Nature Photography for Beginners: Top Tips to Get Started  | Lets Go Caravan and Camping

Nature Photography for Beginners: Top Tips to Get Started 

Category: Inspiration, News, Date: 19 September 2024

Nature and wildlife photography is a great way to capture and appreciate the beautiful world around us. Through nature photography you’re able to freeze the stunning landscapes, unique wildlife and breathtaking natural environments surrounding us in Australia and share these special moments with the world. It can help us connect with the natural world on a deeper level and appreciate our surroundings better.  

If you’re thinking about getting into nature photography or you’ve just started out on your journey, here are some of the top things to know to help you get started!  

Do Your Research 

Before heading out to take any photos, it’s important to do your research on the area and potential subjects you’re looking to photograph. Check out the location you’re going to – What are the best lookout points? What is the landscape like? What sort of wildlife lives in this area? Is a permit necessary? 

It can be helpful to look online on Google, Facebook or Instagram and see what other types of photos have been taken at this location. Also, check the weather conditions ahead of time. This is important to understand the expected light conditions and ensure you dress appropriately for the weather. What time is sunrise/sunset at this location? These are all important questions to ask before heading out to help capture the best photos you can. 

Pack the Right Gear 

For nature and wildlife photography, it’s important to have the right lenses and set-up. Experienced photographers recommend a good zoom lense (300mm) for wildlife close-ups and a good wide lense (16-35mm) for landscape shots. Bringing a Tri-Pod can be really useful for steadying your camera so you can get the perfect shot. Also, a good pair of hiking boots are a worthwhile investment for nature photography. 

Photo Credit: Tourism Australia

The Importance of Lighting 

Getting your lighting right is really important for nature photography. It can be the difference between a bad photo and an amazing one! ‘Soft light’ times, such as just before Dawn and just after Dusk are known to be the best times for nature photography as midday lighting can often be very harsh and cast unflattering shadows. Experienced photographers also recommend keeping your camera’s ISO as low as possible. This is your camera’s sensitivity to light and keeping it low allows more light into your photos. 

Get to Know your Camera Settings 

Understanding and optimising your camera settings such as focus modes, shutter speeds and shooting in RAW vs JPEG is really important to produce high quality images. The two most common autofocus modes are AF-C/ Al Servo and AF-S/ One-Shot-AF. Both of these modes have different functions and benefit different types of photography. For photographing still subjects such as flowers, plants and trees, experienced photographers recommend AF-S mode as this allows your lense to lock-focus on your subject. For photographing moving subjects such as animals, AF-C is recommended as your lense will continually acquire focus as you shoot.  

Photo Credit: Tourism Australia

In relation to shutter speed, fast shutter speed will stop any motion in your shot. Whereas slow shutter speed will blur any motion. Experiment with both types to understand how it can help you get the shots you want.  

Finally, with RAW vs JPEG modes, most photographers recommend shooting in RAW as it enables more flexibility in post-production. With RAW images you can adjust the lighting and recover lost details that you cannot with JPEG images.  

Understanding Composition  

Composition refers to how you arrange the visual elements and subjects within your frame. A common rule recommended by many photographers is to ‘Follow the Rule of Thirds’. The rule of thirds involves splitting your frame into a grid of thirds and placing the primary subject of your photo along an intersection of the grid.  

Photo Credit: Tourism Australia

Don’t be afraid to experiment with perspective when setting up your shot. Shooting from a higher vantage point or low to the ground can result in unique scenes. When shooting animals, getting down to eye-level can often result in the best shot! 

Have Fun! 

As a novice nature photographer, don’t be afraid to experiment and have fun with your work. Remember that great shots often require patience, and practicing will improve your skill and confidence. Nature photography can be a beautiful and rewarding experience and when you get your first ‘stand-out’ shot, you’ll be grateful you didn’t give up on the craft! 

Plan your next epic photography adventure on our Inspo page!

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