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Photography Techniques - some general pointers..with a nod to wildlife photography by Philip Tull

Contents:
     The subject
     Basic techniques - composition/leading lines/1/3rds / frames etc..
     Backgrounds
     Light
     Equipment

 

These notes are not going to turn us all into expert nature photographers, or any other type of photographer for that matter, but I hope some of you will approach the subject with a slightly different outlook, armed with a couple of ideas or techniques, which can help improve you own photography.

 

And that leads us nicely onto the most important part of any photography, that is of course...

 

 
THE SUBJECT

Know the subject you want to photograph, the more knowledge you have of it, the better your chances of taking that photo you want to take. Whether that's the roosting schedule for birds on the river, or the tides on the shore, or the position of the sun at different times of the day on any specific landscape or vista.

 

What position do you have to be in to photograph the subject at the right time? This is why it is wise to choose a subject familiar to you, one you have easy access to. Lucky for us we live in a beautiful spot in the countryside with nature all around us. If you cannot find a subject to photograph here then you simply aren't looking hard enough...

 

The river environment, the woods, the fields, the hedgerows, your gardens!! Especially your gardens, as you get to observe them everyday, at all times of the day so you know the environment better than any other, and the more you observe them the more you'll see in them...

 

 

So A Few Basics:

Composition

As a visual media photography shares some principles common to most art forms, like painting for instance. There are some basics of composition, how to arrange the elements of a picture, that can be practised, understood, then ignored and abandoned in favour of a less structured approach. For now we'll just go through a couple:

 

The Rule of 1/3rds

A frame can be divided vertically and horizontally into three even sections, this creates a series of nine boxes effectively. One of the most common devices in art is to use the rule of the thirds to create interesting, balanced, easy to view images. Once you see this grid, this principle, you will never un-see it. You'll be surprised how common this is everywhere...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The intersections of these grids (the four) are called the 'sweet spots' and simply by placing your subject, or focal point in any of these can really improve your pictures. Of course this is not a hard and fast rule, and working against this concept can also produce great images, but try this and then see the difference when you employ it and then ignore it. It's all practice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leading Lines - what is a leading line?

Similar in that it enhances and draws attention to the subject, creates a more dynamic image, leads the viewer into the picture, helps them see/concentrate on what you want them to see/appreciate. Classically in a landscape that might be a hedgerow leading to a tree, or a river running from foreground to background, or a wave on the shore leading into the scenery, or even a rope leading to a boat! It's a similar principle as used in garden design where elements of the garden are designed to draw your gaze in a certain direction, or to encourage you to walk through the garden in a certain way..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frames - natural or otherwise

 

Find existing features to shoot your subject through, such as the rock on the shore, highlights your subject..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patterns + shapes

these are everywhere in nature, find them, use them,

ripples on a beach, leaves on a branch, flowers on a stem, patterns on a butterflies wings, sheep in a field if they happen to 'create' their own pattern, geometric shapes work really well (to enhance the subject, create a better image), triangles and diamond shapes, parallel lines etc.. such as the shot of Ellie on the rocks or the Helenium flowers with bees...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Running alongside patterns is Colour......

Sometimes it's all about the colour!! Use the colour in your subject, hone in on it, use it to create contrast, subtlety, create moods,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIGHT

 

Of course as photographers you could argue the most important aspect of all is of course LIGHT - but that will take a lifetime to try and fully appreciate, and experience is the best teacher. Get out and see your subject at all times of the day and night, in all weathers and times of the year, we all appreciate the myriad of colours presented to us, I'm afraid the best way to improve your use of it is to immerse yourself in the environment and practice.

But what you can do is notice the difference that direct light has on your subject, as opposed to back light, like the sun shining through the petals of a Californian poppy etc... Or how isolating the light falling on part of the subject really draws the attention to it, rather than blanket lighting the whole scene -looking at light like this will open up a whole new world for your photography.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perspective/positioning.. I cannot stress enough the importance of this...

 

This brings me to a critical component of successful photography, your ability and desire to move, to change your position to get a different view of the subject, get in close if you can, to bring elements into the picture or to withdraw them, to see the subject with light on the front, or from behind, to get closer to the subject, such as the shoreline, get in close to see the waves, close in on the essence of the scene! The drama is often found close up..

 

Backgrounds

 

A quick word about backgrounds....often overlooked as if the background was simply the result of the circumstance you found yourself in when photographing the subject... which is of course only part of the story. There will be times when you cannot change your position in order to alter the background or the way the light falls on your subject, but there are other times when simply being aware of what difference can be made by changing the background (such as positioning yourself (and your camera) so the background behind your subject is perhaps less cluttered; includes repeating patterns; has elements in it which balance the foreground and the subject; and further still softened (or blurred using either shallow depth of field or close proximity to the subject - which can amount to the same thing; complimentary colours rather than clashing ones...)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equipment and challenges to Nature Photography

There is no doubting that certain types of photograph require specialist equipment, to get that extreme close up of a bird in flight, or perched on your neighbour's tree, a decent DSLR with a large telephoto lens will do the job far better than your average phone....For underwater photography you need specialist kit, for controlled blurred images of a river over rocks you need equipment which will let you manually override shutter speeds - but you also need the knowledge how to use them), however there is much your humble phone can achieve - and they're getting better day by day. They have advantages in that they are so much lighter and easier to carry, they are unobtrusive, and largely pretty good at things like auto exposure so create usually well balanced photos! Letting you concentrate on the other elements of your picture, especially the subject...

 

Don't get me wrong, if I'm photographing lions I want a large camera and a very long lens to enable me to be as far away from them as possible to stay safe! So they have the advantage of bringing the subject closer to you, but if you can simply get closer to the subject...... So whether you have big expensive equipment or the 'not so humble' phone, practising the few basic principles we discussed will enhance your photography.

 

Basically there is always more equipment you could have but there's plenty you can do with the equipment you already have. Phones are particularly good for landscapes and close up work.

 

Macro lenses

 

Now clip-on lens attachments are available for most modern phones, and others simply do macro anyway because they focus at really short distances...

 

The beauty of macro - photographing close up you can play with the principles and are in control a little, look for the patterns, the compositions, textures, the colour!

 

The light at different angles, hone your skills on subjects you can access and control (to some degree) and then branch out looking for other challenges.

 

I cannot know the ins and outs of everyone's individual cameras or phones but happy to advise where I can on their operation at the 'next' meeting.

 

Conclusion

 

Just as in writing, start photographing what you know, what you have access to and what interests you. This way you will have ample opportunity to try techniques, hone your skills which you can then apply to any subject you happen to turn your lens towards. Take ownership of you photography though, be confident in your approach and don't worry about being 'seen' to be trying to get a better photograph in whatever situation you find yourself. As a professional photographer the first thing you have to get comfortable with is that you are always being watched by someone. And that's fine... If I wasn't taking pictures I'd probably be watching someone else take them, just as we all people watch others on a beach or in the High Street when having a coffee. People are generally not judging you, simply noticing you, and you them...

 

Behind every picture you have seen (of course there are exceptions such as remote cameras...) there is a person taking the image....maybe that might make an image too...

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