Editing Gently: 3 Tips for Processing Realistic Landscape Photos

By: Adam Welch 

A well-processed photograph should be just like a good haircut. That’s one of my favorite analogies when it comes to explaining my approach to editing my own photographs. Not only does it confuse people and make them think I’m weird but it is also incredibly accurate when it comes to processing realistic landscape photographs.
What I mean is that when an image is well-processed the viewer will know something has been changed while not being overly apparent and in the end, they like what they see. Just like a good haircut.

Before we get further into this, I want to go on record and say that in my opinion there is no “correct” way to process any photograph. So the tips you’re about to learn here come from my own creative tastes and style for landscapes which lean towards an “enhanced” realism but solidly anchored in reality nonetheless.
Now, let’s talk about some ways you can give your landscapes a good haircut and push your processing right up to the boundaries of realism without tipping over the edge.

#1 – Directional Light

Photography is all about light and in landscape photography, 99% of the time the only light source in your compositions will be the sun, or in some cases the moon, which is just reflected sunlight (science).
Sunlight comes from that big ball of fire in the sky and that makes it very directional by nature. Meaning, your main light source for your photographs comes from one spot. When you process your landscape images it’s very important to pay attention to the direction from which the natural light is falling in the image.
The reason for this is because there’s nothing more telling that a photo has been blatantly over-processed than sunlight appearing to miraculously illuminate the frame from different directions. This is especially true when the sunlight is close to the horizon in the early morning or late afternoon. Have a look at the photo below.

Notice how the light comes in from the right of the frame and illuminates the tops of mountains? Yet the foreground is in shadow and so are the areas where the sun is blocked by the cliffs.
When processing a photo with such stark lighting as this be mindful that you don’t create overly artificial light where it shouldn’t be. Sure, bring up those dark areas but don’t go too far as I have with this example (below).

See how “off” the lighting is now? Sure, it’s not terrible but there is bright illumination in areas that should be in shadow on the right. There is no longer a natural feeling gradient to the light as it falls on the foreground.
Let’s look at a more harmonious example of the same photo that has been processed to work with the direction of the available light.

In this example, the entire photo feels much more comfortable without having bright spots, uneven shadows, or that odd appearance in the first version.
Most of the editing you’ll do to selectively adjust the luminance of landscapes will be done with local adjustment tools like the gradient filters and adjustment brush. We’ll get into using local adjustments in a moment but first, let’s talk about another aspect of landscape processing that can truly ruin any great photo if you’re not careful.

#2 – Match Color Tones in Reflections

Walking hand in hand alongside working with directional light is how you manage reflections in your landscapes. More specifically, matching reflections in water is a little detail that can make or break a convincing landscape photo.
So often I see reflections in water which are either too bright or too dark or perhaps more noticeable, reflections which do not match (or reasonably approximate) the color tone of the light which it is literally reflecting. Have a look at this. I’ve warmed the sky in this image somewhat from its original blue hour cool tone.

Notice how the light reflecting from the river also carries a hint of the orange color from the sky? Not too much but just enough to add some realism. This is because I intentionally warmed the color of the water a wee bit in order to be more harmonious with the warmed sky. If I had not, we would have something of a tonal mutant on our hands…

Notice how the color tones in the water don’t match the sky and overall scene here?

When it comes to working with your reflections the name of the game is remembering that the light reflecting in the water comes from the sky…usually. So it should also carry some of the same attributes of that light in terms of luminance and color.
Of course, the type of water plays a role in skewing this a bit but just use good judgment and keep in mind that the reflection should almost always carry a hint of whatever color the ambient light brings to the scene.

#3 – Make Realistic Local Adjustments

I’ve talked about how much I love using local adjustments in other dPS articles. I’m admittedly a radial filter junky and the majority of my photos carry some use of either the gradient or radial filter and adjustment brush edits, often times all three. When it comes to making edits using any of these tools it’s important to know how NOT to use them.
My old friend the gradient filter comes into play quite a bit when processing realistic landscape photos to even out bright skies and for illuminating dark foregrounds. What’s more, used with the radial filter and local adjustment brush, it can work wonders.

Good adjustments using the filters in Lightroom.

Or it can look absolutely horrifying when used poorly.

Bad use of a graduated filter in editing.

The same is true for its circular counterpart, the radial filter. This little gem works beautifully for applying custom vignettes and brightening (or darkening) areas or for adding in a host of other great adjustments to your photos. However, much like the gradient filter, it can be easily blundered.

Bad edit with a radial filter in Lightroom.

The local adjustment brush also carries the same caveats. Few things make a picture look worse than the application of a “finger-paint” local adjustment brush. Actually, it gives finger-painting a bad name.

The key to making effective and realistic local adjustments in any photograph comes down to remembering a few important guidelines:

• Less is usually more. Local adjustments are just that, local. So when applying them remember that they will become more and more apparent when you use them to make drastic edits.
• Feathering is your friend. Whether it’s the radial or gradient filters or event the adjustment brush, most times you will want to apply your adjustments gradually with very soft borders which blend well with the surrounding pixels. Set your feathering all the way to 100 and then if you need a harder edge for more defined work back it off from there.
• Don’t be afraid to stack adjustments. When done judiciously, many local adjustments can be applied one over the other. For example, you might use three graduated filters each with a varying color temperature to give the sky a creamy color tone or multiple radial filters to layer out an exposure adjustment.

Final Thoughts

Landscape photography is a long-loved standby in the photography world. It is also one of the most ethereal and easily mismanaged types of photography when post-processing is done unconvincingly.
There are so many aspects of processing realistic landscape photos and most go beyond simply moving a few adjustment sliders around. In fact, I think of my landscapes as more of an exercise in digital painting than as simply editing a picture.
Whatever your persuasion may be in terms of how much you choose to make edit, having a solid basis in reality is a great jumping off point for making a dynamite landscape.

Remember, pay close attention to the direction of the light in your frame and make sure that the rest of your edits stay somewhat true to the natural lighting already present.
The same goes for reflections. Make sure the light reflecting from surfaces like water looks like it came from the ambient light source even if that light source has been changed by you. And lastly, don’t mess up the endgame but applying freakishly obvious local adjustments.
Always remember, there are no rules for processing a landscape photograph but there are ways you can make sure your photos stay true not only to your visualized outcome but also to the natural splendor from whence they were born. Yes, I used “whence” in a sentence.
Happy editing!

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5 Ways to Photograph Travel Icons

By: Jeremy Flint 

Travel photography is one of the most popular genres of photography and for good reason. Travel provides an opportunity to see and experience something new. It evokes feelings of excitement and anticipation and gives a sense of adventure and pleasure.
Travel icons are a major draw for people on their travels and for people interested in travel photography. In their simplest form, they represent :monuments or landmarks that are iconic to a place or country”. If you are wondering how to photograph them, here are 5 tips to help you.

1) Different Angles

The first hint in photographing travel icons is to choose a famous landmark or tourist sight you may like to visit and shoot it at different angles.
The world has an abundance of amazing travel icons. These landmarks are the first places you may think of when planning a trip to a certain country and often feature in travel brochures, books, magazines and postcards. In fact, the world’s great monuments are visited by millions of people every year, for example, Big Ben, The Pyramids, The Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat, the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall of China.

When photographing these scenic structures, you could try shooting with a wide angle of view to encompass a larger scale of the attraction.
With this shot of London’s Big Ben, I decided to include more of the surroundings such as the House of Parliament, to show some additional architecture. Shooting wide gives a broader overview of the icon and takes in more than just the tower.

Some travel icons are huge in scale, especially when you are standing near to them. Sometimes, it is difficult to capture the whole landmark so use a wide -ngle lens to include as much of the icon in the frame as you can.

Alternatively, you can shoot close-up and focus your camera on some of its details. Identify any patterns that appeal to you or some details on the structure. Details can highlight an interesting feature of the building. Photographing a particular aspect of the icon that you enjoy could help make your photograph more visually striking.

2) The Classic View

Have you ever seen a beautiful world landmark in a travel brochure and felt inspired to visit it? Well, this is usually the classic view of an icon, a standard image of a sight that is instantly recognizable.
You should definitely try to capture the classic travel shot of the world’s best landmarks. After all, this is likely to be what inspired you to visit in the first place.

3) Different Viewpoint

You could photograph your selected travel icon from an alternative viewpoint to give another perspective of an iconic landmark. The picture you create should be entirely from your own interpretation of how you see the icon.
You can produce interesting images just by changing your viewpoint. Find another vantage point and photograph what you see. Be sure to choose a viewpoint that appeals to you.

I took this shot of Big Ben from the other side of the bridge which shows a slightly different angle 

of the clock and the Thames River with the bridge on the opposite side of the picture.

4) Choose Your Moment

The time of day can have an impact on the photography you create. If you shoot early or late in the day you may benefit from some nice warm light.

Alternatively, you may be on a scheduled tour and choose to photograph the icon during the daytime. This can also be a good time to capture a landmark under bright blue skies or even in poor weather under dramatic light.

5) Include an animal or an object in the image

You don’t have to shoot the world’s best landmarks entirely on there own. They do look great when captured individually but throw an animal or object into the image to help create something original and add context.

I photographed this image of the famous ruins of Machu Picchu with some llamas in the frame.

In summary, however you decide to photograph travel icons, try photographing them from different angles, the classic view, and a different viewpoint. Include a subject with the icon in the frame and choose a suitable time to capture the landmark.
Now it’s over to you, put these tips into practice and see what you can capture. Share your photos, tips, and comments on photographing travel icons below.

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7 Tips for Better Marine Wildlife Photography

By: Anne McKinnell

I’m an ocean girl. To me, there is no better way to spend a summer day than to get out on the water and explore the mystery that is the deep blue sea, and hopefully experience some of the majestic creatures that live in it and on it.
Whether you are photographing on shore or from a boat, there are a few tips that will help you improve your marine wildlife photography. Underwater photography, though, is an entirely different thing, with a different set of techniques, that are not covered in this article.

Humpback whale breaching near Campbell River, British Columbia

The photos in this article were all made in the cool waters off the west coast of North America, but the same tips apply to marine photography all over the world.

1 – Explore the Shore

Let’s start with the shore where you’ll find all sorts of sea creatures. Check the tide tables, and if you can find a rocky beach at low tide. You’ll discover all the animals that live in the shallow tide pools such as urchins, sea anemones, starfish, mollusks and crabs.

Mollusks in a Tide Pool in Big Sur, California

Except for the crabs, they don’t seem to mind your presence one bit, so you can get some practice photographing the creatures that don’t notice you. Crabs sometimes pay attention, but if you don’t get too close, you may find they come out of the tide pools, and out from under rocks, and sometimes put on a bit of a show. I photographed this crab in Big Sur, California, where it came out from a crack in the rocks, and proceeded to make all sorts of bubbles as it began molting.

Crab at Big Sur, California

Close to shore, you may also be able to photograph sea otters and river otters (which are also found in salt water). Like other animals, given enough space and time to get used to you, they will go about their daily tasks in your presence, even looking directly at you (and your camera) allowing you to make images that feel intimate.

River Otters, Redwood National Park, California

You’ll also find all kinds of sea birds to photograph such as gulls, geese, ducks, cormorants, and eagles.

2 – Get Out in the Deep

My favourite way to photograph marine wildlife is to get out in a boat. Whether you kayak, row, paddle, sail or use a power boat, there’s nothing like the freedom a boat gives you when it comes to exploring the ocean and finding wildlife. If you don’t have access to a boat, consider renting one. Or, try a whale watching tour, which are well worth the money for the photo opportunities they provide including whales, dolphins, seals, and sea lions.

Orcas and commercial fishing boats near San Juan Island, Washington.

Weather makes all the difference between an enjoyable day on the water, and those days that make you feel a little on the green side. Check the weather forecast before choosing your day, and once you are out there, keep an eye on changing conditions to stay safe.
If you are driving the boat yourself, and you expect some choppy seas, you should keep your camera safe and dry while underway. I store mine in a Pelican case, which is shockproof and waterproof, so I don’t have to worry about my camera while driving the boat. When shooting, try not to get splashed because salt water can do a lot of damage to your camera.

Sea lions basking on rocks near Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

3 – Shoot Handheld

For marine wildlife photography, shooting handheld gives you the freedom to move quickly, as the animals do. Unless you are photographing animals that don’t move very much in the tide pools, a tripod or monopod can slow you down and you’ll likely miss the shot. They are also not very practical on boats.
Instead, use a high ISO, a fast shutter speed, and shoot handheld. Remember to turn your image stabilization on to prevent any camera shake blur. I usually start out with ISO 400 and a shutter speed of 1/1,000th of a second, then make changes based on lighting conditions and the speed the animals are moving. For dolphins and whales, an even faster shutter speed may be required.

Pacific White Sided Dolphin in Johnstone Strait, British Columbia

4 – To Polarize or Not?

When shooting in tide pools, a polarizing filter can be helpful to cut through the glare of light reflecting off the surface of the water, and allow you to see through to the creatures that are underwater. Aside from that however, I don’t generally use a polarizing filter because the cost of doing so is about one stop of light. If I’m not trying to see through the water, I would rather have that stop of light for a faster shutter speed, or a lower ISO for better image quality.

5 – Lenses

You’ll need a variety of lenses for shooting marine wildlife. If you are shooting birds and whales, you’ll need a long telephoto lens to get you close enough to make an image with impact. I like to use a 70-300mm zoom lens or a 400mm prime lens for most of my marine wildlife photography.
Dolphins, on the other hand, will require a wide angle lens because they tend to get very close to the boat. My favourite lens for dolphins is my 11-35mm. So bring a variety of lenses along, and just make there is no salt water spraying around when you switch lenses.

Bald Eagle in Campbell River, British Columbia.

6 – Focus Modes

When photographing the creatures that don’t move too much, one shot auto focus or even manual focus is fine. But when shooting animals that move fast, you’re better off using continuous autofocus mode because it locks on to your subject and tracks its movement, increasing your chances of getting a sharp image. It’s not easy though. Getting focus fast enough to capture the moment is probably the biggest challenge in this type of photography.

7 – Respect the Animals

When you are so close that your presence changes the animal’s behaviour, you are too close. Respect their space by using a longer lens, instead of getting too close. Don’t forget, in most areas there are rules about how close you can get to marine wildlife, especially whales. Usually it is around 100 meters or 100 yards, so check the rules (laws) in your area before heading out.

Cormorants on Middlenatch Island, British Columbia.

I hope these tips help you capture the sometimes elusive, but majestic creatures of the sea, the next time you explore the shoreline or go on a boating adventure.

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5 Tips for Setting the Focus in Your Landscape Photography

By: Jim Hamel 

In many types of photography the question of where you should set your focus is pretty simple. For example, in portrait photography, there is one simple rule: focus on the eyes. When the eyes aren’t on the same plane of focus, focus on the near eye. End of story.
It is pretty simple with other types of photography as well. In wildlife photography you focus on the animal. In fact, in any type of photography where there is a clear subject, you always focus on that subject. That’s not to say it is always easy, but at least it isn’t difficult to figure out.

Foreground sharpness is paramount in many landscape photos.

But what about landscape photography where you are generally capturing more of a scene than a solitary subject? Where do you focus to ensure that everything in the scene is as sharp as possible? The answer isn’t always so clear. Therefore, in this article, we’ll cover some tips for helping you know where to set the focus.

Tip 1: Don’t Just Set the Focus at Infinity

Again, oftentimes in landscape photography, you are trying to capture a scene rather than a solitary thing. Many times, the scene you are trying to capture is far away from you. Most lenses have a range of focus values, and once you get beyond a certain distance (often 20-30 feet, or 8-10 meters) the focus is set at infinity. Everything beyond that point will just be infinity. Therefore, if you are taking a picture where most things in the frame are far away, it might seem that you should just set the focus at infinity. If you are using autofocus (and most of us are), you might be inclined to set the focus using something that is very far away from you.
If everything in the frame is truly at infinity, then setting the focus at its maximum distance is not a horrible idea. If there is nothing close to you, then there is just no need to do anything else, you don’t need to overly complicate things. But more commonly there are aspects of the scene that are closer to you than infinity. Where do you set the focus then?

You can get into hyperfocal distance (we’ll talk more about that in a minute) and make this as technical as you want. But often your time is precious when you’re out shooting. The light is changing and things are moving. You can get a pretty good sense of things without resorting to calculations. As a result, consider this rule of thumb: set the focus at infinity and then just turn it back a little bit. The obvious question is what is, how do you define a little bit, and I’m afraid I don’t have a good answer for you. It will vary from lens to lens, but will usually be about a 5-10° turn or just to the highest distance number printed on the lens (if your lens has these numbers).

Why would you want to do that? Because of the depth of field that will be in your picture (more on depth of field below). Since you are taking an outdoor photo, you will probably not be shooting wide open, or even with a large aperture. So, there will likely be some depth depth of field involved. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a large depth of field, but the point is that it gives you some leeway. By pulling the focus forward, that leeway will still get everything out to infinity in focus. It will also get things a little closer in focus as well.

Tip 2: Try Focusing a Third of the Way into the Picture

Many pictures are ruined because the foreground is not sharp. It happens all the time. Therefore, if you have something in your scene that is close to the camera, focus on it. If the ground is prominent in your picture, set your focus close to you. Make sure that foreground is in focus. Often you will set the focus only a few feet in front of you.
But wait a second, you might ask, what about my background? Won’t it be out of focus or blurry? Probably not. If you’re using your wide-angle lens (and if you are taking a outdoor photo that has a discrete foreground, then you probably are) you will have a wide depth of field, even at moderate to large apertures.

A sharp foregound focus furthers the viewer’s sense that they can walk into the picture.

Tip 3: Focus on the Subject Matter

Let’s not lose sight of the obvious though. When you have a definite subject or center of interest in your photo, just focus on that. It is the most important part of your picture and you absolutely need it in focus. Don’t worry about your foreground, don’t worry about your background. Just make sure the subject is in focus. Frankly, if there is a little fall-off in sharpness from your subject, that will probably not be such a bad thing.

Sometimes you just want a definite subject in focus, and having the background start to blur out is 

just fine, as in this image of a sheep.

Tip 4: Watch the Aperture

There are no free lunches in photography. You probably already know that by using a smaller aperture to get a larger depth of field, it will cost you light. The smaller aperture lets in less light so you will have to use a longer shutter speed (risking blur if you aren’t using a tripod) or raise the ISO (risking digital noise in your picture). But the smaller aperture will also lead to something called diffraction, particularly in cameras with smaller digital sensors. Therefore, just using the smallest aperture possible isn’t always the answer. You cannot just set your focus anywhere and rely on a super-wide depth of field to save you.
There are two ways around this issue though, which we’ll talk about next.

With everything in the shot at a distance of infinity (30 feet or more), I did not need a wide depth 

of field to keep everything in focus.

Tip 5: Know Your Hyperfocal Distance

Hyperfocal distance is just a fancy name for determining how close you can set your focus, and still keep your background acceptably sharp. There are apps and calculators that will tell you this distance depending on your aperture, sensor size, and focal length. For a full explanation of hyperfocal distance along with some charts and links to apps that will calculate it for you, check out How to Find and Use Hyperfocal Distance for Sharp Backgrounds .
An example will illustrate the point made above about backgrounds tending to remain sharp when you are using wide angle lenses. If you’re using a 16mm lens on a full frame camera, and shooting at f/11, your hyperfocal distance is only 2.5 feet. That means you can set the focus on a point just in front of you, and keep everything behind that point sharp.
Knowing the hyperfocal distance will often liberate you to set the focus point quite close, in order to maintain sharp foregrounds in your picture. It also means you often don’t need to use the smallest aperture your lens offers, so you can avoid the effects of diffraction.

Tip 6: Consider Focus Stacking

When the methods above won’t work for you, or you just need to make sure absolutely everything in the photo from front to back is tack sharp, you may want to consider focus stacking. Here you take multiple pictures of the same scene using different focus points.
Start by setting the aperture of your lens where it is sharpest (also called the sweet spot – if you don’t know, that is usually in the range of f/5.6 – f/8). Take a shot with the focus set close to you, then repeat the process, gradually setting the focus point farther and farther away with each shot. Later you blend your pictures in Photoshop (for more about how to do that check out Maximizing Depth of Field Without Diffraction).
This method is not a cure-all. It obviously won’t work with moving subject matter. In addition, it can be tedious, and you risk slightly moving the camera since you have to twist the focus ring between shots. Still it can be a powerful tool for maintaining focus and sharpness throughout your entire picture.

Setting the Focus Summary

No rule is going to cover every situation when it comes to focus. As with many aspects of photography, you’ll just have to use your own judgment in the field. Hopefully, as you do so, these tips will help you nail the focus and keep the picture tack sharp where it matters.

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6 Tips for Capturing Character and Personality in Wildlife Photography

By: Will Nicholls 

If you want to take your wildlife photography to the next level, then you need to look at capturing the character and personality of an animal. This makes for a much more appealing image, rather than simply a bird on a stick. A photo always needs to tell a story, but I think many photographers don’t realize that this applies to wildlife photography too.
Even though we can’t directly relate to most wild animals, it is still possible to document a story through a single image, or a sequence of images.

Tufted Capuchin

Without anthropomorphising animals, many do have their own personalities. I am doubtful this applies to something like an ant, but mammals in particular can be observed to have particular traits and habits. Some may be bold and investigate new things, whereas others may retreat and shy away from disturbances. This can be seen as the animal’s personality, and it is up to us as wildlife photographers to capture this on camera.
It’s definitely not easy though, as stills photography captures one moment in time and freezes it forever. Working with video makes it far easier to convey character, but it’s not impossible to do it in a single frame. Here are some tips to help you get character in your wildlife photography.

#1 – Behaviour

As a zoologist, I am fascinated by animal behaviour. Some behaviours we see as normal and predictable, whereas others shock and surprise us. Did you know that fish swallow small stones to aid digestion?
It’s capturing these interesting behaviours on camera that properly conveys the essence of a particular species. When you’re behind the camera, it’s easy to stare through the viewfinder and get tunnel vision. But if you step back and study an animal, reading up about it beforehand, you’ll learn what you need to look out for. Many animals have giveaway moves that warn you of an impending display – which is the case with great skuas, a seabird found in the northern hemisphere.

Great Skua, photographed in Scotland (Stercorarius skua)

In this particular case, the skua was preening its feathers continuously. This is a typical thing for birds to do before flapping their wings or displaying. It’s almost like a big stretch and yawn. I waited patiently for 15 minutes while the bird preened, knowing that I would probably be rewarded with such a display afterwards (image above).
Confrontations between two animals are commonplace. If you see one animal, even if it’s of a different species, approaching another, then chances are you’ll see some sort of interaction. Take these white-tailed eagles, for example. I was pretty sure that they’d both have a disagreement over who had rights to the tasty fish laying on the ice. With my focus nailed, I kept the shutter half-pressed and fired as soon as they lifted their wings.

White-tailed Eagles, photographed in Hungary.

#2 – Humour

While animals won’t inherently try to be funny, they often do things that make us chuckle. These are usually opportunistic photos that you can’t prepare for, but being poised and ready at all moments is key to capturing them.
When I lead workshops, one of the main things I try to get my clients to realize is that as soon as you drop your camera down, you’re risking missing the shot. If your subject is in front of you, then you’ve done the hard bit of waiting for an appearance – keep your eye to the viewfinder and remain at the ready, almost like a sniper training his eye on a target.

Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), photographed in England.

A quick scratch from a squirrel lasting just a couple of seconds was possible to catch on camera, because I was already following its progress along the branch through the viewfinder.

A red deer stag in the Scottish Highlands.

I had been looking to capture a stag peering through the trees, and while this wasn’t my intended outcome, I couldn’t help but click away when this stag stuck its tongue out round the tree. It’s little things like this that bring a smile to the viewer, and bring in personality and character to your wildlife photos. Although they make some chuckle more than others…

#3 – Tight in the Frame

All the images I’ve shared so far in this article are fairly tight in the frame. This is a particularly useful composition technique you can use to bring the focus solely to the animal. The bokeh also helps, isolating the subject against the background – this is done using a wide aperture (and subsequently a shallow depth of field), most often successfully with a telephoto lens.

Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris).

When the attention of the viewer is trained on the animal alone, without distracting background elements to tear the eye away, then they feel more interacted with the animal in the image. It perhaps sounds a little cliché, but it is true. In this image of a squirrel, you can see that eye contact, along with a catchlight in the eye, really makes the photo pop.
When doing tight compositions like this, be careful not to chop limbs off half way down their length. It’s all or nothing, I always say!

#4 – Family Ties

If there’s anything humans can relate to with animals, it’s the bond between parents and offspring. Not all animals care for their young, of course, but those that do can be seen to care and work endlessly to raise their young. Take these two gannets – a male and a female – courting to reaffirm their bond each time the other returns to the nest from gathering fish.

Northern gannets (Morris bassanus).

If you can capture the parents feeding their young, even better. It doesn’t have to be a feeding behaviour though, and in particular playful shots between a family will give your shots the aww factor. Obviously, you have to be in the right place at the right time, and these particular kinds of shots require a lot of dedication and time to achieve, due to their rare nature.

Barn swallows feeding fledglings in British countryside.

#5 Try Something Different

Experimenting is something you’ve probably been told to do again and again – but it works. I am a particular fan of the high-key style of photography for wildlife, isolating the subject against the background by blowing out the highlights in an image. This mountain hare was grooming its fur, but as it bowed its head it looked rather solemn. The white background makes it almost look like a painting, and personally I think this is a rather intimate portrait.

Mountain Hare

Be prepared to step outside your comfort zone. That is where the photos are, that set you apart from the endless bird on a stick shots we see day to day. At first it’ll probably all go wrong, but that’s okay! You know all those rules you’ve been told? Rule of thirds, golden triangle, etc., break them, and see what happens.

#6 – Light

Ooh, it’s that scary unknown again. Light. It’s a maker or breaker for photography, and that doesn’t change when you step into nature photography either. Backlighting is particularly effective for conveying mystery and magic in an image. I used this to my advantage when photographing Peruvian spider monkeys – a primate that is unfortunately on the endangered list. Even so, the backlighting breaking through the rainforest canopy makes this image appear magical.

A backlit Peruvian spider monkey in the Amazon Rainforest in Manu, Peru.

If you see interesting light like this, then be careful about your exposure. It’s important not to blow the highlights rim-lighting the animal, while at the same time keeping the individual exposed properly too. But when it works, it really works.
I feel that to end an article about character and personality, it is only right to use primates as an example. We can really relate to them, more than any other animal, due to our close relations. They’re curious, intelligent, and a clear example of an animal capable of emotions.

A male and female black-faced spider monkey stick together in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest. 

These two individuals are displaying courting behaviour.

So keep clicking the shutter each time something of interest happens. Don’t wait and savour space on your memory card, because you might just miss something amazing.


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