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How to Get Started Making Extra Money with Your Nature Photography

16 Sep

Photography is expensive, there’s no doubt about that. Nature photographers have it bad, though, especially if you’re buying long telephoto lenses for wildlife. The Canon 200-400mm lens will set you back $ 11,000 – ouch. So it’s no wonder that many people want to make it in photography and start monetising their work. But can you make money with your nature photography?

Brown Bear at Sunset

Making money from your photography isn’t easy, and it doesn’t get any easier as a nature photographer either. There’s less demand, and more people doing it. That means increased competition for a smaller slice of the pie. If you want to make money from your nature photos, then you must realize that it’s not easy by any means – but it’s also not impossible.

I’ve been working as a professional nature photographer for about six years now. What I’ve learned over my relatively short career so far is that you need to think outside the box to stay ahead of the competition. A bit of a cliché statement maybe, but one that you’ll have to embrace – especially if you want to be a full-time photographer.

But you’re probably reading this wondering how you can make a bit of extra cash from your photos on the side, rather than an entire life-altering career move. Well, that I can help you with! Let’s take a look at some of the main ways you can start to make money with your nature photography.

Prints and Other Products

The first print I ever sold was in 2008. That’s eight years ago now, and I’ve been doing it ever since. To the surprise of some, people do buy photographs to hang on their walls. This isn’t a space reserved solely for paintings.

Personally, I have my photos printed and framed myself, but you can have this process automated by dedicated web hosts. Zenfolio is a popular choice amongst photographers for a website, and they offer the ability to have orders automatically fulfilled by printing labs. This means you can sit back and relax, selling prints from your website.

Beauty and picturesque scenes sell better as prints, rather than action-packed shots.

It’s not just online though. You can sell prints in the real world too! Head to a market or trade show, set up a stall and get selling. It’s great fun talking to customers about your work and to sell your photos this way. Doing just a couple of shows a year can buy you a new camera or lens, so that’s something to think about.

What sells best? Well, I find the more traditional wildlife photography like; clean bokeh shots, cute animals, or dramatic scenes. You’re looking for something that someone will want to look at over and over again. After all, when was the last time you moved a framed picture in your house? They stay up for a long time.

Workshops

If you really know your way around your camera and can take a decent photograph, then this is something you could consider. Day workshops offer clients tuition in photography, let them know your secrets and just help them to take a better photo and understand their equipment. It’s a popular move amongst photographers nowadays, and almost everyone trying to make a living out of nature photography is offering workshops.

wildlife-photography

The best thing about it is that you can set your own hours and choose when you work. You can fit sessions in on the weekend around your full-time job, and have a little extra money coming in on the side. All of this helps to take the sting out the costs of new photography kit.

There are different types of workshops you can offer. Some photographers partake in one-to-one guiding days, showing clients different locations for landscapes or wildlife sightings while imparting photographic knowledge. Others may rent out a blind they have built to view a particular animal (see image above), something that is often in high demand by those who don’t have the time to create such possibilities themselves.

Sell Stock Images

The stock photography industry is depleting day by day, unfortunately. It used to be the case that you could make a five-figure salary, or more, from stock photography alone. Maybe not just as a nature photographer, but you could definitely make big bucks in comparison to nowadays.

nature-photography-money

But with the rise of microstock, photographers are seeing their earnings decrease. On top of that, many stock websites are taking increased percentages as a commission, leaving photographers with little left of the few sales they may still make.

Despite that bleak picture, there are specialist nature photography stock agencies you can submit to. The likes of Nature Picture Library still sell well, at least in the UK, and photographers are able to make a decent income from them. However, they are very selective about who they work with – you need something unique in your portfolio to be accepted.

Selling to Publications

This is where there is definitely still money. Selling images to newspapers or magazines can be pretty lucrative indeed – the trick is making it a regular gig. Publications are often looking to buy not just one photo, but a sequence of photos that tell a story. That’s where your best chance to get published sits.

Selling to newspapers and other publications can be a good source of income.

Working with a press agency to get your photos syndicated and in front of the right people is the best way to go about it. While you can contact publications yourself, you’re likely to be ignored and if your photos are used you may have to spend months chasing them for payment. Press agents take the stress out of it. There are plenty around the world, and they’ll take a commission (usually 40-50%) of the sale price for their services. I work with

Press agents take the stress out of it. There are plenty around the world, and they’ll take a commission (usually 40-50%) of the sale price for their services. I work with REX Features, but there are plenty out there such as Caters News and Associated Press. If you think you have a good, fresh sequence of images then send some low-resolution copies over and you’ll soon find out if they are sellable or not.

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In Conclusion

Here are just some ways that you can make money as a nature photographer. It takes work and dedication, especially if you want to make it a full-time job. It’s definitely not the path everyone will be able to take. But, there’s no harm in trying to make a bit of extra money at first and seeing where it takes you. You just have to take that first step.

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The post How to Get Started Making Extra Money with Your Nature Photography by Will Nicholls appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Spectacular editors’ picks from early 2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year entries

11 Sep

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo by Nancy Elwood/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year
The Eye Of A Gator

National Geographic’s 2016 Nature Photographer of the Year competition is underway, and like many of the subjects depicted in entries, the competition is looking mighty fierce. National Geographic’s editors have highlighted some standout early entries, but there’s still time to enter – the competition closes November 4.

You can see a few of the incredible entries here – head to the competition website for more.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and caption by Nancy Elwood/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

The Eye Of A Gator

As I was sitting on the bank of the wetlands, watching a pair of anhingas prepare their nest, when one flew right down in front of me to fish. I quickly focused on her and out of the water came a wonderful fish brunch.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Christopher Markisz/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Moonlightning

Lightning strikes lower Manhattan as a summer storm approaches a moonlit New York City skyline.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Kym Illman/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Curious Lions

Using a wide-angle lens (16mm) on our remote-controlled camera buggy results in the background being smaller in shot and appearing further away. We fire the camera shutter using the same remote-control transmitter that we use to drive the buggy, allowing us a range of a couple of hundred meters although we rarely sit more than fifty metres away from camera.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Takashi/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

UFO formation

A baby cloud had born at dawn. The baby cloud had grown bigger and bigger than before. When it came the time of the morning glow, It had grown to many huge lenticular clouds. It looked like UFO formation.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Flamine Alary/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Mist and Wind

Early this morning we were on our way for hiking at the Bruce Peninsula National Park. The sun was rising, it was misty, eerie and we did not see very far away when suddenly these wind turbines appeared out of the mist. It was quite spectacular.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Lidija Kamansky/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Daybreak at Monument Valley

A storm was rolling in from the west and the few of us gathered for sunrise were watching and hoping that day would break before the rains came. The moment the sun peeked above the horizon, we were hit with incredible winds and sideways driving rain. My husband jumped behind me to block the blowing sand and to try to shelter me from the wind. I kept shooting as the skies lit up, while gripping the tripod to keep it steady. This image is the result of those efforts from this memorable sunrise!

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Jassen T. /2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Fossil Fuel Galore

“A quarter century ago, scientists warned that if we kept burning fossil fuel at current rates weíd melt the Arctic. The fossil fuel industry (and most everyone else in power) ignored those warnings, and what do you know: The Arctic is melting, to the extent that people now are planning to race yachts through the Northwest Passage, which until very recently required an icebreaker to navigate.” New York Times, May 12, 2015. Midway-Sunset is currently the largest oil field in California. Aerial.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Li Liu/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Beauty Beyond Disaster

The Soberanes Fire, located south of Carmel and Point Lobos, started Friday morning 07/22/2016. By Saturday night, the fire covered the entire mountain. The sky was illuminated by the golden glow of the forest fire. I hiked down towards a cliff by the beach. Because the wind was blowing south and slightly east, the sky to the southwest was clear. I witnessed the most spectacular sight I have ever seen, the Milky Way glowed above the raging wildfire. Beauty rose beyond disaster.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Kyon. J/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Through

It was amazing to capture China’s beautiful mountains in such magnificent morning rays coming through.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Kim Aikawa/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Swamp Raccoon

While looking for alligators at a swamp in Louisiana, this beautiful little creature wanders out of the murky waters right into the morning light, pausing just long enough to capture.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by T. King/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Jellyfish

Jellyfish

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Hugh McCrystal/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Wildebeest Migration

This is a photo of Wildebeest during migration in the Serengeti.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by QIAN WANG/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Let’s picnic

Yellowstone National Park, west thumb geyser basin, a perfect spot for picnic, and I mean not for human.

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Aaron Baggenstos/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Bear Hug

Brown Bears, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Editors’ picks: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

Photo and Caption by Yh Lee/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Bull Race

Pacu Jawi, or bull race, is held in Indonesia where bulls are coupled, with the jockey standing on the plow harnesses attached to each bull, running a short distance of about 100 feet. Whichever pair runs the fastest in a straight fashion fetches the highest price (as they are deemed the best workhorse in plowing the paddy fields for harvesting).

Which images are your favorites? Let us know in the comments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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5 Tips for Taking Better Portraits in Nature

23 Jul

I can’t get enough of being outside in nature.

I often go out on trail runs with my friends, and we spend most of the run grinning from ear to ear, exclaiming how lucky we are to be here on this earth, and how beautiful every single thing is. I love to go camping with my family, where we set up hammocks in the trees, listen to the birds singing, and the leafy wind sounds as we gaze up into the sky.

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So it makes perfect sense to me to take photos of people in the great outdoors. Nature elevates the whole photo to something much more interesting than a simple studio backdrop. People are my favorite subjects, and nature is my favorite setting, so I’d love to share a few ideas to help your nature portraits be even more exciting.

1 – Nature’s Colors Can Complement Perfectly

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Sometimes you may notice that your subject’s hair, eyes, lips, or clothing matches some floral blooms, leaves, sky, or rocks perfectly. Photographing your subject with colors in mind can bring out some of those things beautifully, and make a gorgeous photo. Sometimes the colors may match exactly, or they may be opposite on the color wheel, and make your subject just pop.

For example, if your subject is wearing purple, keep an eye out for yellow leaves. If you are doing your photographs in a place with lots of green, pops of red can really stand out. If your subject has startling blue eyes, use water or the sky to bring out that blue even more. Start paying attention to the colors in your photos, along with composition, light, etc., and your photos will have a whole new dimension to them.

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2 – Focus on Nature and Let the People Blur into the Background

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For a new perspective, try focusing your camera on nature in the foreground, and letting the people in the background be out of focus. This is especially effective for photos that feel like you’re getting a glimpse of something private, like a kiss, or a mother with her newborn baby.

You can do this by setting your aperture wide (a low number, for example, between f/1.8 and f/2.8), setting your camera to let you choose the focus point, then making sure your focus point is on the flowers, leaves, or rocks in the foreground. Make sure your subjects are standing far enough behind your foreground, so they will definitely be out of focus. You want it to look like it was done purposely, not like you accidentally missed the focus on your subjects.

3 – Be Playful and Interact With Nature

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Nature is full of props to make your photos even more fun. You can use logs, rocks, and branches to perch on. You can use leaves or snow for your subject to blow on, or throw, in the air. You can have them walk through a stream, or throw rocks from the bank. Use a flower to tuck in the hair, or to smell. The ideas are endless, and if your subjects are really outdoorsy and they interact with nature regularly, make sure to capture that during your photo session with them.

Be kind to nature around you, though, and try to leave everything the same or better than you found it. Remember that if everyone broke branches, picked a bouquet of wildflowers, or stomped on untouched fragile foliage, there would be nothing left for any of us to enjoy. Tread lightly, pick up any trash, and don’t leave a trace.

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4 – Dress Mother Nature up a Little Bit

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You can create a whimsical, unexpected photo, with a few unlikely props. Carefully hanging a chandelier from a tree, or a bench or couch in a field, can be a lot of fun. Try props like a retro typewriter in the middle of a forest, or balloons at the beach. It’s hard to look at a photo with something so playful and fanciful, without smiling.

5 – Make Nature the Star of the Show

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I love images of beautiful scenes in nature, but I love a photo of a person IN a beautiful scene in nature even more. It shows scale, and adds so much interest to the photo. Your human in the photo may almost be an afterthought, maybe even almost blending in to the scene.

Look for beautiful scenes that would make pretty photos alone, then add your person into the shot. These types of photos work perfectly to print up gigantic and hang up on the wall. Close up photos are fantastic, but sometimes pulling way back, and getting more scenery than person in a photo, is the perfect thing to do.

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Summary

I hope these tips give you some ideas to get out and take some portraits in nature.

How have you used nature to enhance your portraits? I’d love to see your nature portrait photos in the comments if you’d like to share.

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10 Ideas for Photographing Nature in your Backyard

17 Jul

Have you noticed how many photographers are fascinated with the natural world? Even if we specialise in another genre, few of us can resist a gorgeous flower, or a branch of autumn leaves.

One of the best things about photographing nature is that it is so accessible. You needn’t travel far to find it, because it’s all around you. You may take it for granted because you see it every day, but your own backyard is treasure trove. Every hour of every day and every season, bring something new.

image showing photographing nature in your backyard

Summer lavender: ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/200th

Backyard needn’t be taken literally here. If you don’t have a backyard, you’ll find plenty of nature to photograph just by wandering the streets or public parks and gardens.

Tech details: All of the photographs in this article were shot on my Canon 5D Mark III. Unless otherwise stated, I have used my Canon macro 100mm f/2.8 lens. I have included details of ISO, aperture and shutter speed settings.

#1 – Flowers and leaves

Flowers and leaves are often the first things that come to mind when we look for subjects in our own backyards. They offer an endless variety of colours, shapes and textures for you to photograph. You could create a collection based on a single colour scheme, or try to find as many different leaf or flower shapes as possible.

Cymbidium orchid: ISO 640, f/4, 1/100th

Violet leaves: ISO 800, f/8, 1/30th

Geranium leaves: ISO 320, f/8, 1/40th

Experiment with different lighting and conditions. I love backlighting for leaves and flowers, as it creates a luminous, almost three-dimensional effect, and you can see details such as veins. Some shapes look better with strong, directional light, and I love how colours are enhanced in the wet.

Erlicheer daffodils BACKLIT: ISO 100, f/4, 1/640th

The same flower shot with the sun on my back: ISO 100, f/4, 1/800th

Backlighting a leaf reveals details you wouldn’t see if you lit it directly : ISO 100 f/4, 1/250th

Flowers are seasonal, and in temperate zones, spring and summer offer the widest variety. There are still flowers to be found in winter, although you may need to look harder. Don’t forget that weeds, such as dandelions ,are also beautiful! Autumn (fall) provides the greatest colour spectrum in leaves.

Liquidamber leaves photographed en masse: ISO 640, f/4, 1/80th

A single leaf isolated against a dark background: ISO 640, f/4, 1/30sec

#2 – Fruit, berries and seed pods

When the summer flowers disappear, fruits and berries are nature’s way of providing for birds and animals throughout the colder months. Many berries and seed pods ripen towards the end of autumn, bringing colour to the winter garden. Citrus trees bear fruit in winter, and persimmon trees lose their leaves to reveal branches of shiny orange fruits. Think also of acorns, pine cones, and nuts.

Kumquat: ISO 2500, f/4.5, 1/50 sec

ISO 800, f/8.0, 1/500th.

ISO 500, f/5.0, 1/1250th.

Orange rosehip: ISO 500, f/5.0, 1/160th

Bunches of red berries: ISO 500, f/5.0, 1/100th.

#3 – After the rain

Raindrops are fascinating through the lens. Try photographing them from various angles, and in different lighting. When photographing a single droplet, or a string of them, isolate them by keeping the background uncluttered. You can do this by creating distance between the droplets and the background, and using a wide aperture to ensure it is blurred. Notice also how water sits in nice round droplets on some types of leaves, but on others it disperses.

Arthrododium leaves after rain: ISO 800, f/4.5, 1/80 sec

Raindrops hang from the slats on the back of a garden chair: ISO 1000, f/4, 1/125 sec

ISO 640, f/4, 1/125 sec

ISO 1000, f/4, 1/125 sec

#4 – Mushrooms, toadstools and fungi

These are abundant in autumn and winter, but some species pop up throughout the year after rain. Look in damp, mossy places, on the sides of trees and log piles for them.

My personal favourites are the red toadstools with white speckles. They are evocative of fairy tales and magic, and their colours are a nature photographer’s dream!

Toadstool: ISO 1000, f/6.3, 1/250 sec

ISO 1000, f/6.3, 1/160 sec

Don’t ignore the tiny, dull-coloured mushrooms and fungi. The ones in the photo below were growing in a crevice in the side of my herb garden. You can see by the scale of the woodgrain how tiny they were. From above, they were nondescript, but when I lay on the ground beneath them and shot into the backlight, they became translucent and I could see their delicate structure.

These tiny mushrooms were no bigger than the fingernail on my pinky finger! ISO 800, f/8, 1/160 sec

#5 – Look up . . . look down

We have a ginormous tree in our backyard. It was probably planted when our house was first built in the 1920s, and its canopy is as big as the footprint of the house. One of my favourite things to do in the warmer months is to put a picnic rug on the lawn, and lie on my back gazing up into its branches. It is free therapy!

Watching the leaves change from bright spring green through to darker green in summer, the first blush of colour in autumn, through to rich claret just before they drop, never ceases to delight me. I have photographed it time and time again through the seasons. Even lying on the ground with my 35mm lens, I can only capture a small portion of the canopy.

Sigma 35mm Art lens, ISO 160 f/11, 1/60 sec

Sigma Art lens 35mm, ISO 160, f/11, 1/100 sec

If you are lucky enough to have trees in your garden, try standing or lying directly underneath them and shooting up into the branches. Notice how the light changes from early morning, throughout the day into late afternoon and evening. Branches, whether they are naked or covered with leaves, contrast beautifully against a blue sky. They are equally stunning at sunrise and sunset, and on a moonlit night.

Sigma Art lens 35mm: ISO 200, f/11, 1/200

If you haven’t any trees, look for interesting cloud formations to photograph. You can create a collection of skies to use as Photoshop overlays, to add interest to other outdoor photos such as portraits. Look for vertical cloud formations, fat white fluffy ones, and those lovely soft colours around the edge of the clouds at dusk and dawn.

Down on the ground are a million microcosms in the moss, the lawn, between the paving stones, and the fallen bark and leaves. You won’t see them until you get down to ground level, so lie flat on your tummy and peer into another world.

Macro world: the moss on a tree trunk. ISO 640, f/4, 1/40 sec

#6 – Black and white beauty

We tend to think of colour photography when we think of nature, but don’t dismiss the idea of black and white. Nature provides sculptural shapes and contrasting textures that make great black and white subjects. If you have succulents or cacti in your garden, they are often more interesting in black and white than they are in colour (except on those rare occasions when they flower). Ditto with white flowers against a dark background. Smooth pebbles, rough bark, snail shells, acorns and pine cones all look fabulous in black and white. Try strong, directional lighting, and a high contrast edit.

When I converted this file to B&W in Lightroom, I played with the sliders in the HSL panel. The photo on the left has the blue slider pulled all the way down to -100 to darken the blue sky. On the right, the blue slider is set to zero.

ISO 100, f/8, 1/100th. Converted to B&W in Lightroom.

#7 – Experiment with sun flare and haze

Your backyard is one of the best places to experiment with effects and new techniques. Firstly, you become familiar with how things look at various times of the day, and throughout the seasons. Secondly, you don’t need to travel far, so you can respond to anything on a whim. If you spot something amazing while you’re sipping on your morning coffee, you needn’t even get out of your pyjamas to capture it!

The subjects in the two photographs below are both visible from my desk. Every morning last summer, I noticed how this shaft of hazy sunlight would hit the planting of succulents on the pedestal, so I knew exactly what time to capture it at its best. Also sitting at my desk, I saw how the sun caught this spray of orchids just after the rain, and I rushed outside with my camera.

Canon 85mm lens, ISO 100, f/4, 1/800th.

Shot with sun flare and no lens hood: ISO 100, f/4, 1/1000 sec

For comparison, this is the same scene shot with a lens hood to cut flare: ISO 100, f/4, 1/320sec

#8 – Snails, bugs and spiders

For nine months of the year, there are a million creepy-crawlies in my backyard. Butterflies, cicadas, crickets, praying mantis, caterpillars, moths, bees, wasps and spiders (I could happily do without the latter two). At the time of writing this article, it is winter in Melbourne, so most bugs are hiding or dormant.

#9 – Birds and other wildlife

I’m going to preface this paragraph with honesty. Confession #1: photographing wildlife of any kind requires more patience and a longer telephoto lens than I possess. Confession #2: I have the greatest admiration for those who do it. I have a Pinterest board just for animal photos (you’ll notice a clear bias towards squirrels) and on 500px I follow a number of photographers, one of whom only photographs squirrels!

Editor’s note: our own Will Nichols specializes in photographing squirrels.

The kinds of animals and birds you’re likely to find in your backyard obviously depends on which part of the world you live in, and how built-up your neighbourhood is. You will know which kinds of critters visit your backyard, and what their habits are. With that in mind, find a spot where you won’t be too conspicuous, and be prepared to wait. If you’re using a long lens, you might consider using a tripod or monopod to avoid camera shake. Have your ISO and aperture all set to go, with a fast shutter speed to freeze motion. If you have been watching the animal or bird’s behaviour over several days or weeks, it may be possible to focus roughly on the area you expect them to appear – for example, the birdbath.

Also read: Guide to Attracting Critters to Your Garden for Backyard Wildlife Photography

#10 – Portraits in nature

Nature provides us with the perfect canvas for portraiture. Look for a bank of flowers, a bed of autumn leaves, or just a green hedge – the colours in nature never seem to clash.

When photographing children and pets in particular, I almost always prefer an outdoor location over a studio. My eldest daughter usually runs a mile when she sees the camera, but the chance to roll around with the dog in these glorious leaves was clearly too much for her to resist.

I love how the soft hues flatter her skin tone. If you are shooting outdoors with lots of colours, such as flowers or autumn leaves, take care with your subject’s outfit. These portraits might been too busy if my daughter had been wearing a patterned outfit.

image showing photograph nature in your backyard

Not even teenage daughters can resist these leaves! ISO 320, f/4, 1/400 sec

ISO 320, f/4, 1/320 sec

Let’s hear from you!

So there you have it – plenty of inspiration to get outdoors and photograph nature in your own backyard. It’s time to stop reading and get out there with your camera. Please share your backyard nature photographs in the comments below … especially if they involve squirrels!

This week we are doing a series of articles to help you do better nature photography. See previous articles here:

3 Habits Every Outdoor Photographer Should Develop to Avoid Missing Shots
5 Tips for Better Nature Photography
27 Serene Images of the Natural World
Weekly Photography Challenge – Nature

The post 10 Ideas for Photographing Nature in your Backyard by Karen Quist appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Weekly Photography Challenge – Nature

16 Jul

This week we are doing a series of articles to help you do better nature photography. See previous articles here:

3 Habits Every Outdoor Photographer Should Develop to Avoid Missing Shots
5 Tips for Better Nature Photography
27 Serene Images of the Natural World

By Rodney Campbell

Weekly Photography Challenge – Nature

This one is pretty straight forward. Go find some nature and take photos of it. It could be as exotic as an iceberg in Antarctica or an elephant on a safari in Kenya – or as everyday as the squirrell or little bird in your backyard, or a walk in your local park with your dog.

Remember, more nature articles every day this week – so keep reading!

By Christopher Michel

By Matt Biddulph

By Mark Moschell

By Stan Lupo

Share your images below:

Simply upload your shot into the comment 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. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.

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5 Tips for Better Nature Photography

15 Jul

One of the most challenging things about photography is finding good subject matter. People want to see images of places and things that they normally may not get to witness in person. It’s not always easy to find fresh and appealing material that will draw in your viewer and capture their attention.

Luckily, with a little looking, you have the most abundant resource you will ever need to produce wonderful photographs, that have appeal and carry timeless beauty: nature. That’s right, our incredible natural world offers virtually limitless opportunities for you to bring out the very best in yourself so you can show others the awesomeness that surrounds us all.

Nature

Whether you’re shooting in rugged mountains, the ocean, or in your own backyard, there are ways to get the most out of your photography to be sure you produce some of the best images you possibly can, each and every time. Here are five easy to follow tips, which will help you take better nature photography, as you venture out to explore the natural world!

#1 – Go Small

The vast majority of the comings and goings occurring in nature, take place completely unknown to us. Wonderful little occurrences move constantly along in harmony, and can offer great chances for getting an equally wonderful photograph.

Dew

When you’re out shooting in nature, don’t forget to pay attention to the smallest of details. Bring a lens that has a decent zoom (over 50mm) and is capable of focusing close-up. Certainly you don’t need a macro lens in order to get great photos of small things, but do keep in mind that the closer you can get the better off you will be.

Lens

Look for insects going about their daily lives, and pay special attention to the patterns in nature that can be found in leaves, flowers, and the Earth itself.

Plant

Getting close to small natural wonders means that you are also likely to be get a little dirty, so remember not to go out shooting wearing your best clothes.

#2 – Look Up, Look Down, Look All Around

Far too often we unintentionally view the world that is directly in front of us, and neglect to see the literal big picture. There is so much more to see if we would only look tilt our heads up. There are many wonderful things to photograph above our heads, and even greater opportunities for creative photography.

Trees 1

Look for interesting and dramatic cloud formations, and incorporate clouds in your shots of other natural scenes. Remember that hardly anyone likes looking at an uninteresting sky, so try and compose your shots with that in mind.

Field

It doesn’t stop at merely looking for cool cloud formations either. Get instant creativity in your shots by using leading lines, and vertical perspectives to give your images a uniqueness, that is sure to catch the attention of your viewers.

Crops

Trees 2

The same goes for looking down onto your subject. There are many interesting perspectives to be had by shooting straight down on your subject from above.

Hedge

The key thing to remember here, is that your goal is to show things in nature in ways that most people don’t get to see, or have not even considered looking for in the first place. Make use of the power of perspective, and pay attention to everything around you, whether it’s above your head or below your chin.

#3 – See the Light

Light is the basic force behind all photography. It illuminates your subjects, and brings shadows and contrast to your photos. Learning to understand the nature of light is a lifelong journey for any photographer. Using the light found in nature is one of the best ways to add impact to your images and gain powerful compositions. Seeing light is something that takes practice, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t capable of using it to your advantage right now.

Sunlight

When you’re out shooting, be sure to pay close attention to the way shadows are cast, and by whatever you happen to be photographing. Seeing the contrasts within the scene helps you to avoid dry and drab photos that are generally unappealing.

Direction of light is also very important, and can make a place or object look completely different depending on the angle of the sun. Be sure to visit a location more than once, at varying times of day (or even at night), so that you can find your creative spark.

#4 – Get out Early . . . Stay out Late

If you are searching for good natural light for your photographs, it means that you have to be there when it happens. That good light almost always comes about in the morning hours as the sun rises, or in those late evening hours when the sun begins to disappear. You must be prepared to get out and be ready for this great light if you want to increase your chances of getting great shots.

While you are definitely able to find good light throughout the day, it’s a good idea to get out and about early, or late in the day, so that you can see the gorgeous effects of morning and afternoon light.

trees 3

Furthermore, most animals and insects operate at their peak during the very early and late hours of the day. Even if it means losing a little sleep, it will almost always be worth the trouble to make sure you’re there when the magic happens.

#5 – Bring Backup

One of the most depressing feelings you will ever experience as a photographer is that of a dead battery, or a full memory card, as a beautiful scene disappears before your eyes. It’s always worth your while to bring an extra battery and memory card (extra film) so that you’re prepared when Murphy’s Law makes an appearance. Stack the odds in your favor when shooting the natural world be being prepared.

Lens Cloth

This doesn’t end with simply bringing an extra battery either. A lens cloth and blower brush can save the day when you get a little rain or dirt onto your lens. Being prepared for the small things isn’t difficult, and it ensures that you’ll be ready when the time to click that awesome photo comes along.

Follow these five simple tips and make the most of your time shooting out in our amazing natural world. Have some tips of your own? Be sure to share them in the comments below as well as your nature photography images.

This week we are doing a series of articles to help you do nature photography. This is the second, also read: 3 Habits Every Outdoor Photographer Should Develop to Avoid Missing Shots – and watch for more coming soon!

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Nordic by Nature: Fanciful Models of Scandinavian Summer Homes

04 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

nordic retreat treehouse

A series of sleek but whimsical models blend photorealism with fantastic concepts for treehouses, hilltop homes and even dwellings mounted on the sides of cliffs.

nordic cliff side dwelling

Santi Zoraidez is an art director and designer from Buenos Aires who does visual, graphic and architectural work, sometimes real and sometimes conceptual.

nordic modernism hillside home

In this set of summer homes, he bends, twists, warps and cantilevers wood in amazing (if sometimes implausible) ways, putting houses on spindly stilts or hanging them from steep rocky surfaces.

nordic modernist

The results are at once daring and provocative while retaining a sense of minimalism, that core feature common to Modernist Scandinavian designs.

nordic angled house modle

By maintaining a simple palette of colors and textures, the artist manages to accomplish a natural aesthetic that makes sense for countryside dwellings while letting the details of designs – long horizontals and asymmetrical shapes – define each work.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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9 Things You Need to Know to Become a Nature Photographer

29 Mar

Nature photography is a very popular field to be involved in. That’s no surprise though, as it gets you outdoors and seeing our planet in a way that others may miss. When I first started as a nature photographer, I began to see things differently. It sounds cliché, but I paid more attention to my surroundings and saw things from different angles.

Will Nicholls 3 This tutorial will look at some of the most important things to keep in mind if you are looking to become a nature photographer.

#1 You’ve got to love it

Luckily this isn’t a very hard thing to adhere to, but you must love nature to excel at capturing it on camera. Nature photographers spend a lot of time outdoors. If you’re a landscape photographer, you’ll spend lots of your time hiking through scenic areas for just a few clicks of the shutter. Wildlife photographers often spend hours and hours sitting in one place, waiting for an animal to appear. Without the passion and drive behind you, this can be mind-numbing.

So it’s not for everyone, but if you’re reading this article, then chances are you have that interest programmed within you already!

#2 Be different

While it’s great that nature photography is so popular, this brings with it one big challenge – everybody is doing it. This means you need to figure out how you can be different (assuming you want your photos to be noticed).

This could be anything from focusing, and specializing on a single family or species of animal, to developing an artistic quirk and style in your photography. Personally, I spend a lot of my time photographing red squirrels – thousands of hours actually, to give you some idea. All this time has allowed me to learn about the animal, and capture behaviour that others have not managed.

Will Nicholls 5

#3 Take risks

By taking risks I mean with your time, not necessarily something dangerous to your wellbeing. As the saying, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” suggests, if you don’t take risks then you are unlikely to capture those truly mesmerizing images.

Recently in the North of England, there was a display of the aurora borealis. Typically, it is hard to predict this phenomenon, and the available forecasts only look an hour ahead. It can finish as quickly as it starts, so planning for such an event is not really possible. I decided that I wanted to capture the Northern Lights with a particular castle in the foreground, but it was over two hours away. Nevertheless, at 2 a.m. I dropped everything, and raced off to the coast. When I arrived the display was weakening, but I waited a further two hours and the lights erupted in front of me. I got home at 8 a.m., but it was well worth it.

I’m particularly pleased with this result as photographing the Aurora Borealis can be especially challenging because we are positioned only just north enough to see them.

Will Nicholls 8

#4 Be respectful of nature

Unfortunately, this is one thing that is not adhered to by everyone who calls themselves a nature photographer. Having an ethical approach to your photography, especially when it involves animals, is of the upmost importance. Those who don’t are shamed within the industry, and immediately lose the respect of the majority of photographers who really care about their subjects.

No photo should come before the welfare of an animal or place. It’s just that simple, and remembering this rule will help to improve your photos in the long run. The best photographers don’t cut corners, and you’ll find they have a great affinity with the environment.

Will Nicholls 4

#5 Think about what you’re photographing

It’s easy to press the shutter when you finally find what you’re looking for, whether that be an animal or a scene, but clicking the shutter without thought will often result in unimpressive photos. Think about what you’re trying to convey to the viewer. You want the person looking at the picture to feel like they are in your shoes, looking at the scene themselves.

For landscape photography, this often comes with effective composition, thinking about both your foreground and background to properly document a scene, and avoiding a flat appearance.

With wildlife photography, this comes from capturing the character and behaviour of an animal. Impactful photos can be achieved by establishing eye contact between the viewer and the subject.

Will Nicholls 7

#6 Introduce scale

Sometimes we are just bowled over by the scale of something in nature. Documenting this with a camera can be tricky as you’re recording a three dimensional scene with a two dimensional medium. Think about using objects to show scale in your photos.

For this photo of the Northern Lights, I photographed it above a tree. This tree is particularly famous, resting in a gap on Hadrian’s Wall in England – and it’s actually rather large itself! This helps to convey the expanse of the sky and display above.

nature photography

#7 Try a different lens

This is another way of experimenting with your photos, and it works for both landscape and wildlife photography. If you usually shoot with a wide-angle lens, then put it down and pick up a telephoto. If you use a telephoto, then try something shorter. This forces you to play with perspective, and capture something new.

Photographing wildlife with a wide-angle lens is great fun, and can result in some fun shots that incorporate the surroundings into the image.

Will Nicholls 2

#8 Plan your shoots

Just because nature is relatively unpredictable, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan your shoots. Have an idea of a photo you want to capture, and keep at it. Maintaining a long-term study of an area, or animal, will allow you to capture something extra special. It may be that particular shot you’ve been chasing, or something completely different.

#9 Don’t give up

If it was easy then everyone would do it. Nature photography requires a huge amount of time, but it should also be something that you can relax and enjoy – it definitely shouldn’t be a burden on you.

Will Nicholls 6

Results don’t come instantly, and like anything, it takes practice to achieve great images. Since you can’t direct nature and tell it what to do, taking good photos can be a longer process than in the other disciplines, but the challenge is what keeps it interesting.

Please share any other things you’ve noticed about being a nature photographer, and your nature images in the comments below.

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Wonder of nature: Eight winning photos from the 9th International Garden Photographer of the Year competition

22 Feb

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A photographer from the UK has collected £7500 along with the title International Garden Photographer of the Year as the results of the ninth competition have been announced. Richard Bloom took the first prize with a picture of a field of lupins he came across while in the South Island of New Zealand in the summer of 2015. Bloom commented ‘The landscape was already amazing, scattered with drifts of naturalised lupins, which gave it an almost psychedelic, wonderland feel.’

The competition has eight main categories along with additional prizes for portfolios, projects and photographers under the age of 16. The competition culminates in an exhibition at the Royal Botanic Gardens, in Kew, London, and a book is produced of the winning entries and those commended. On request judges also offer feedback on entries once the winners are announced.

The 2016 competition is already open for entries, and is open to photographers around the globe, with a deadline of October 31st. Entry costs from £10 for adults.

To see more of the winning entries visit the International Garden Photographer of the Year website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Tips for Using Flash to Enhance Outdoor Nature and Landscape Photography

13 Dec

Late on a winter evening, I was photographing atop a ridge in Colorado’s Front Range. I had been working on some landscape shots, but with the light fading from the sky, the thought of beer and food was beginning to overwhelm my desire to stay out. The colors were shifting to the deep tones of blue hour, and the light was long gone from the hills. About to give up and head home, I spotted a lone juniper atop a rocky outcrop, perfectly silhouetted against the deep blue of the mountain sky. I sighed, tempted to ignore the scene, but instead put my camera back on the tripod, walked over and composed a shot. With a click, I snapped the shutter.

CO KenCaryl evening 30Dec2011 6

The image was decent, nice blues with a clean black foreground, but it needed some warmth, an element to contrast with the abundant cool tones. “If only I could get a beam of sunlight to reach back above the horizon…” I thought to myself.

Wait a second… I didn’t need the sun, I had a flash and a remote trigger in my bag. I pulled it out, all thoughts of beer and food forgotten, and placed the flash on a boulder a few feet to my left. I set it low, to 1/4 of full power, then took a shot.

Better, I thought, looking at the image glowing on the back of my camera, but still not right. The light coming from the flash was too cool, lacking the warmth I wanted. Digging back in my bag, I emerged with a pack of gels and slapped a half cut of CTO (color temperature orange) over the flash, and clicked off another.

CO KenCaryl evening 30Dec2011 7

“Now we’re talking”, I muttered. A warm beam of light crossed the rocky foreground to light up the tree. Never mind that the actual sunlight disappeared 45 minutes before, I could re-create it with a little artificial light trickery. A few adjustments to the flash’s positioning and brightness, and I had my keeper shot. Finally, I could go home.

Using Flash Outdoors

For most photographers, flash is relegated to the studio, and if used outside it is usually restricted to portraiture. But there is so much more potential for artificial light. Landscape and wildlife photography can often benefit from a little flash, and with some creativity, it can bring out the best in your images. Here are a few tips to help you get using flash for your outdoor nature and landscape photography.

To get started, you’ll need a few things in your bag:

At least one flash
Some kind of remote trigger (I use cheap and simple wireless triggers I found on Amazon for a few bucks)
A selection of multi-colored gels
A flash stand or assistant
For night photography, a strong headlamp or hand-held flashlight is a good addition to the kit

A windmill stands in the garden of the Finca Santa Anita in Salta Province, Argentina.

General Guidelines

As with almost all flash use, for best results, you’ve got to get the light off your camera. On-camera, straight flash, looks weird and unnatural. I like to say that photographic rules are meant to be broken, but this one seems universal: get the flash off your camera.

Get the flash off your camera

Direction of light, and how much to use it, is a matter of your personal vision, but here are my thoughts: Artificial light should either look so natural, you don’t notice it comes from a bulb, or so obvious, that it’s clear the scene was lit for artistic reasons. Anything in between usually doesn’t work.

As with all successful photography, you need to think through your image, and the story you are trying to tell. Do you want a natural-looking scene or are you aiming for an artistic portrayal of your subject? Once you have an answer to that question you can move forward.

Scrubby pines grow from the rocks of the Dakota Hogback in the foothills of Colorado outside Denver, late evening.

Imitating Natural Light on the Landscape

The near-dark hours before dawn and just after sunset, or full night, are the most suitable times to add a bit of light to a scene. A natural look is usually subtle and may rely heavily on the light that is already available to you. In my example of the juniper tree, I kept the flash setting low, and warmed the light with a gel to get a sun-like look. Finding the right balance between flash and ambient light is critical.

The further you get from the flash, the dimmer, and harder the light becomes. A flash aimed toward the ground will be very bright close to the strobe, fading quickly to invisibility. When setting your scene, use the test button to look at the throw of light across your subject. Aim it carefully, and take advantage of the flash’s zoom to consolidate the beam just where it is needed.

A Western Scrub Jay perches in a tree in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains outside Denver, CO, USA.

Adjusting Exposure

Once set, pop a shot or two, and check the results on your LCD. Almost always, you’ll find you need to adjust the flash brightness, placement, or the ambient light exposure.

When using flash remember this: adjust ambient light with the shutter speed, and flash with the f-stop (aperture).

For example, if you want to bring out more brightness in the sky, lengthen your shutter speed, if you want to increase the apparent brightness of your flash, open up the aperture. This is effective for small adjustments in camera, and keeps you from having to constantly readjust flash settings.

Lighting Your Vision – Artistic Styles

An artistic look is more straight forward, but light direction, intensity, and color are just as important. I often photograph the northern lights around my home in Fairbanks, Alaska. Often the moon, stars, or aurora itself, are sufficient to illuminate the foreground, but at times, it fades to black as you can see below.

AK FAI aurora 112073 17

In such cases, a splash of light is just what I need. When photographing the aurora, or the night sky in general, I rarely carry an actual flash, but I’m always wearing a headlamp. During a typical 5-10 second exposure, if I need a little extra texture or warmth, I can pan the beam quickly over the foreground, “painting” it with light as I did in this image.

AK FAI aurora 112073 18

Light from a typical LED is very cool, but cover it with CTO gel, and nice warm tones result. Light painting is a popular technique, but one that requires some practice to make sure your subject is evenly lit, and not too bright. Mixing light painting and ambient can be very effective to even out brightness in an image, and compensate for highlights. In Argentina, a few years ago, I was shooting a historic farmhouse during the late evening. Bright porch lights on the house needed to be evened out, so I painted some key parts of the scene.

Arg Salta SantAnita house night 104133 18

A warning: painting light can mess with the color of a digital image. If you use your camera’s automatic settings, as I do, light painted images will often require some color correction in post-processing. Shoot in RAW to be sure you retain this flexibility.

Wildlife

Flash can also play an important role in wildlife photography. Birds in particular are often down low in dark forests, where natural sunlight is rarely found. The flat, boring light beneath the foliage can be replaced by the directional light of a flash.

CO Dec2009 AMRO 3

When using flash with a long telephoto, you can often get away with on-camera, or bracket-mounted flash, as I did of the portrait of the American Robin above. Using camera-mounted flash is easy with TTL (Through The Lens) compatible strobes. In fact, this technique is so easy, that I’m not even going to go into it, because more interesting possibilities exist.

Where I live in Alaska, the winters are long, and during the few hours of daylight, the sun is often hidden behind trees or clouds. The birds I love to photograph are usually stuck in flat, gray light. There are a few trees in my yard that the birds prefer. By setting up a flash (or two), gelled with CTO to emulate the absent sun, I’ve managed to create some well lit portraits of these guys.

RBNU 21Dec2011 2

The method is similar to lighting a landscape. You’ve got to choose your flash placement to avoid shadows, and since there is rarely a chance to replicate a poorly exposed shot, it’s best to get your settings right and then leave them in place throughout the shoot. In this case, I was going for an almost studio-like look, so I took advantage of the white snow as a background, making the final image appear almost as a cut-out.

ORJU 22Dec2011 2

I like to put my flashes atop a tall stand to get them over my head like a low angle sun. Done right, the set up and exposure takes only a few moments, and the results can be great.

Conclusion

Artificial light in the outdoors offers a great opportunity to create unique images. Think through your shots, consider where extra light can be added, and what role it will play in the final image. Not every situation requires it, in fact, most don’t. But there are times when that extra pop of light can take a photo from mundane to extraordinary.

Have you tried using flash with your nature or landscape photography? Please share your tips and images in the comments below.

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