[Photography] Top 5 Tips for Wildlife Photography

Wildlife photography is continually growing in popularity, thanks to the accessibility of digital cameras nowadays. I’ve been a wildlife photographer for almost seven years now, and a professional for the last few of them. Over time I have picked up some really valuable techniques and tips, specific to wildlife photography, gained from either experience or learning from others in my field.

Here are some the top tips for wildlife photography.

#1 Get to Know Your Subject

I cannot stress this enough – wildlife photography is all about time and patience, much of which should be spent studying and paying attention to your subject. Instead of just showing up at a location once, return time and time again to photograph it. Watch an animal’s behavioural traits and try to pick up on clues it gives as to its next movement. With practise, you’ll often be able to predict where an animal will move to next, or what it will do.

Don’t believe me? I’ve photographed red squirrels for many years now, and I can now almost continually predict its pattern of movement, purely by watching for behavioural “ticks” it provides. For example, by watching where the squirrel is looking and the way it sniffs the air, I can often tell which direction it will head to next.

#2 Use Your Lens Hood

That bit of plastic that comes with your lens isn’t just for decoration. It prevent stray light from hitting the lens, helping you produce clearer pictures, but it also provides physical protection for your lens. Too many times I see photographers with it on, but the wrong way round. Make sure you take a few seconds to attach it properly before shooting.

Once, I was on an island photographing Atlantic seals. The rocks were slippery, and it wasn’t long before I fell over and landed with my whole body weight on the nose of my Nikon telephoto lens. Thankfully I had the lens hood on, and what was potentially an extremely expensive slip, was no more than two small screws broken in the hood.

#3 Don’t Shy Away From Aperture Priority Mode

Recently, I’ve found a lot of photographers are shooting in manual mode because they believe that anything else is “cheating” and makes a shot unworthy. I don’t know any professional wildlife photographers that don’t shoot in aperture priority mode – although don’t get me wrong, manual does have its uses in some situations. However, in general, aperture priority is great for wildlife photography.

Light is often never evenly distributed in a woodland or similar environment. A moving animal will cross different areas of different light intensities. If you take a burst of photos of it moving through the area, aperture priority mode will adjust the settings and ensure your images are correctly exposed. In manual mode, there is simply no time to continually adjust the settings when shooting a constantly changing scene.

By all means, you should understand how to use your camera in manual mode, but aperture priority is not the enemy. Adjust the ISO to increase or decrease your shutter speed, and use exposure compensation to fine-tune the exposure.

#4 Be Prepared for a Wait

I mentioned earlier that wildlife photography is all about patience. When starting out in this field, you need to remember that rarely do wildlife photographers get a great shot in just a few hours of waiting. You may need to return to a spot time and time again, waiting for hours on end, before you will capture a unique image.

This may sound daunting, but it makes any images you capture that extra bit more rewarding. If you’re waiting in a hide, take a book with you, or a film on your smartphone to pass the time. Just remember to keep looking up and checking the scene in front of you.

#5 Think Outside of the Box

Finally, with so many people taking excellent wildlife images nowadays, it is important to think outside of the box. Look at images others have taken and think “how can I do it better”. If you want your images to be noticed and stand out, give them the wow-factor by taking a photograph that no one has ever seen before. I don’t mean a rare animal, but instead a rare style of shot.

Don’t give up at the first hurdle, and keep clicking your way closer to the elusive perfect shot!

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[Photography] Tips for Photographing in Different Weather Conditions

You’ve figured out that photography is awesome. You have your equipment. You’ve got the basics down. You know all about the “triangle” of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Now, you’re ready to put them to use. You’re ready to go outside and experiment. But wait. You haven’t yet considered the weather. This is a little side note to photography that we often forget about. If you’re not shooting in a studio, then the weather will definitely be a factor to consider when going out on a shoot.

There are a few basic weather scenarios that you will surely encounter as a photographer: cloudy or overcast, rain, bright sun, high temperatures, and snow to name a few. Each of these conditions has its benefits and limits. I’ll cover a few of those here as well as tips for photographing in different weather conditions.

Cloudy or overcast

These are some of my favorite conditions to shoot in for portraits. An overcast day brings about an amazing amount of diffused light. You can shoot in the middle of the day with little worry about harsh lighting or unwanted shadows. You do want to pay close attention to lighting the face. It’s great to have a reflector to bounce light into the face of your subject(s). Make sure you’re taking a look at the images, as this will help you know if you’re underexposing or overexposing. You’ll also be able to tell if you need to reflect more light on them. See portrait above.

Shooting landscapes in overcast conditions can also be challenging. Overcast skies are gray and don’t usually add a lot of interest to that mountainscape, or field of cows you want to photograph. Look for stormy weather clouds, that add a sense of place and dimension. You can also crop your shot so that you don’t get those unwanted gray skies, but still get great lighting.

Benefit: beautifully diffused lighting

Limit: ugly gray skies

Rain

So what happens when your cloudy day turns into a rainy shoot? Well, you make the most of it. A little rain never hurt anybody. One of the best ways to work with rain is to bring an umbrella. Try to keep a nice umbrella in your arsenal of supplies for shoots. Look for one of those clear umbrellas that comes down over your head. It looks amazing in photos. You can also get one that has a nice little pop of color. Try polka dots even. Make the umbrella part of the shoot. You don’t have to use it in every photo but don’t be afraid to incorporate it.

Also look for areas that are shielded from the rain. Overhangs, alleys, even coffee shops can provide you with great areas for your photos. The rain can help you tell a story if you let it. At the end of the shoot, ask your subject if they’re okay getting wet. Work with that and see what you get. Try out different things as you’re learning to work in this condition.

Of course the rain can work against you. You’ll want to make sure your equipment is protected. You don’t have to get fancy coverings if they’re not in the budget. Get a grocery bag and some tape and protect the main body of your camera. If the weather is horribly bad, reschedule your shoot for a less harsh day. Again, safety is key here.

Rainy landscapes tell an amazing story. Make sure you’re careful with setting focal points. Your camera will often try to focus on the rain drops and will blur out your landscape. This can be nice if it’s what you intended, if not, you’ll end up with a bunch of blurry photos.

Benefit: added dimension and sense of story and place

Limit: harsh on equipment and uncomfortable for subjects

Bright sun

Many people think that bright sun is the photographer’s worst nightmare for portraits. I beg to differ. Bright sun can create beautiful light and you can play with shadows if you wish. (Read Dispelling the Myth of Good Light and Bad Light for more on this topic.)

When shooting in bright sun, you will find that your camera meter will want to expose for the super bright background or the subject that’s in front of you. This causes your subject to be super dark or your background to be blown out. Try shooting in “open shade”. This means that you’ll place your subject in the shady part close to the light, and bounce light with a reflector back at them. You can also use a flash to make sure your subject is lit without blowing out the background. A flash in the sun? I know it sounds weird but it works. Use your flash to light your subject while exposing for the background. You can also look for natural reflectors around you. Look for a white building or even a white sandy beach. These help reflect light on your subject without blowing out the background too much.

Landscapes in bright sun are absolutely beautiful. Try shooting the beach in the full sun of the day. Practice exposing for the beautiful blue skies as well as the sand.

Benefit: tons of light and the ability to play with shadows

Limit: can create harsh lighting on your subject

High temperatures

A lot of us shoot in the summer months. This can be beautiful for the late sunsets and beautiful skies, but the temperature can be brutal. It’s great to shed the coats and heavy clothing but the heat isn’t always fun. You want to make sure that you and your subjects will be comfortable and safe. The most important thing is safety. I like to limit my shoots to when the temperature or heat index is below 90f (32c). This may vary depending on where you are shooting. In Puerto Rico, 90 on the beach feels great. In Boston, 90 in the city feels miserable.

Take note of how your subject is feeling on the shoot. If you notice that they’re becoming uncomfortable, ask them and schedule a reshoot if necessary.

Benefit: you and your subjects can come out of limiting coats and clothing

Limit: high temperatures can be draining and uncomfortable

Snow

Shooting in the snow is magical. It’s beautiful and the white stuff reflects light amazingly! Shooting in a blizzard, not so much. Shooting in 10f (-12c) degree weather, even worse. When shooting in the snow, pay special attention to ice and hazards under the fluffy stuff.

You can shoot while it’s snowing or once the snow has stopped falling. If you shoot while it’s snowing, treat your camera as if it is raining. The snow melts and water can get into the inner workings of your camera body and lens.

Don’t be afraid to ask your subject to shed that coat. If you’re in an area that gets a lot snow then you know that snow doesn’t necessarily mean unbearable cold. Have your subject shed the coat and shoot for a few frames and then warm up a bit.

Also, play around with capturing the falling snow. When it’s snowing, the sky is generally overcast. The white snow acts as a bit of a reflector so you’ll most likely be able to forgo that. Just go out and practice shooting and see what you’ll need. You probably don’t want to venture into a blizzard though.

If the snow has stopped you’ll need to watch out for ice and hazards under the snow. It doesn’t hurt to protect your camera just in case you take a little tumble. Again, the snow reflects beautifully. Make sure you’re metering for your subject and paying special attention to not blow out the white snow.

Benefit: it’s beautiful and shows a sense of time

Limit: it’s cold and damaging to your equipment

Remember, take special care to insure safety at all times. Safety of you, your subjects, and your equipment are all important. Use the weather to your advantage and work with the lighting you have. Don’t be afraid to bring in flash or reflectors. Finally, just have fun with whatever condition you’re shooting in.

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[Photography] Step-by-step Guide to Long Exposure Photography

In the past few years, thanks to the diffusion of useful accessories and photographic filters with good quality and low prices, the technique of long exposure has become increasingly popular among photography enthusiasts. Even if this technique can be used both in studio and in a urban environment, the perfect playground of long exposures is landscape photography.

Unfortunately often it happens that the result we get is far from our expectations, and we end up classifying the long exposure as a demoniacal technique. However, following this step-by-step guide to long exposure photography, you’ll see how easy it is to get a good result on the first attempt (or almost).

Step One: study the weather

A day with a cloudless sky is a good day to drink a beer with friends, not to make long exposures. Likewise it cannot rain forever, so do not resign yourself to an afternoon with your PlayStation. You should study satellite images rather than the meteorological sites, trying to figure out if there is an incoming storm, or if the downpour is about to end.

Step Two: visit the location well in advance

Scout the location ahead of time, as you need a lot of time to find the perfect composition, or at least more than the time needed for a “short exposure”. In fact in a long exposure the world is completely different from how you see it with your own eyes. You have to try to see it with your mind, looking for a harmonious composition that includes moving subjects, trying to predict the direction of the clouds or the force of the sea. Try not to put the sun into the composition because its movement will ruin the shot and it will create area of overexposure that is not recoverable. If you cannot avoid the sun, wait for it to hide behind a cloud.

Step Three: use a tripod

Mount your camera on a tripod and install all the accessories such as the remote shutter release and the filter holder (if you are using drop-in filters). However, wait to actually install the filters. Very important!

Step Four: compose the image and lock focus

Refine your composition, focus on the subject and lock the focus. If you are using manual focus, just do it. If you are using the autofocus mode, you should focus by half-pressing the shutter button, and once the focus has been made, while still holding down the shutter button halfway, push the lever from Auto Focus to Manual. In this way, your camera will maintain the focus (or alternately you could use back-button focus).

Step Five: set the exposure

Now set your camera to Manual (M) mode or Aperture Priority (A/Av) mode. Then set the aperture to an appropriate value for the scene (for landscapes I suggest between f/8 and f/11) and take a “Test Shot”. The test is complete when you get a correct exposure. To determine if the exposure is correct, check the histogram (do not trust your display, it is too bright). It is true, there is no universally correct histogram, but there are histograms that are universally incorrect, namely moved completely to the right or left side (the image is respectively overexposed or underexposed). Once the test shot is successful, write down the shutter speed you used for that shot.

Step Six: add your filter

Now add your Neutral Density (ND) filter. If the filter is very strong, for example 10 stops, you will not be able to see through the viewfinder or the Live View. Do not worry, because if you have followed the guide up to this point you will notice that we have already made the composition and the focus too. You are blind, but your camera will see everything perfectly.

Step Seven: change to Bulb mode

Set the shooting mode to Bulb (B) in order to take over the thirty second limit of the camera. Do not change any of the other settings (ISO and aperture) used in the test shot.

Step Eight: take your long exposure shot

It is finally time to take our long exposure shot. But how long will you to leave the shutter open? It is less difficult than you might expect. First of all, recollect the shutter speed that you noted down from the “Test Shot” you did in Step Five above. Now you must compensate by the number of stops introduced by the filter. For example, if your test shot was 1/15th of a second, adding 10 stops will get a shutter speed of approximately 60 seconds. There you have your shutter speed. No need to be stuck in the mathematics: on the internet you can easily find conversion tables and applications for your smartphone that will do the conversion for you.

Step Nine: check the histogram again

Once you’ve taken the shot with the calculated shutter speed, check the histogram. If the new histogram is approximately equal to the one of the test shot, mission accomplished. If it is shifted too far to the right or to the left, repeat the shot again correcting the shutter speed.

Easy, isn’t it? Now fill your backpack with your camera and filters and go to practice in the field. For any doubt or if you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask questions in the comments below. Please share your long exposure images as well.

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[Photography] Capturing Busy Little Ones: Forget the Perfect Pose and Get Photos You Truly Love

If you have ever tried to get a three year old to sit still for longer than a nanosecond you know what a challenge it can be to get that “perfect” photo. Well, I’m going to be real here, who wants that perfect photo anyway? Okay, I know you may, but maybe I can convince you to let that go. My favorite photos are always the true ones; the ones that make you smile when you look at them, or maybe even cry a tear or two. Sure, it’s nice to get that beautiful portrait, but which photo is going to help you truly remember the fiery three year old who gave you model-in-the-making poses one minute, and wiped her muddy hands on her white shirt the next?

The first thing you have to do, if you want this experience to be fun for both you and the little one, is to let go of expectations. If you have a certain Pinterest pose in mind, and are determined not to be happy until you’ve forced your little tot into it, you’re both going to be miserable. Sure, use those ideas as a starting point, but then go with what is happening in the moment. You’ll be surprised where your wee subject might take you, and you might like the results much better than what you had in mind in the first place.

Make sure your cute little one knows that you are on the same team. Most kids have no problem being obstinate, just for fun. If she senses that you really want something from her, she may quickly decide that she wants the exact opposite. I try to take the child by the hand often, even if it’s the first time we’ve met (they usually love this) and let them feel that they are part of where we are going, and what we are doing. If she decides that she wants to put on the pretty dress shoes next, then that’s what we capture next.

Bring something for her to do. I prefer not to use props generally, but a few well-chosen, meaningful props can work wonders. This keeps her attention, plus you have the added benefit of capturing those hobbies that she is into at the moment. Let her share her passion with you. Instead of trying to pose her just so, and telling her how to hold the fishing pole, and where to look – ask her to show you “how she fishes with daddy”. Let her be the expert, and you just have your camera ready. Favorite dress-up clothes can bring out the model in lots of kids. Chairs or boxes to climb on, sit on, stand on, and peek through, can be great fun.

Try not to give too much direction or commands. Kids start to tune you out pretty quickly if all they hear are orders barked at them: “Sit here, look there, smile, smile, smile!!!”. When I can tell that my little subject is about done, I’ll just let her totally do her thing, and have my camera ready for when the moment is right. If she wants to take her shoes off and splash in the water, throwing rocks, I see a perfect opportunity to capture her in her element. This is where you might get the most genuine joy shining through.

When your mini-model is done – you are done. Quit before the meltdown, before she decides that this is the worst form of torture an adult ever created. If you didn’t get everything you hoped to get, don’t sweat it. Sometimes when I look through the photos later, I find gems that I didn’t even remember capturing. You may be pleasantly surprised by how many great images you were able to get, even with truly “busy” little tots. You’re not going to get much worth keeping if you try to force more photos. When little ones are done, they are DONE. Try to keep your photo sessions short, even if you have an agreeable little model. I usually spend less than half an hour shooting if they are under five years old.

So, next time you are lucky enough to have an adorable, energetic, little one in front of your camera, remember to relax, breathe, and have some fun. You’ll find that those real photos will be your favorites in the end, and you won’t even miss that perfectly posed portrait with every hair in place.

For more tips on photographing kids check out these:

• Photography Hunting: Play the Waiting Game Photographing Kids


• Cut the Cheese: 5 Tips for Photographing Kids


• CLICK! How to Take Gorgeous Photos of Your Kids – a dPS ebook


• How to Photograph Shy Children

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[Photography] Sony A7S – Camera of the year?

Over the past few weeks we’ve seen a lot of buzz about Sony’s latest full frame mirrorless camera – the Sony A7S. Some have even heralded it as ‘camera of the year’ with its full frame sensor, ISO of up to 409,600 and 4K video. On the negative side of things is it’s smaller megapixel count (12), slower auto focus and slower continuous shooting mode.

This video review by Doug Kaye and Frederick Van Johnson of the Sony A7S gives a great overview of some of the pros and cons of the camera.

What do you think about Sony’s new full frame mirrorless cameras? Tell us over on our Facebook page here.

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[Photography] Ten Go-to Editing Tips for Using Photoshop

The recent release of Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud (CC) 2014 (which is the 15th release of the product) got me thinking about my own workflow. Photoshop is an amazing piece of software. I have been using it commercially since version 5. However, I don’t necessarily think the latest version is the best one. I’ve just recently upgraded to CS6 and I’m loving it but I can’t see myself going the CC route just yet, as it doesn’t suit my business model.

The beauty of this software is the power that it can bring to your images, but it is a complex piece of software and coming to grips with it as a beginner can be daunting. Time and practice will be your allies in learning Photoshop.

As a photographer, Photoshop is the main editing software package I use in my photography workflow. Every photographer or designer has their own unique approach to editing images using Photoshop. I find this fascinating.

I’m constantly refining, and tweaking my editing workflow. I get such a buzz when I find an alternative method or a shortcut, that I wasn’t aware of before, which makes things more efficient. Having said that there are a lot of the features in Photoshop I wouldn’t use, and there are some that I use more than others.

Before I start editing my images in Photoshop, I open them with Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) since I shoot RAW format. I need to make basic adjustments such as exposure, white balance, correcting chromatic aberration and any lens distortion. From there, I take my images into Photoshop as Smart Objects.

The following tips for using Photoshop are my regular editing techniques in no particular order. These can be used in most versions of Photoshop. These are a small set of useful tips. I could have extended it by a dozen more.

Ten go-to editing tips for using Photoshop

1. Duplicating Layer Masks for other Adjustment Layers

To save time when you need a copy of a mask from one layer to another adjustment layer; when you’ve used the brush tool to create a mask. Simply hold down the Option key on a Mac or CTRL key on a PC, click on the layer mask and drag it to the adjustment layer in question. This makes a copy of the layer mask without having to redo the same again.

2. Add a Curves Adjustment Layer with a Difference

Normally in the Curves adjustment, you adjust points on the curve line which affect the image’s tonal range. The S-shaped curve is a classic tonal tweak for boosting contrast and color saturation. However, if you add a curves adjustment layer, change the blend mode to Soft Light and reduce the Fill down to approximately 55% (the reduction amount will depend entirely on your image & preference), this gives a similar boost to color and contrast. For demonstration purposes, I have left the Fill at 100%, so that you can see a difference as outlined within the white square.

3. Dodge and Burn

Create a separate layer, change the blend mode (Mode) to Overlay and fill the layer with 50% gray. Name this layer “Dodge and Burn”. The Dodge and Burn tools are my go-to method for making selected areas of an image lighter or darker. Dodge is for lightening and the Burn tool is for darkening an area. Use a soft Brush and set Exposure to between 6-12%. In most cases, I leave Range set to Midtones. If you find that you have overdone it in the specific areas, just reduce the Opacity on the layer. The image on the right (below) shows the areas where I used the Burn tool to darken his arm, his face, and the bright spots in the background, and also where I lightened his back shoulder.

4. Layer Comps

I find the Layer Comps feature in Photoshop invaluable. It is a useful guide to the different editing stages as a before and after comparison. It is so easy to overdo it and get carried away with over-editing your image. This has five stages from straight out of camera, to the final image.

5. Stamp Visible

Cmd+Shift+Alt+E (Mac) or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E on a PC is the command to keep all the layers in a Photoshop file and make a merged copy on top of them. I find this particularly useful, especially at the end of my editing process, where I apply some sharpening or contrast by using a Topaz effect (plug-in for Photoshop).

6. The “Place” Command

This is found under File>Place. I normally work with multiple images in the same document. Therefore, I find using this method really handy as it imports the image as a Smart Object automatically, which is great for resizing the image without any degradation.

7. Patch Tool

The Patch Tool was my favorite of the Healing Brush Tools in Photoshop CS5. But now that I’ve upgraded to CS6, the Patch tool has just gotten even better. You can now use the Patch tool to fill using the Content-Aware on a new empty layer. I prefer to set the Adaption to Loose. Make sure Sample All Layers has been ticked. The Healing Brush also feels more intuitive to use than before.

8. CMD+T or Transform

I seem to use this shortcut a lot. If I’m working on multiple images in the same document, I may need to resize one or two of the images accordingly. As I import my images using the Place command, this means they are converted to Smart Objects, so the resolution of the images isn’t affected when transforming or resizing.

9. CMD+T+Warp Tool

Similar to the above point, the Warp tool is great for fine-tuning an element of an image, especially if you are working on composites. In the image below, I was using my own stock photo of Heron’s talons to replicate the Owl’s talons for the purpose of realism.

10. Opening a Second Window for the Same Document

When you are retouching your image to get rid of dust and blemishes and so forth, you may need to zoom in as much as 300% or more. Open another window for the same document by Window>Arrange>New window for new_filename.PSD but keep it at 25% (or fit to window). This way, instead of zooming back out to see how the image looks and then zooming back in to resume your retouching, just click on the second window where you have the same document viewed at 25% (or fit).

Do you have another other go-to Photoshop tools or tips you’d like to share? What is in your workflow? Please share in the comments.

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