You’ve just returned home from a special day of hiking along a flower-lined ridge. Flowers tickled your feet while views of mountains surrounded you in all directions. You are eager to view your photographs of this memorable day, only when you finally do, you find no sign within your photographs of the splendid beauty that your eyes saw.
There is no simple magic that can be offered to create better images. The best thing you can do is spend more time behind the camera taking more photographs. Many people overlook some very simple concepts which can immediately improve their outdoor photography.
Without buying a single new piece of gear you can get new results by remembering one thing: There is more than one right answer.
You take a photo hoping it shows how you feel about a scene, an area or a subject. But don’t stop at that. Most people take all of their photos standing up. Why not get on your knees to show those flowers in the foreground, too? Lie down on the ground and really get a feel for what you see surrounding your feet. It all sounds too simple but I’m always surprised how few people take the time to try other angles when taking a picture.
Another easy way to get better photos is by slowing down to view the smaller things around you. A weathered tree may really interest you. But look closer: Maybe there is an amazing pattern in the grain of the wood to discover and photograph. This is just one simple example. Be creative and slow down to look at things differently. Remember, there is more than one right answer.
I always ask myself, “What is really turning me on about this scene?” Once this is clear, I focus in on that subject or composition. This leads to immediate improvement rather than taking photos randomly or “in the moment.” Once you have this critical component figured out, you can go on from there in looking for more than the most common answer to photographing it.
So you have likely heard before that it isn’t the camera that creates great images, but the photographer behind the camera. This ultimately is very true. If you don’t let your creative photographic eye grow by learning and practicing, you will most likely continue to come home with the same types of images.
Take a look at your camera. There may be a handful of features on it that can quickly impact the quality of how you shoot images. Many of you now roam around with a compact digital camera of some type. Does it have a “macro” setting? If so, learn how to use it. If not, this alone would be a huge new feature to pursue in your next camera. Suddenly you can slow down and look for the smaller things in life: patterns in nature, getting closer to an insect or shooting from underneath a flower beneath it instead of the normal view from above.
A cheap tool that can create more color-saturated images on our normal hazy days of summer is a polarizer filter. You need to learn how and when to use it for best results. But the differences you will notice in shots of the sky and reduction of reflections is astonishing when used correctly!
Obviously it also can be fun to have a huge telephoto lens to reach out and photograph such details as the nose of an elk or moose. But most of us don’t have the funds to buy these giant lenses, not to mention the backs to carry the weight. (I will say that when I’m out on foot I am packing a minimum of 14 pounds of camera gear, so it adds up quickly.) However, if you can possibly get a wide-angle lens, great opportunities will open up to you. Composing an image with a strong foreground subject in a wide-angle scene is one of the most rewarding outdoor “landscape” images for many people. Wide-angle lenses make it easier to get more in focus as well.
Bottom line: So enjoy what new tools you can afford to buy for your camera bag or backpack. But also remember the most important tool: the person behind the camera.
Slow down and always remember: “There is MORE than one right answer!”
Alan L. Bauer is a freelance photographer and writer from Fall City, Washington. Contact Alan at alan@alanbauer.com or visit www.alanbauer.com |
