Developing Your Photographic Skills
This wave crashing on the eroded rocks at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along with the stormy sky hints at the power of Lake Superior.
It is impossible to begin as a super photographer, no matter how smart you are. Skills must be developed and mistakes made so you can see for yourself what works and what doesn’t work. Fortunately, the process is fairly straightforward and you can become an outstanding photographer rather rapidly if you invest the time.
Many of my students rapidly become outstanding nature photographers and some have gone on to become highly successful professionals in the tough field of nature photography. While no two individuals pursued exactly the same path to becoming accomplished photographers, all of them shared a similar path. The following paragraphs suggest a route that will help you on your journey to becoming an accomplished nature photographer.
STUDY THE MANUAL
Far too many people fail to study the instruction manual that comes with the camera, lens, or flash. The manual provides important information that you must know to help you master the equipment. Equipment manuals are packed with information so don’t plan to read it quickly and fully comprehend the material. It takes a lot of effort. Even though I have been a nature photographer for decades, I thoroughly study the manual of any new equipment I buy. And I do mean study. Every time I buy a new camera body, I read a couple of chapters in the manual each day, take notes, and use a yellow highlighter pen to mark important information that I don’t know. Over a period of a week, I’ll work my way through the entire book. I even study the features on the camera that I think I won’t use because it is important to know everything the camera can do in case you need it later. Once the manual has been studied hard, always keep it with you for review and to look up items you may have forgotten.
You must frequently handle your photographic gear which includes cameras, lenses, tripods and heads, filters, flashes, and anything else to feel at ease with them. The more you handle them, the more familiar you become with all of their features. Turning on the camera and working your way though all the menus help you become at ease with the equipment. As you handle the camera, make sure you know what every button on the camera does. If you don’t know its function, look it up in the manual.
Becoming at ease with handling camera equipment is easier for some than others. Here’s one observation I have made teaching field workshops. Of the three professions, medical doctors, lawyers, and dentists, what profession tends to be more adept at taking excellent nature photographs and which one tends to lag behind? Dentists tend to excel at nature photography. Medical doctors tend to be somewhat less skillful and lawyers come in a distant third. I don’t mean all dentists are excellent nature photographers and all lawyers are average because I know some dentists who are average while I know a couple lawyers who are superb. But, as a group, 100 dentists will easily produce better images than 100 lawyers if they are picked at random and provided the same equipment and opportunities.
Why do dentists tend to be such good photographers while lawyers tend to be average? The folks making up both professions are smart and highly educated so clearly being smart is not the only factor. Perhaps the answer lies in what they do for a living. Dentists are creative people who use tiny tools day in and day out. Lawyers tend to be word people who excel at public speaking and writing, but they don’t use a lot of small tools at work. Becoming a successful nature photographer requires skills for handling lenses, filters, the buttons and dials on cameras, and flashes efficiently. These small tools demand precise adjustments to get the most out of them. Anyone who has a career or another hobby where they use small tools frequently has a head start in photography.
Books and magazines about birds can help you find places to photograph unusual birds such as this purple gallinule in the Florida Everglades.
Magazines on photography and natural history can be enormously useful so it is worthwhile to subscribe to at least a few of them. Since magazines are published monthly or quarterly, they are able to report timely information regarding recent advances in photography. While field techniques change slowly for nature photography, equipment choices change rapidly. The latest information about new cameras, lenses, tripods, printers, and software quickly appears in magazines. In addition to up-to-date equipment reviews, magazines typically describe outstanding photo destinations and may feature interviews with the leading photographers of our time.
All of us lead busy lives so there isn’t time to read every magazine that is appealing. It is important to narrow down the list of choices to those that are the most useful. In my case, I subscribe to eight different magazines and do have trouble finding time to read all of them. Here’s a list of the eight magazines I read and why.
Outdoor Photographer
I have been a subscriber to this US magazine since it was first published in the eighties. Each issue is full of product reports, where to go articles, and many other topics that are of special interest to nature photographers (www.outdoorphotographer.com).
Popular Photography
This US magazine is published every month and covers new equipment and shooting techniques. It is more general than the other photo magazines I get and that is why I like it. Lighting techniques for wedding or portrait photography could easily be adapted to nature photography (www.popphoto.com).
These African elephants make a pleasing composition as they drink water at Samburu National Park in Kenya.
Nature Photographer
I write a column for this magazine which is very strong on describing places to go to make outstanding nature images. The magazine is full of inspiring images. Few articles cover new products, but that is fine since the other magazines cover that so well (www.naturephotographermag.com).
PCPhoto
This magazine describes the latest digital photo equipment and offers tips for using it effectively. It helps me keep up with all the rapidly changing digital equipment ([email protected]).
Digital PhotoPro
This fine magazine is intended for advanced digital users, so I like the in-depth articles on equipment, digital photo processing, and software ([email protected]).
Published in Europe, this magazine specifically covers the Canon EOS system with indepth articles and reviews on the latest EOS equipment and techniques for using the equipment. Since I use the Canon EOS system, the narrow focus on the EOS system appeals to me (www.eos-magazine.com).
WildBird
I’m an avid birder so detailed articles about birds and places to see and perhaps photograph birds are appealing to me. The May/June edition is the annual hummingbird issue which is especially useful (Wildbird/PO Box 37193/Boone, IA 50037-0193 (800) 542-1600).
The Trail Rider
Since horses cover rough ground so easily, I frequently use my horse to locate wonderful nature subjects to photograph around my mountain home. Riding a horse makes it easy to cover a lot of ground to find the best wildflower blooms, scenic vista, or perhaps a nesting woodpecker. This magazine covers critical information that is important to know when riding steep mountain trails (www.trailridermagazine.com).
Many other fine photo magazines are published around the world. Quite a few well-done magazines like EOS Magazine are published in Europe. I like some Canadian magazines too, but don’t subscribe to them now because I don’t have time to read everything I get now. I am sure other fine photo magazines exist worldwide so be sure to check out everything in your home country first. A good place to start is any large bookstore that offers a wide assortment of magazines.
Riding Barbara’s spotted saddle horse is a super way to reach remote mountain vistas that few have seen or photographed.
JOIN A CAMERA CLUB
Camera clubs are quite popular with many photographers. A great deal of knowledge is found among the club members regarding equipment, shooting techniques, and places to go to photograph whatever appeals to you. Club members share their information freely and some highly skilled members present instructional programs on photography. Clubs offer photo contests and may critique images too. Some clubs band together to form Camera Club Councils for competition between clubs or to conduct educational multi-day photography seminars. Early in my career, I attending some of these events and found them to be beneficial and fun. I still attend these events, but always as a program presenter. I met Barbara when I was the keynote speaker at the Southwestern Michigan Council of Camera Clubs annual seminar.
Finding a camera club is easy. Local camera clubs usually list their events in the local paper. The Internet is a valuable tool for locating clubs too because nearly every club has a web site. If you live in California for example, try searching the web for California and camera club. Many camera club leads will appear on your computer monitor. The local camera store should know about any area camera clubs too.
Do make sure the focus of the camera club coincides with your interests. If your primary interest is color nature photography, a club that is devoted to black and white or stereo photography won’t be a good match. Attend the meetings of several clubs to see what they are like before deciding which one to join. Clubs are always looking for new members so they are happy when visitors and potential new members attend the meetings.
ATTEND INSTRUCTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY PROGRAMS
Participating in photo seminars, workshops, and tours is a terrific way to advance your photographic skills. Since many people are confused about how seminars, workshops, and tours are different from each other, lets explain the difference.
Seminars are usually 1-day affairs, but they could last 2 or even 3 days. A seminar is taught by a skilled photographer who has excellent public speaking skills to a large audience that could number in the hundreds. Instructional slide or digital programs are presented on various topics. A good seminar provides detailed notes too. Since the number of participants is high, the cost per participant is typically quite low in the $75 to $150 per day range. This is an excellent value, especially if you consider that a seminar can save you a lot of money and wasted time by showing you what works best to shoot the images you want. Since a large audience is needed to make a seminar financially viable, seminars are typically conducted in the largest cities. To find out about upcoming seminars in your area, check for ads in the largest circulation photography magazines in your country. For example, any issue of Outdoor Photographer or Popular Photography is certain to advertise many seminars conducted in the US.
Participating in a nature photography tour of South Florida that emphasizes birds will give you the opportunity to photograph many unusual species at close range such as this Double-crested Cormorant.
Although you won’t be shooting photos at a seminar, it is an excellent way to learn new photo techniques at a very reasonable cost. Be sure to match the seminar with your interests. A seminar on wedding photography won’t be that useful to a nature photographer. If you are mainly interested in mastering PhotoShop, a seminar on digital nature photography that stresses field techniques won’t hit the mark either. On the other hand, if your primary interest is obtaining the best possible digital image in the field, then a PhotoShop seminar may not be appropriate for you either.
ATTEND A PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Photo workshops can vary from a 1-day workshop photographing wildflowers at the local park to a week-long workshop photographing the autumn color of the North woods. A field workshop involves shooting in the field early and late in the day when the light and weather conditions are most favorable. Skilled photographers guide the students in the workshop, helping them make the best possible images. The enrollment in workshops is limited so there is only about 8–12 participants per instructor. Avoid any workshop where there are more than 15 students per instructor. Since enrollment is much smaller than a seminar, expect to pay much more for tuition which can exceed $1000 per person for a week. Excellent workshop instructors take very few of their own images. Instead, they spend their time helping the students shoot the best possible images.
During the middle of the day when the weather is often unfavorable for shooting in the field, instructional programs are presented and images are critiqued. Super workshop leaders excel at deciding where the best photo opportunities are found in the area and carefully select the shooting sites so a wealth of great photo opportunities are present for the students.
A photographic field workshop is a blend of indoor learning (instructional programs and critiques) and field learning where students take many images in the field under the close supervision of the instructor(s). A well-run photography workshop is a terrific way to elevate your photographic ability to new heights! Do consider joining a photo workshop. You are certain to improve your ability to make fine images and may make some lifelong friends in the process.
TRAVEL WITH A PHOTO TOUR
A photo tour typically is led by a seasoned professional photographer to an exotic shooting location far from home. If you live in New York, joining a photo tour to Arches National Park is an excellent way to photograph the park. Perhaps you might even go on safari to Kenya or take a fabulous photo tour to Antarctica. Since it is expensive to travel to far away lands, photo tours tend to reduce the time spent teaching in the classroom in favor of giving the participants as much time as possible photographing the special subjects they have traveled so far to see and photograph. Some instruction may be offered in the field and tour leaders try to be helpful by answering questions and guiding their participants to the best shooting spots, but most tour leaders take their own photos while leading the tour since the opportunities are so special. Photo tours are most appropriate for those who are already quite skilled with their cameras, but are seeking the camaraderie of a like-minded group of people with a leader who knows where the best photos are found.
A well-planned photo tour is a terrific way to make many outstanding images of wildlife and landscapes that you may never see again. Since everyone on the tour is interested in photography, it is easy to run the tour to accommodate the unique needs of photographers. For example, bird photographers must have time and get close to the subject to make wonderful images. Trying to take bird photos with a birding tour is doomed to fail. Most birders want to see as many birds as possible so they use binoculars or spotting scopes to view birds from long distances. Once they spot a new bird, they spend very little time with the bird, preferring to check the bird off the list and continue looking for more species. This strategy of viewing birds at long distances with spotting scopes and then moving on right away is completely unsuitable for good bird photography. Since the photo tour is full of like-minded people, these kinds of conflicts should not be a problem.
Photography field workshops and tours are advertised in photo magazines frequently. Many companies exist that specialize in offering programs of this type. Once again, the Internet is a great place to find them. Searching the World Wide Web for Kenya and photo tour will certainly bring up many prospects. Sometimes tours, seminars, and workshops are used inappropriately. If a search of Yellowstone National Park and photo tour doesn’t bring up what you want, try Yellowstone National Park and photo workshop or Yellowstone National Park and photo seminar. You will find most of the companies offering photo programs in the park by doing this. Perhaps you want to attend a photo workshop that specializes in a specific topic and you don’t care where it is located. Searching the Web for hummingbird and photo workshop will pull up my hummingbird photo workshops in British Columbia as well as other hummingbird photo workshops that are taught by other photographers.
This non-native mandarin duck was courting female wood ducks on a pond in Lithia park in Ashland, Oregon. The excellent wood duck photography at the pond is expected, but this bird was a bonus.
READ BOOKS ABOUT NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
Hundreds of books are available on all aspects of photography. Be sure to look for titles that match your interests very closely. There are books on general nature photography like this one, landscape photography, closeup nature photography, wildlife photography, and many others. If you are interested in working on your nature images with software, then you will find some of the many books devoted to the digital darkroom quite helpful. Be careful about buying books on software programs because they rapidly go out of date since software is updated frequently.
COLLECT BOOKS FULL OF BEAUTIFUL IMAGES
It is helpful to look at books that are full of fabulous images that were shot by other photographers. Great images inspire you to take some of your own and suggest ideas that you might not have thought of. Perhaps you have not thought about the gorgeous opportunities that can be found on a frosty morning. If you buy a book that showcases several wonderful images such as a frost-covered goldfinch nest, red berry, or weathered oak leaf, you’ll quickly learn to appreciate the magical opportunities offered by frost and seek them out for yourself.
Frost blows off a dead lodgepole pine one frigid morning. We used a cable release to trip the shutter at the decisive moment.
Don’t worry about copying someone else’s idea. Few ideas are unique and you never find exactly the same shot under the identical weather conditions anyway. Working a theme such as frost or icicles in winter or dew in summer is a way to find your own magical images and helps you develop your style.
A low camera angle was used to isolate this frosted lodgepole pine against the blue sky.
Blueberries cloaked in dew drops are especially beautiful to photograph when they are maturing so you get various shades of pink and magenta along with the blue colors.
A dewy grasshopper conveniently poses on top of a leatherleaf bush so it is easy to make the background clutter disappear with a long macro lens.
If you have a favorite subject, collect pretty picture books (coffee table books) of that subject too. I love Kenya, Antarctica, the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, Yellowstone National Park, and hummingbirds to name a few subjects. Therefore, I collect books on all of these topics and own virtually every book published on the topic if it contains great images that are nicely printed. Even bad images can encourage you to visit outstanding places to make your own wonderful photos. Many years ago, I saw a photo of a rocky shoreline in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore that had great potential, but the high noon light didn’t do it justice. Since I lived only 20 miles from the site, I visited this special rocky outcrop along the south shoreline of Lake Superior at dusk when it was bathed in the red light of the setting sun. It was truly gorgeous and I made many images I still love today. It is one of my favorite spots and I was encouraged to seek it out due to a bad photograph!
To find books of gorgeous images on your favorite topic, try searching www.amazon.com or check out the largest bookstore in your area. Being a huge hummingbird fan, I search www.amazon.com once or twice a year to locate any new books on hummingbirds that have been published.
Perhaps you have a favorite photographer or two. Collect books that are full of their images. I especially like landscape photography so I own books by many landscape photographers. Four of my many favorites include Tom Till, Ian Adams, David Muench, and Jack Dykinga.
USE THE INTERNET
The Internet is loaded with information that will help you become an excellent photographer. It is a wonderful source of detailed information about all the camera gear you own or wish to own since every equipment manufacturer has a web site that is loaded with information. You can ask questions on most web sites to get specific answers to questions.
There are tons of information about places to go to take images, how to get there, where to stay, and when to visit.
Many web sites specialize in helping you learn about photography. While some charge fees for this service, most of them are free and offer plenty of information. Some web sites such as www.naturephotographers.net and www.photo.net offer instructional articles and forums that discuss many topics in detail. Asking a question that hasn’t been asked before on the nature photography forum of www.photo.net will yield many responses. Just be sure to search the archives first to make sure your question hasn’t already been answered.
Reading and contributing to photography forums is a way to solve problems too. Be sure to follow the guidelines that all forums have posted specifying how to ask or reply to questions. Always carefully and clearly write any question you wish to post on the forum. You might answer questions that are posted by others too. Just make sure you really do know the correct answer.
Using forums to get answers does work quite well. I use it from time to time myself. Always be courteous on the forums.
Digital photography offers a number of web sites that provide great advice, equipment reviews, and forums. Some of the better ones for digital include www.dpreview.com and www.robgalbraith.com.
SHOOT PHOTOS
You can read, study, and participate in online photo forums all you want, but you’ll really never become an excellent photographer unless you put what you learn into practice. Spend as much time as possible actually taking photos using the best technique you know. Shooting photographs is both fun and humbling. You’ll soon discover your flaws as you carefully edit your images and strive for quality. But, shooting images also reveals those areas you have mastered so you can spend more time on your weak points. Perhaps you are great at composition and know how to get consistently good exposures with the aid of the histogram, but you have trouble “seeing” the light. If a lot of your images are made in light that is unsuitable for the subject matter, you know you need to develop your skill at seeing the light.
ALWAYS STRIVE TO IMPROVE
Avoid falling into the trap where you think you know everything there is to know because you’ll stop trying to learn. It is impossible to know everything about photography. You can always learn more and improve your photographs. Every excellent nature photographer constantly strives to improve their skills and knowledge about photography.
Mules-ear Wyenthia grows on dry slopes in late June around our home. This group of two blossoms and a bud makes a pleasing triangle.
There are two major ways to expand your photographic knowledge. If you already love photographing wildflowers, try photographing all of the wildflowers you find from spring through fall in the nearby meadows and forests. In addition to expanding your knowledge about the wildflowers of your area, you will discover new ways to get the best possible image quality in terms of sharpness, composition, color combinations, and exposure. In this case, you are perfecting an area that you already have a good deal of knowledge. If you set a goal of photographing well at least 100 wildflowers that grow nearby and follow through on it, you will become a better wildflower photographer and enjoy them more.
The second way to expand your natural history and photographic knowledge is to pursue a new kind of nature photography that requires the use of equipment you haven’t used before to make images of subjects that are new to you. In my case, I have always enjoyed birds and especially hummingbirds. About 17 species can be regularly found in the US. I only knew a few species when I first tried to photograph them with high-speed flash in 2000. Now I am adept at using multiple high-speed flash to photograph hummingbirds in flight which required me to learn a whole set of new skills, plus now I am familiar with all of the hummingbird species in the US.
ENJOY THE PROCESS!
Becoming an excellent nature photographer is a process that never ends. You’ll always be able to learn more about nature and photography so strive to get better and enjoy your journey.