While the time for winter nature photography is over, soon enough everything will warm up, and the wildlife and plant life around us will change — springtime, at last. Summer seems to be synonymous with sunshine and water no matter where you live. And as the cycle continues, autumn brings colorful changes to the world we live in.
Whatever the season, wherever you find yourself, the great outdoors & natural world can lift our spirits and heighten our senses. We say, go take a hike! This is where nature photography comes in.
Indeed, nature is a place where, if you sit still long enough, you’ll begin to see the smaller picture in the greater, overarching one. And while there’s no right or wrong way to capture your love of nature in picture form — at least how we see it!
Keep reading for a few tips that might boost your skills and give you some inspiration while you are on an outdoor trek!
Nature Photography: Subjects and Scenes
Watch Animals In Their Habitat
What is more natural than wildlife? It’s one of the main reasons you venture into the woods, climb a mountain, or paddle on a lake in the first place — to see beautiful creatures going about their daily activities in their habitat. If you are lucky enough to spy on one, remember you are a guest in their home, so just let it keep doing its thing and don’t intrude on their space. A camera zoom gives you the ability to make animals seem closer than they actually are.
A deer nibbling on foliage, a momma bird feeding her babies, a turtle sunning itself on a rock…all great moments to capture from afar
Nature “Reclaiming” What Humans Have Left Behind
Seeing how quickly nature overtakes the things humans leave behind is amazing. You may come upon some things that are photo-worthy — a rickety old bridge that is no longer used, an abandoned car that’s been rusted over, or even an old stone wall used to mark property lines centuries ago. It’s sometimes cool to see how nature has left its mark or even reclaimed some of these items.
If it catches your eye, take a photo of it! It may even be interesting to go back year after year to see what changes the natural environment has made on these items. But please remember, leave the great outdoors as you found it!
Watch Where You Step — Look Closely!
Sometimes the littlest things in nature can make a big impact! Look closely and you can reveal a world that you didn’t see at first glance. These tiny wonders of nature often make the most beautiful and picture-worthy parts of your hike.
Water droplets on a leaf, a bright-colored mushroom, a dragonfly resting. These small images can easily be overlooked (or damaged if you’re not watching where you’re going.) But for some things, the closer you can get, the better the picture will be.
Foliage — the Ever-changing Landscape
Deciduous trees (a fancy word for trees that have leaves that grow in spring and fall off in autumn) make for great photographs no matter what the season. Starting in the spring you can see little buds on the ends of branches. In summer the leaves have fully matured. It’s a process as majestic as its fall counterpart when leaves turn yellow, gold, orange, and red right before they fall to the ground and leave bare branches for the winter months.
These trees, while picture-perfect during each season, are the perfect subjects for a progression series. Choose a tree and take a photo when it’s forming buds, again when it has fully “bloomed,” once again in all its colorful glory, and finally when it has shed all its leaves. Display all four of your best shots on a gallery wall or a ledge for a stunning perspective.
Rain Showers Bring More than Flowers
There’s something else you can expect during the early weeks of spring — rain, and often lots of it. In colder climates, it also means that all that snow and ice starts to melt. And while it’s true that April showers bring May flowers (which also make for great photographs) it also brings new activity to streams.
If you time your hike right, you might catch this activity at the perfect time. Some of these streams are just temporary, so enjoy them while you can! Sometimes, these fleeting moments in nature are worth photographing for that very reason.
Nature Photography: Top Tips & Tricks
Storm Season, Lighting Photography, & Thunderstorms
Storm Photography can be a thrilling and rewarding experience, but it also requires much preparation and extra caution. Mother nature is beautiful, but she’s also dangerous! ⚠️
Here are our top tips for capturing stunning storm images, while keeping safe and sound:
- 🦺 Safety First – Your safety and health come first! Strom chasing is dangerous, so monitor weather reports and always keep a first aid kit on hand. This goes for your equipment too – keep a rain cover, towel, and lens cloth in your pack to keep your camera in prime condition!
- 🌪️ Plan For The Worst – Check the storm’s path and any warning for potential danger before heading out. Stay away from live wires or unstable buildings, and travel with a buddy if possible. You never know when a situation could get hairy!
- 📸 Long Exposure – If you’re looking to capture ⚡️lightning, use longer exposure times to capture these impressive strikes and swirling clouds. We also recommend a tripod to prevent camera shake, especially when in close range of a strike!
- ⛈️ Creative Composition – While lighting is cool and all, don’t forget about other subjects like storm clouds, trees blowing in the wind, or even storm debris. Experiment with different angles and perspectives, and look for elements that add depth and context to your shots!
Top Tips For Taking Better Outdoor Photos
Getting a great outdoor photo can take practice and a lot of patience, especially if you’re coming out for an animal encounter or the perfect sunset. You might get lucky and snap a great shot – but more often excellent photos are captured by a combo of planning and timing.
Here are a few tips when it comes to taking outdoor photos:
- 🌅 The “Golden Hour” – The time of day when the sun begins to slowly drop to the horizon before it sets. This light diffuses beautifully casting a delicate orange light – it’s a magical time for a photoshoot!
- 🧍Show Scale – While mountain landscapes are beautiful on their own, you can really show how big or vast something is by throwing in a
bananaperson for scale! - 🌠 Look Up & Down – Pay attention to the sky and sea (This includes puddles too!) Take advantage of a beautiful blue sky, or stay clean and crop out a muddy gray one. use water as an interesting element for image reflection or slow your shutter speed to capture droplets and water flows.
- 🥉The Rule of Thirds – Imagine your photo is divided into a 3 x 3 block grid. Horizon and important elements of the photo should be found within the lines or along them in your grid.
- 📸 Shoot in RAW – If you’re shooting with DSLR – RAW files are much easier to color correct and white balance than usual JPEG files, RAW captures higher quality images, while JPEG compresses files.
The Most Important Thing Is To Enjoy Yourself
Remember why we do this, though. It’s supposed to be fun! So don’t take these recommendations too seriously; they’re just here to give you a little bit of inspiration for some new wall decor — as well as encourage you to go for a nice springtime hike! So, if you happen to see something cool, take a photo! You might have something great in the works.
Spring Into Action, and Into New Photos
New year, new season. Why not celebrate by getting out into nature once everything blossoms and blooms again in the coming weeks? If you do, you might want to take a photo, and you’ll be off to the races — into a great new nature photography framing project.
Just remember the following points, if you need some help getting inspired:
- 🐃 Enjoy the animals in their natural habitat
- 🍃 See what nature has reclaimed
- 🍄 Close-ups can tell a whole other story
- 🌊 Look for the active streams
- 😁 Have fun (And take pictures!)
Show off your framed nature photography, and more! – Inspire others by sharing your photos, and tell us your story! If we share it, you’ll receive a coupon for 15% off your next order!
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