving and the shutter speed will determine how much blurring occurs.

You can adjust the shutter speed to help balance your exposure and to control blur from camera shake or motion. Motion blur and camera shake, or a lack thereof, can be used creatively in your photography.

Woman at the fresh market - manual exposure cheat sheet
© Kevin Landwer-Johan | Nikon D800 |35mm | 1/2 sec | f/11 | ISO 100

Determining your ISO

ISO settings control how responsive your camera’s sensor is to light. A low number means your sensor is going to be less responsive than when you use a high number.

I prefer to use my ISO as a foundation for my exposure. I generally only adjust it when lighting conditions change significantly.

Outside on a sunny day, you will want to choose a low ISO. Inside or at night, you will want to choose a high ISO.

ISO illustration manual exposure cheat sheet

Unlike your other two exposure settings, ISO has no creative influence on your photos. It will affect the technical quality, though. At higher ISO settings, digital noise will start to appear in your photos. The color and contrast will also tend to flatten out.

In the manual exposure cheat sheet, you can see that lower ISO settings mean the sensor is less responsive compared to higher ISO settings. To avoid seeing digital noise in your photos, always aim to use the lowest ISO setting you can.

Thai entertainment
© Kevin Landwer-Johan | Nikon D800 | 105mm | 1/250 sec | f/4 | ISO 6400

Stop! This is important

Each incremental change indicated by the manual exposure cheat sheet is one “stop.” The term “stop” in photography is the measurement of exposure. Plus one stop means the exposure is doubled. Minus one stop means the exposure is halved.

A stop can be controlled by aperture, shutter speed, or ISO. If you adjust one setting by plus one stop, you can always achieve the same initial exposure by adjusting another setting by minus one stop, and so on.

As you can see on the cheat sheet, the increments I have used for the shutter speed and ISO are clearly half or double the adjacent numbers. The f-stop numbers appear a bit random, however. This is because they indicate the aperture opening size in relation to the lens focal length. But each f-stop setting is either half or double the setting on either side of it.

red lanterns against a blue sky
© Kevin Landwer-Johan | Nikon D700 | 20mm | 1/60 sec | f/4 | ISO 400

Manual exposure cheat sheet: Conclusion

Manual exposure of your photographs is not so complicated. All you need to do is manage the relationship between the three exposure settings.

The relationship between aperture settings, exposure, and depth of field is plain to see on this cheat sheet. How your choice of shutter speed affects both exposure and blurring is also well illustrated. Keep your ISO in mind and make it as low as you can. But don’t hesitate to alter it when you need to.

Print the manual exposure cheat sheet to make learning and mastering Manual mode a little easier. It will not happen without some commitment and practice.

But once you become familiar with Manual mode and manage your exposures well, your photography will become more creative.

The post Manual Exposure Cheat Sheet for Beginners: How to Expose Manually appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.


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3 Lightroom Tools to Enhance Your Nature and Wildlife Photography

21 Oct

The post 3 Lightroom Tools to Enhance Your Nature and Wildlife Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Shreyas Yadav.

Do you want to bring out texture in your images of flowers, butterflies, plants, or macro subjects?

Are you looking to remove haze from your beautiful landscape images?

Do you want to reveal fine detail in your wildlife images?

Then you’re in the right place.

lightroom tools nature photography mountain

Because today I am going to share with you three Lightroom tools for nature photography. I use these three tools to enhance my own nature and wildlife images. And I am sure these tools will be helpful to you, as well.

And the best part is?

All of these Lightroom tools are easy to apply. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an intermediate-level photographer; you can pick up these tools and start enhancing your nature images right away.

Note that these three Lightroom tools can be applied to an overall image (as a global adjustment) or to a targeted area of the image (as a local adjustment).

Let’s do this!

The 3 Lightroom tools for nature photography

Here are the three Lightroom tools that will instantly enhance your nature photos:

  • Texture
  • Clarity
  • Dehaze

To access these tools, head to the Develop Module, find the Basic Panel, and scroll down to Presence:

develop module lightroom tools nature photography
The Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze sliders in Adobe Lightroom.

Texture

Texture has a subtle sharpening effect. It brings out the finer details.

You can use the Texture tool in Lightroom to subtly add sharpening to flowers, patterns, plants, and more.

By default, the Texture slider is set to “0.” Drag the texture slider to the right to increase the texture effect.

Or drag the Texture slider to the left to reduce its effect.

Here is an example of the Texture slider in action. First, take a look at this chameleon photo without any added texture:

Chameleon before the texture slider is applied in Lightroom
Before applying the Texture slider.

Then, as you increase the texture, the chameleon details appear sharper:

Chameleon after texture slider is applied in Lightroom lightroom tools nature photography
After applying the Texture slider.

Here’s a final before and after:

texture slider before and after lightroom tools nature photography
The effect of the Texture slider (before and after).

Clarity

The effect of the Clarity slider is more prominent than the effect of the Texture slider.

What does Clarity do?

It primarily increases the midtone contrast.

Now, the Clarity slider is set to “0” as a default.

To add Clarity, drag the slider to the right:

the clarity slider in Lightroom
The Clarity slider is a useful Lightroom tool for nature photography.

To reduce the effect, drag the Clarity slider to the left.

Since the effect of the Clarity slider is strong, make sure you use Clarity in moderation.

If you capture a well-exposed image with a relatively centered histogram, then the Clarity slider will improve the midtone contrast and can bring out additional details in your picture.

Here’s an image without the Clarity slider applied:

bird before the Lightroom Clarity slider is used
Before applying the Clarity slider.

As well as its corresponding histogram:

the histogram in Lightroom
The histogram before applying the Clarity slider.

And here’s the image with the Clarity slider applied:

The bird with the Clarity tool applied
After applying the Clarity slider.

And its corresponding histogram:

the histogram in Lightroom after the Clarity slider has been used
The histogram after applying the Clarity slider.

As Clarity increases, the midtone contrast increases, too; notice how the center of the histogram has expanded.

Additionally, after increasing the Clarity, details on the bird have begun to pop.

Dehaze

The Dehaze slider is quite helpful for landscape images.

When out photographing, you may end up with haze in the atmosphere. Additionally, fog or rain will make an image look hazy.

You can use the Dehaze slider to reduce the haze.

To apply the Dehaze effect (and reduce the haze), drag the Dehaze slider to the right:

the Dehaze slider in Lightroom
The Dehaze slider in Lightroom.

To reduce the Dehaze effect (and increase the haze), drag the Dehaze slider to the left.

As you increase the Dehaze effect, haze in the picture will be reduced, and the overall saturation of the image will increase. If the saturation increases too much, then bring down the Saturation slider slightly.

Note that the Dehaze slider will shift the histogram to the left (toward the side of the histogram representing the darker tones in the image).

When I was photographing the scene below, there was mist and drizzle over the forest valley. Here’s the image prior to applying the Dehaze effect:

mountain landscape before the Dehaze tool is applied
Before applying Dehaze.

And here’s the same image, but with the Dehaze effect applied:

the mountain landscape after the Dehaze tool is used
After applying Dehaze.

As I increased the value of the Dehaze slider, the haze was reduced. The difference between the original and edited images is quite significant.

You can also use the Dehaze slider for early-morning images, wildlife during the winter season, photos captured in the rain, and wildlife captured from a distance.

The elephants pictured below were moving along the riverbank. I was photographing them from a boat at a far distance, it was evening, and there was a slight fog in the atmosphere, hence the image appears a bit hazy:

two elephants before the Dehaze tool is used
Before applying Dehaze.

But, thanks to the Dehaze slider, the haze in the picture is reduced:

two elephants after the Dehaze slider is used
After applying Dehaze.

The Lightroom tools for local adjustments

There you go!

Those are the three Lightroom tools for nature photography that will instantly enhance your photos.

But here’s one more thing you should know:

Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze aren’t only available as global adjustments. They’re available as local adjustments, too.

You can apply local adjustments using a Graduated Filter, a Radial Filter, or an Adjustment Brush.

As you apply your local adjustments, you can shift the Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze sliders.

Let me give you an example. Here’s an unedited image:

An unedited road

After making global adjustments in Adobe Lightroom, I used a local (targeted) adjustment on the sky:

the road with a targeted adjustment applied

On the stormy clouds:

the road with another targeted adjustment applied

And on the road passing through the grassland:

the road with a third targeted adjustment applied

Note that these local adjustments include the Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze sliders.

Here is the final image:

final edited road with storm clouds using lightroom tools nature photography
The final, post-processed image.

So you can use these three tools when adding local adjustments, too!

Lightroom tools for nature photography: Conclusion

I hope these three Lightroom tools will help you enhance your nature and wildlife images.

Now I would like to hear from you:

Which of these Lightroom tools for nature photography are you going to try first?

Let me know by leaving a comment below.

The post 3 Lightroom Tools to Enhance Your Nature and Wildlife Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Shreyas Yadav.


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Using Lightroom vs Photoshop: A Quick Reference Comparison

21 Oct

One of the most common questions we get from photographers that are just starting out is about photo editing software and which one they should use. Most people have heard of Adobe and its Photoshop and Lightroom software but are confused to what the differences between them are and exactly which one they should be using. Let’s take an in Continue Reading

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The Five Most Essential Camera Settings and How to Use Them

20 Oct

The post The Five Most Essential Camera Settings and How to Use Them appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by David Shaw.

Modern cameras, from smartphones to high-end DSLRs, are designed to make decisions for us.

And, for the most part, they do a pretty good job. Slap your DSLR into Auto mode, and more often than not you’ll get images that are sharp with a decent exposure.

Five Most Essential Camera Settings seaside landscape

Now, if you’re just looking to document your world, then go for it. Snap away. But the drawback is that images taken with Auto mode tend to look similar to one another, with a uniform depth of field and exposure.

If you want to move beyond the automatic camera settings, you need to understand your camera, how to use it and, most importantly, what impact changing those settings will have on your final image.

Here are five of the most essential camera settings, what they mean, and how they’ll impact your photos.

ISO

Here’s the first essential camera setting you should know:

ISO.

Now, the acronym “ISO” is terrible, because it’s basically meaningless in terms of photography. It stands for International Organization for Standardization, a European non-governmental organization that makes sure industries apply the same standards.

In the case of photography, the International Organization for Standardization wanted to make sure that an 800 ISO on a Canon camera is the same as on a Nikon, Sony, or a Fuji. If that standard didn’t exist, then settings wouldn’t be applicable across camera brands. So if I set my Canon to make an image at 1/100s at f/2.8 and ISO 400, and you set your Nikon to the same settings, we wouldn’t get the same exposure.

Thankfully, all the major manufacturers do subscribe to the ISO standard.

So what is ISO?

ISO is the measure of the sensitivity of your camera’s digital sensor to light. The lower the number, the lower the sensitivity; the higher the number, the more sensitive the sensor becomes.

Say that you’re shooting in a low light situation, such as in a poorly-lit room or on a dusky evening. An ISO setting of 100 will require that more light reaches the sensor than if you were to use a setting of ISO 400, 800, or 1600.

Five Most Essential Camera Settings fire night image
This night image required a fast shutter speed to retain detail in the flame, so I had to use a high ISO (3200). In the next shot (below), you can see the noise in the original RAW file. (By the way, this image shows what happens when you free methane from a bubble in the ice of a frozen pond in the boreal forest and then set it alight.)

Drawbacks of a high ISO

So why not shoot with a high ISO all the time?

Two reasons:

  1. High ISOs often create digital noise in the image (though camera sensors are getting better and better at avoiding this).
  2. Sometimes you may want to force a slow shutter speed, in which case you need less sensitivity to light. This may be the case if you are trying to capture blurred motion such as water or wind, or if you’re creating pleasing blurs in sports photography.
Five Most Essential Camera Settings ISO
Note the noise in the detail of the person’s clothing and in other shadowed areas.

In short, ISO is one of the three tools you have at your disposal to manipulate your exposure.

Shutter speed

The length of time your camera’s sensor is exposed to light is the shutter speed.

Many cameras have a mechanical shutter that snaps open and closed, allowing light to reach the sensor. Others use a digital shutter that simply turns on the sensor for a set period of time before switching it off again.

Your shutter speed has a huge impact on the final image.

Why?

Because a long shutter speed will create blur in moving subjects. As a landscape photographer, I use long shutter speeds to blur water, capture starlight, or show wind motion.

Five Most Essential Camera Settings beach
For this image, I used a 1/2s shutter speed to blur the waves while retaining some detail.
Five Most Essential Camera Settings shutter speed
A 30s shutter speed blurred the Yukon River into a mirror-like surface.

Short (i.e., fast) shutter speeds have the effect of stopping motion. Use a shutter speed of 1/2000s and the motion of a runner or a cyclist will be stopped dead.

Five Most Essential Camera Settings shutter speed
This image of a passing bike required a shutter speed of 1/500s. The shutter speed was just fast enough to make the image sharp overall while retaining some sense of motion in the spinning tire.

Your use of shutter speed must be thoughtful to create a good image. Think about the final image you want to create. Does it have blurred components or is it all sharp? Do you want to stop your subject or convey a sense of motion?

Consider, experiment, then decide on your shutter speed.

Aperture

The aperture, or f-stop, might be the most confusing aspect of photography for many photographers. This is because it affects images in unexpected ways.

Essentially, the aperture is how big the hole in the lens is. The smaller the hole, the less light that is allowed in; the larger the hole, the more light that gets through.

What often confuses people is the numbering system:

The smaller the number, the larger the hole.

So a setting of f/2.8 corresponds to a larger opening than f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, and so on. Lenses with a wide maximum aperture (i.e., a small number like f/2) are considered fast, meaning that they are capable of allowing in more light.

But it’s not just about light and how wide a lens can open. The aperture also affects image sharpness.

You see, most, if not all, lenses are sharper a few f-stops down (called the sweet spot). A lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 will create a sharper image at f/8 than at f/2.8. The better the lens, the less this matters, but it is noticeable on most lenses.

Depth of field and its applications

The aperture also controls the depth of field.

The depth of field is the amount of the image from close to far that is in focus. A lens set to its widest aperture (say f/2.8) will give less depth of field than the same lens set to f/11.

Five Most Essential Camera Settings aperture grouse
A very shallow depth of field in this image brings the grouse hiding in the brush into focus while the surrounding chaos of branches blurs into a haze.

As with shutter speed, your use of aperture should be purposeful. Have a landscape image that you want in focus from front to back? You better select a high f-stop (such as f/11). How about a portrait where you want a clean, soft background but a tack-sharp eye? Then use a small f-stop (such as f/2.8 or f/4) and carefully choose your focus point.

Five Most Essential Camera Settings aperture
An f-stop of f/11 at 17mm was sufficient to make the entire scene, from inches in front of the lens to the cliffs in the distance, sharp.

The aperture directly impacts the shutter speed. A narrow aperture will require you to use a longer shutter speed to attain a proper exposure, just as a wider aperture will allow you to use a faster shutter speed. Aperture and shutter speed are completely interrelated; there is no escaping it.

So you need a strong understanding of both.

White balance

White balance, like ISO, relates to the sensor.

But, in this case, it has to do with the color of the light, rather than its brightness.

Different light sources have different color tones. Our eyes often don’t detect these differences, but you can bet your camera will. Have you ever seen a photo of a home interior lit by soft white bulbs, but including a window? Usually, the interior of the room looks natural while the outdoor light looks artificially blue.

That’s white balance. The camera (or photographer) decided to use the interior light (the warm-toned bulbs) as the neutral color, but then the natural light outdoors shifted toward blue.

Now, when the white balance is set wrong, the colors are off. They look too yellow, blue, or orange.

But when the white balance is correct, everything looks natural, as our eyes detect it.

Five Most Essential Camera Settings white balance aurora
Here is an image with the camera’s white balance set to Auto. The colors of the aurora borealis appear too purple and yellow.
Five Most Essential Camera Settings white balance aurora
In this version, I adjusted the white balance further into the blue range, making the colors of the lights appear more natural and pleasing.

What about Auto White Balance?

I’ve got a confession to make here:

I almost always use the Auto White Balance setting on my camera. Cameras are pretty darn good at assessing color tones and deciding on the appropriate white balance. When my camera does get it wrong, I can check the image on the LCD and make the correction for the next shot.

Also, I shoot exclusively in RAW format, which means that I can make adjustments to the white balance during post-processing. I trust the image on my computer screen more than I trust the tiny LCD on the back of my camera.

That said, there are times you should adjust the camera’s white balance setting. The first is if you are shooting JPEGs. The JPEG file format will not allow you to effectively adjust the white balance later, so you must get it right in-camera.

The second time you’ll want to adjust your white balance setting is when stacking images, either for high-contrast scenes or for panoramas. When stacking, slight changes in color tones will make combining several images into a single HDR photo or a panorama much more difficult or even impossible.

You can also adjust your white balance if you purposely want to make an image look cool or warm, or if you are using artificial lights.

So be mindful of your white balance; know what it does and how it will impact your images. Then decide how to use it.

Exposure compensation

What is exposure compensation?

Exposure compensation allows you to very quickly add or subtract light from an image.

Too dark? Use the exposure compensation feature to add a stop of light. Too bright? Exposure compensation can quickly darken the image.

Homer sunset

For the image above, I used exposure compensation to make sure the scene showed details in the foreground, while keeping the bright sunset in the background from being blown out.

And the image below was made in bright sunlight, but a deliberate underexposure of three stops (via exposure compensation) reduced the mountains to black but retained detail in the sky, resulting in a surreal image.

landscape with reflection

Know your camera well

Exposure compensation is a tool you should know how to adjust without lowering the camera from your eye. How it is set depends on your camera settings.

I use Aperture Priority mode most often on my camera. So I select the aperture, and the camera decides the shutter speed. If I adjust the exposure compensation, my camera will retain my chosen aperture and simply adjust the shutter speed up or down to get the desired exposure.

And if I were to use Shutter Priority mode, as I sometimes do, the camera would adjust the aperture, instead.

(In Auto mode, the camera makes this decision for you.)

I use exposure compensation constantly. It is my go-to method for fine-tuning my exposures in the field. On my Canon DSLR, I can adjust it with a simple twitch of my thumb on the rear wheel of the camera. Other cameras have their exposure compensation control as a wheel near the shutter button, or as part of a system of buttons on the back.

Know how your camera works and learn to adjust the exposure compensation quickly and efficiently. Understanding this important tool will mean you don’t miss your chance to get the shot right when you are working in the field or the studio.

Essential camera settings: Conclusion

These five camera settings are the most important things to understand about your camera.

Experiment with them so you know how they affect your final image. Learn to change each setting quickly and without fuss.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll have taken charge of your photography.

And you’ll be on your way to creating purposeful images.

If you have any comments or questions, please add them below!

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Fujifilm Announces the Mirrorless X-S10, With 20 FPS and IBIS

19 Oct

The post Fujifilm Announces the Mirrorless X-S10, With 20 FPS and IBIS appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Fujifilm X-S10 announcement

Last month, we were fortunate enough to get a major camera announcement from Sony: the a7C, a compact-yet-full-frame option designed for vloggers, hybrid shooters, and anyone looking to gain top-notch image quality in a smaller body.

But now it’s Fujifilm’s turn to offer a camera guaranteed to impress vloggers, hybrid shooters, and more.

Just last week, Fujifilm announced the X-S10, an APS-C mirrorless model that combines a compact design with standard Fujifilm performance, while also sporting impressive video capabilities, continuous shooting speeds, and in-body image stabilization.

The X-S10 will feature a 26.1-megapixel X-Trans sensor, which is in line with Fujifilm’s current flagship options (the X-T3 and X-T4) and will undoubtedly perform well. You also get a decent viewfinder (2.36M-dot) which, while not quite as high resolution as the new X-T4, should satisfy most photographers.

And the 3” rear LCD is fully articulating, for anyone looking to shoot at awkward angles or do some inconspicuous photography from the hip.

Fujifilm promises lightning-fast autofocus, claiming that the X-S10 is adept at “achieving focus in as fast as 0.02 seconds in some cases, even at -7.0 EV.” And the X-S10 is also “equipped with high-precision Tracking AF for moving subjects and Face-Eye AF function to track a subject’s face and eyes.”

When it comes to continuous shooting speeds, Fujifilm has never been a company to let its customers down. The X-S10 continues this trend, featuring a walloping 20 frames-per-second continuous shooting speed when using the electronic shutter (though this drops to 8 frames per second when working with the mechanical shutter).

And as for image stabilization:

Fujifilm found a way to keep the IBIS down to a reasonable size, stating that the “camera’s IBIS mechanism is approximately 30% smaller in volume and weight than the previous, similar X series model” (here, Fujifilm is referring to the X-T4). This means that Fujifilm was able to successfully slip its IBIS technology into the X-S10, which is a huge deal, especially for photographers who frequently find themselves in low light situations. The handholding boost provided by a bit of IBIS can be the difference between sharp and blurred images.

Finally, we have the X-S10’s video capabilities to consider. While there’s no 4K/60p recording, you do get a respectable 4K/30p. Combine this with the image stabilization and the fully-articulating screen (discussed above) and you have yourself a useful little camera for vloggers and video hobbyists.

So if you’re a vlogger, a hybrid shooter, or simply a photographer looking for a compact mirrorless option, consider the Fujifilm X-S10.

The camera will begin shipping toward the end of November for $ 1000 USD (body only), $ 1400 USD (with an 18-55 f/2.8-4 kit lens), and $ 1500 USD (with a 16-80mm f/4 kit lens). But you can preorder your copy right here.

Now over to you:

What do you think of the Fujifilm X-S10? Would you rather have the Fujifilm X-S10 or the Sony a7C? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post Fujifilm Announces the Mirrorless X-S10, With 20 FPS and IBIS appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


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10 Tips for Improving Your Wildlife Photography

18 Oct

The post 10 Tips for Improving Your Wildlife Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Guest Contributor.

A guest post by wildlife photographer Morkel Erasmus.

wildlife photography tips

Ever since DSLRs became readily available, more photography enthusiasts have started venturing into wildlife photography.

It seems that wildlife photography, in conjunction with landscape photography, has really seen a huge growth spurt over the last few years, at least as it pertains to the number of people practicing it as serious hobbyists or budding professionals.

This is especially true in my native country of South Africa, where it’s long been many a family’s tradition to visit legendary self-drive safari locations such as Kruger National Park. Having neighboring countries like Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe doesn’t affect this trend negatively!

Yet spend some time on your favorite online photography forum (at least those that allow the posting of photos) or on other sites like Facebook or Flickr where photosharing is common, and you might notice that not every photo taken of a wild animal really speaks to you.

I’m not sure whether many folks just snap away and hope the image comes out half-decent, or whether many just think they’re doing their subjects justice (when that is not at all the case). Let me say outright that no offense is intended, and I also take photos that fall into the above categories.

In fact, I do it on every photographic trip I take.

But it’s stepping beyond that and getting a rare wildlife image that ticks all the right boxes that we all need to strive for. And we must be prepared when the opportunity comes along.

zebras fighting

In today’s article, I will attempt to provide you with some easy-to-apply tips and advice for improving your wildlife photography.

Some of these tips might seem like common sense, and you’ve probably read a similar list of “how-tos” elsewhere. But remember that common sense is not so common at all these days and that everyone has their own take on things, however similar it may be.

I do think I will cover a few points that are not just based on pure technical skill; photography is, after all, an art-form. Sometimes we need to be freed up to capture the vision we have in our mind’s eye, rather than stick to conventions and norms.

Here is a quick overview of the points I will cover in this article:

  1. Know your gear
  2. Know the wildlife
  3. Know the wildlife photography “rules;” break the wildlife photography “rules”
  4. Work the light
  5. Shoot wider; shoot closer
  6. The more, the merrier
  7. How low can you go?
  8. The content-technical dichotomy
  9. Patience isn’t a virtue; it’s a necessity
  10. Be there and enjoy it

These are the points that I try to cover when leading a photographic safari or presenting a workshop.

(Also note that I include the genre of bird photography in my definition of wildlife photography.)

Let’s get cracking!

a wildlife photography example of a lion on a dune

1. Know your gear

This sounds like the biggest cliché, but you know that it’s true.

The really great, action-packed moments in wildlife photography last, on average (based on my experience), between 5 and 20 seconds. If you are not deeply familiar with the settings of your camera or the abilities of your chosen lens, you will either miss the shot or blow the images you do manage to capture.

Here’s what’s important:

  • Know the minimum shutter speed at which you can obtain a sharp image with your camera/lens combo
  • Know any added margins that the in-camera or in-lens stabilization gives you
  • Know how to quickly toggle between focus points or focus modes
  • Know how high you can push your camera’s ISO setting and still achieve acceptable results

In general, I like to say that you need to be able to make most, if not all, of the necessary adjustments to your exposure/focus settings without lifting your eye from the viewfinder.

The action you see between the cheetahs in the following image lasted all of 10 seconds, even though we sat with them for more than an hour:

cheetahs playing

2. Know the wildlife

This goes without saying, right? Since much of wildlife photography is based upon capturing fleeting moments of natural history (read: interesting poses or behavior), it pays to be able to somewhat predict your subject’s behavior beforehand.

Granted, not every species is as predictable as the next. But there are patterns of behavior ingrained into every animal species. Knowing your subject can make the difference between being ready and prepared for capturing that “golden moment” and watching in agony as it flies by.

Now, there is only one way to get to know wildlife:

Spend time with it. Don’t just hang around for a few minutes and seek out the next subject if the one you are observing or photographing isn’t delivering the goods. Sit with wildlife. Watch wildlife. Wait.

(This also ties into patience, which I will discuss in more detail later.)

This image was captured by knowing what the Lilac-breasted Roller was going to do to its grasshopper-lunch, and being ready for it:

roller eating lunch

3. Know the wildlife photography “rules;” break the wildlife photography “rules”

There are certain unwritten rules that form the foundation of good photography, regardless of genre. And, of course, then there are certain “rules” that find their application mostly in the genre of wildlife photography.

Understanding proper exposure and the use of the histogram, as well as creating proper compositions using a guideline such as the rule of thirds, are all important to ingrain in your subconscious. You want to be able to instantly capture that fleeting moment properly.

In wildlife photography, much is made about eye contact with the subject, as this gives life to the image. In the case of avian photography (birds), you can take this a step further: the head angle in relation to the camera’s imaging sensor needs to be at least perpendicular to it, but ideally turned a few degrees towards the sensor (and therefore turned towards the viewer, who ultimately gets to view the image captured by the sensor).

The image below, for example, follows strong rule-of-thirds compositional guidelines:

wildebeest on a dune as stunning wildlife photography

Once you know the “rules” and the guidelines, and once you know when and how to apply them, it’s time to start breaking them. You should test the boundaries a bit, you know? You don’t want your photos to always look like the standard images that every photographer is getting.

Take a look at the image below. I mentioned the “need” for eye contact. Yet sometimes it can work to shoot an image in which the subject is not giving the photographer eye contact (this often means the animal is busy with something else and too busy to turn its attention to you).

thirsty Zebra foal makes for intimate wildlife photography

4. Work the light

The first piece of advice I got from a professional wildlife photographer when I started shooting is to stick to the hours of golden light.

This means getting up early in the morning and being in the field before sunrise, and going out in the afternoon to make the most of the last hours of sunlight. The light at midday (mostly between 11:00 and 16:00, at least where I live) is generally harsh and robs images of that spunk that they need. The exception is on overcast days, when the clouds act like a massive softbox and filter out the light evenly.

On days like that, I shoot all day (as long as there are willing subjects!).

Since photography is all about painting with light, you need to know how to use the light to your advantage in wildlife photography. Often, we will find ourselves in a position where the light isn’t ideal or, heaven forbid, the light is sweet but from the wrong direction (and we aren’t in a position to move to a better spot).

The good news is that light from the wrong direction can add lots of mood to an image. Shooting into the light is tricky to pull off, but if you adhere to my first tip (to know your gear), you can get some pretty interesting images from a less-than-ideal light position. The image below is one such photo:

backlit sprinboks at dawn

5. Shoot wider; shoot closer

Too many wildlife photographers get fixated on what I call the “focal-length debacle,” where it becomes an obsession to have the longest/biggest lens possible.

Now, I know this is location-dependent, as you might need more than 600mm just to get any shot at all in certain wide-open spaces. But the issue I want to tackle is more related to our obsession to get as close as possible to the animals and isolate them totally from their environment. The result is often an image that looks like it could be taken of a captive subject in a controlled location, with a perfectly smooth background and no idea of the real environment in which the animal finds itself.

Instead, challenge yourself to shoot at a wider angle to give the viewer a better idea of where you took the image and where your subject has to eke out a living in the wild. This is applicable to any species you photograph, from a squirrel to a deer to an elephant.

The elephant below was photographed with a wide-angle lens and a polarizing filter to give you a sense of the environment, as well as to make the most of the clouds and sky:

elephant in the landscape as wildlife photography

The flip side to shooting wider is (you guessed it!) shooting closer.

And I mean way closer. Get in-your-face close (by changing your position or by using a longer lens with an optional teleconverter) to create different and interesting studies of the animals and birds you photograph. This will also help you think in terms of more abstract compositional arrangements.

Have a look at this photo of a Cape buffalo, for example:

buffalo abstract close-up of ear

6. The more, the merrier

No real intricate explanation needed on this one. In wildlife photography, one is company and two is often a crowd, especially when there’s food or shelter involved. If you have a good view of more than one member of a species, stay a while!

Look at the images below. First up: a solitary African spoonbill, minding its own business on a perch, happy as can be. Throw another spoonbill into the mix, and you have a recipe for good interaction:

spoonbills in the trees; the more the merrier wildlife photography tip

7. How low can you go?

This is not a trick question, nor is it a call to do the limbo. The point of view of a wildlife photograph is just about everything. How you portray your subject can make all the difference in the world.

In short, try to get an eye-level perspective (or go even lower if you can). This brings the viewer of your image right into the scene and confronts them with the view of the world from your subject’s perspective.

Obviously, what counts as eye-level is relative (you will pretty much always be at a lower perspective than a giraffe, for example), but you get the idea.

Always bear in mind the constraints of your environment. In most reserves in South Africa, you are not allowed to get out of your vehicle in the field. This restricts you to a certain perspective.

Look at the images below for illustration. The first African painted dog was photographed from an open game viewer. The result is a somewhat bland shot; it’s nothing special to my eyes.

The second image, however, was taken lying flat on my stomach in a sandy riverbed not 20 meters from the pack of canines, and the alpha male was checking me out. This perspective makes the image come alive.

wild dogs

8. The content-technical dichotomy

This is an interesting one. Does great content trump a technically great image that includes average content every time?

It may be different where you live, but I am particularly relating this one to the African safari experience. Every tourist wants to see the “big 5,” or at least a lion. But if you’ve ever spent time around wild lions in the daytime, you will know that they are actually shoddy models for photography. They sleep up to 20 hours per day.

Conversely, I have had great photo opportunities from impala, who are the most common ungulate you’ll come across down here in the bush. My advice to the discerning photographer would be to look for great opportunities regardless of the species when the light is good!

Have a look at the contrast between these two images: an impala jumping gracefully and a “standard” portrait of a male lion, both in good light. Which do you prefer?

a lion (above) and a leaping impala (below)

Let’s use a second example, lest it look like I am becoming blasé about the subjects I am fortunate to be able to photograph in our wonderful part of the world:

Squirrels.

Everyone photographs squirrels, right? In the images below, the top squirrel is munching something with nice soft light and a nice low angle. And at the bottom, a mommy is carrying her youngster at a precarious height over a large branch at speed by biting down on the youngster’s stomach flap with it holding on for dear life. The light in the tree canopy wasn’t the best, but this is clearly a case of content trumping a technically good image.

squirrels

The jury is still out on this one. Awesome sightings of lions won’t always provide awesome images. Learn to see the potential in the mundane to create amazing photographic moments, then go out and make good images.

The obvious ideal is to capture a wildlife image with great content in great light shot with just the right settings: the utopian photo that most of us will never get right.

9. Patience isn’t a virtue; it’s a necessity

As a wildlife photographer, your images are predicated on the fact that things in nature are unpredictable.

Anything can happen at any time, but most things happen only rarely. Or, at the very least, they rarely coincide with the exact time that you are in that specific spot.

It is therefore imperative that you become patient. Very patient.

Now, I sometimes catch myself being very impatient out in the field. It’s something you constantly have to work on.

In fact, it’s almost a culmination of many of the things we’ve discussed so far. Observing your subjects and getting to know their behavioral patterns requires a great deal of patience.

Often, the implication is that you need to return to the same spot for days before things start to happen. And even if you do that, you run the risk of nothing happening and wasting your time.

The image below was captured after staking out the tree with the impala kill for more than five hours. I had also driven past this tree many times earlier that day to see if there was any action. I knew the leopard would return, but I had no guarantee that it would return before nightfall.

a leopard ascends a tree to find its kill

10. Be there and enjoy it

I will conclude this lengthy article with the following advice (I do hope you haven’t been bored to tears reading this!):

Be there and enjoy it!

running cheetah wildlife photography example

By this, I don’t just mean that you need to physically show up and be at the right place at the right time (although of course that applies).

I actually mean that you need to be present in the moment. Don’t get so caught up in the technical issues and your settings that you don’t take in the moments you are witnessing while out photographing birds and wildlife. We need to be mindful of the privilege of spending time in nature and being in places where humans haven’t quite exerted their full force.

landing kingfisher wildlife photography example

Maybe for you this is just the most isolated spot in your local park where you can sit and observe and photograph squirrels and birds. Or maybe it’s facing a wild Kodiak bear on the Alaskan floodplains.

giraffe with a rainbow in the background wildlife photography

Regardless, enjoy what you are doing! Have fun doing it! How does it help us to spend so much time on this amazing hobby cum art form if we are not enjoying the time spent?

I hope these wildlife photography tips will stand you in good stead out there in the field. They have for me. Good light and good sightings to you all!

About the author: Morkel Erasmus

After having been an avid naturalist from a very young age, picking up a camera for the first time early in 2009 proved to be a pivotal moment in the life of Morkel Erasmus. Since then, he has been infused with an unbridled passion for capturing forever fleeting moments of natural history and sharing them with people to showcase the wonderful natural heritage of his native Southern Africa, and to create awareness to conserve this heritage for future generations.

“I absolutely love being in the wild and unspoiled places of this world,” says Morkel, “and living in South Africa means there are plenty of those to choose from.”

An industrial engineer by profession and an accomplished artist across many genres, from music to poetry, Morkel has always enjoyed whatever allows him to express his creativity to the fullest. Photography turned out to be the perfect marriage of his engineering brain and artistic soul. Showing off God’s glorious creation is something he enjoys immensely. He is also a Nikon South Africa ambassador.

Besides being widely published, Morkel has been honored for his commitment to his craft with various awards in the short span of his photographic career, most notably by receiving a “Highly Commended” award for one of his images in the 2010 BBC Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Morkel is a devoted husband and a proud father of a beautiful daughter and soon-to-be-born son.

See more from Morkel on his homepage or blog, and connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, 500px, and on Instagram.

The post 10 Tips for Improving Your Wildlife Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Guest Contributor.


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Photography as Therapy: How To Keep Your Mind Positively Occupied

17 Oct

The post Photography as Therapy: How To Keep Your Mind Positively Occupied appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Using your camera as a tool for photography as therapy is a healthy habit to develop. Often artists produce some of their best work when they are feeling pressured or stressed. Creative expression is a fabulous way to release tension when you are feeling down.

Creative minds tend to be more sensitive and respond differently to the stresses life can bring. By picking up your camera and engaging in the creative expression of photography, therapy happens.

photography as therapy meditating
© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Why it’s good to engage in photography as therapy

By picking up your camera and taking photos, you are helping your mind focus on something other than what’s causing you stress.

(Unless your camera or creative process is the cause of your angst, that is. Hopefully, that is not the case.)

I know that, whenever I am taking photos of a subject I find interesting, I am in a very different mental space. I concentrate more intensely and can easily forget about what might be worrying me.

Focus on what you enjoy and it will be therapeutic. As you have your camera in hand and give your attention to being creative, your mind will give more space to positive, constructive thoughts than the negative ones you may have been dwelling on.

Meditate on what you are doing. The more you can clear your mind of thoughts that are worrying you and concentrate on taking photos, the more you will see great results. If you can, follow your feelings as you are taking photographs. Infuse the feelings into your pictures, and you may soon begin to feel better as your mood changes.

Being creative generally requires positivity to a certain degree for most artists. As you put your energy into taking photos, you will hopefully notice a change as you stick to your constructive thoughts. The more you focus on taking photos, the more your negative thoughts and feelings will diminish.

Woman taking a photo for photography therapy
© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Regularly practice photography therapy

The more frequently you do anything, the better you become at doing it. Photography as therapy, when practiced frequently, can help improve how you feel.

Concentrating when you’re stressed can be challenging. By committing to regularly taking photos, even for 15 minutes a day, you’ll most likely find that you can concentrate better and for longer. You’ll also see an improvement in your photography skills and creative expression.

Make time to take photos. Photography therapy will not happen unless you commit time and energy. As you press on and make a daily habit of photography, you will experience being more satisfied and will feel free from what’s been bothering you.

Photography is not likely to eliminate all your problems, but it can at least give your mind a break from them. 

You may also find that, as you have your camera in hand and your attention is given to positive thoughts, potential solutions to your problems will come to mind. 

Woman with a film camera for photography as therapy
© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Work on a photography project

To help keep yourself engaged in photography, having a project to regularly work on is beneficial. Knowing each day what you’ll photograph means you can grab your camera and take photos without having to search for a subject.

If you’re someone who finds it challenging to find new subjects, creating a project for yourself will enable you to be more productive. That way, you won’t waste time trying to decide what to photograph.

Pick a theme for your photography project that you know you’ll enjoy. Photographing what you love will naturally help you take more creative photos. By capturing the same subject or theme over a period of time, you’ll make more diverse photos than if you only photograph a subject occasionally.

Working on a photography project will help you develop as an artist. Once you’ve been working on your project for a while, you’ll be able to look back over the body of work you’ve created and see how you are progressing.

Take the time to study the photos you’ve made. Analyze them and consider how you’d like to progress with your project. By reflecting on the photographs you are making, you can discover new ways of seeing and expressing yourself through your photography.

I love gardening and being in my garden, but I have never been particularly interested in photographing it. Now I am challenging myself to take photos in my garden often because I want to get better at this style of photography.

Without commitment and without pushing myself to photograph my garden regularly, I know I’ll never get better at it. I’m not expecting to take masterpiece photos as I begin. But I do hope that, in time, I’ll be able to capture some images that I’ll be satisfied with. 

Pressing forward with this project has challenged me to improve my photography. The deliberate concentration helps me to remain focused on my creative expression. When I have time, or when I see that the light is particularly beautiful, I can pick up my camera and begin photographing without having to stop and think about what to take pictures of.

tricycle taxi project photo
© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Get inspired by the photography of others

If you’re not sure where to start, pick up a book or look at the websites of some of your favorite photographers. 

When you are stressed and in need of some photography therapy, it can be difficult to find inspiration on your own. At times like this, it’s helpful to look at the work of other photographers with an open mind; that way, you can find new ideas. 

Don’t confine your sources of inspiration to photography. Draw ideas from music and other art forms. You might pick a theme to photograph based on one of your favorite songs or movies. Think outside the box a little more than normal as you look, listen, and feel the art you love.

Learn by mimicking, in some ways, other creatives you admire. Picasso said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Take ideas from others and make them your own. Don’t merely copy something that you like. Put your own expression into it so that you truly own it.

Two Kayan long neck girls
© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Share your photography therapy experience

Many photographers prefer to work alone. Being with your camera and having no one else around can help you concentrate better. But, at times, being with other photographers and comparing notes is helpful, too. Group photography therapy can help you develop your creative expression in new ways.

Find a few people who enjoy the same style of photography and subject matter as you. Plan photography sessions together and engage with each other as you are taking your pictures.

Get together over a coffee and discuss your photos. This will help you all grow as you discover how others see and photograph the same subjects. It’s not a competition. Don’t make it one. Treat it as an encouraging time to build each other up, and you’ll all begin to see an improvement in the pictures you’re taking. 

Two cameras for photography therapy
© Pansa Landwer-Johan

Photography as therapy: Conclusion

Be purposeful about photography as therapy. Practice being mindful and having your camera in your hands frequently. 

As you make yourself take photographs regularly, you’ll begin to notice how much easier it is to concentrate on what you are doing. You’ll start to see your creativity increase, your photography improve, and the stresses of life begin to fade away.

The post Photography as Therapy: How To Keep Your Mind Positively Occupied appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.


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Weekly Photography Challenge – bicycle

17 Oct

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – bicycle appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime.

I guess you could say we’re being very specific, but not very specific this week! ‘Bicycle‘ is our #dPSWeeklyChallenge theme! The reason being is that I managed to get my old bike going today and got out of the house to whip around the neighbourhood. Riding in the sun made me think of some amazing cycling photos I’ve seen over the years, and thought it’d be fun to see what we can come up with! Your entry can be a photograph of your bike, of a street with bicycles, a race, whatever you would like as long as the main subject includes a bicycle of some description, perhaps you could try your hand at product photography and photograph a part of your bike? So many options! #dPSBicycle

Missed a dPS Weekly Challenge? We’ve made a special home for them all! Here

Weekly Photography Challenge – bicycle

You could make it an abstract, like my photograph above (oddly, from a series I call ‘stuff stuck in stuff) or it could be from an organized ride, like the photograph below.

Weekly Photography Challenge – bicycle

Or it could just be a random scene of two chaps cruising down a street somewhere in Cuba. We look forward to seeing your entry in this week’s Digital Photography School Weekly Challenge!

Weekly Photography Challenge – bicycle

Great! Where do I upload my photos?

Simply upload your shot into the comments field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see. Or, if you’d prefer, upload them to your favourite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them.

Weekly Photography Challenge – Looking Up

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSBicycle to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

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The post Weekly Photography Challenge – bicycle appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime.


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