Articles by Andrew Goodall22 articles

Are the settings on your camera really so hard to understand? Of course not, but it can seem that way at the start, especially if they are not explained to you in simple terms you can understand. The two settings you need to understand here are Aperture and Shutter Speed. Aperture is the size of the hole that lets the light in for your photo. The larger the hole, the brighter the exposure. The shutter speed is the length of time given to each exposure. Slower shutter speeds allow more light, resulting in a brighter exposure. By finding the right balance of these two settings, you and/or your camera control whether your photo is overexposed, underexposed, or just right. With your camera set to Manual mode, you control both settings. If this seems daunting, you can start with the semi-automatic functions, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority.

ISO should be one of the easiest aspects of digital photography to master, but many beginners in photography still have a hard time understanding this fundamental camera setting. I suspect this is because of the way it is being taught. You see, ISO started out as a property of film, and it was much easier to visualize it in terms of the old technology. So that’s where I want to start my explanation, before bringing you into the 21st century with ISO today.

Wildlife photography inspires professional and amateur photographers alike. It can be a real challenge to capture a natural looking photo in a suburban setting. If you can eliminate any man-made distractions from your photo, you can create the illusion of an image captured in a totally natural environment. A bad background can really spoil the impact of a good wildlife subject, but how do we avoid it? Of course these days there are plenty of people who would just edit it out using a computer, but (believe it or not) most people still prefer to rely on their camera skills rather than on software. Here are some simple tips to help you eliminate a bad background from your wildlife photos.

Aperture and shutter speed settings can seem confusing for a new photographer. Luckily your semi-automatic settings, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority, make them a little easier to understand. These semi-automatic modes allow you to take control of one setting, and the camera sets the other automatically. This lets you have some creative input, with the safety net of knowing the camera will take care of the level exposure. You decide how you want your photo to look, and the camera will make sure it is correctly exposed.

To get the best light for a wildlife photo, you are really looking to minimize contrast, and to eliminate shadows from important areas; most importantly across the face of the animal. If you take your photos in the middle of a sunny day, you are bound to encounter shadows in all the wrong places. Bright light is likely to overexpose parts of the subject, while the face and the underside of the animal could be lost in heavy shadow.

Wildlife photography is a pursuit that can be challenging, frustrating, but ultimately rewarding to any photographer. The arrival of digital cameras has inspired a whole new generation of photographers to take an interest in wildlife photography. Most photography courses, workshops and books concentrate on the technical aspects of camera craft: but really good photography relies more on composition, lighting, and sensitivity to your subject.

Like any subject in nature photography, waterfall photos also come with their own set of challenges. A beginner can be disappointed with their results time and time again, simply due to simple mistakes that can be easily overcome. Really good waterfall photography is not about expensive equipment or hi-tech methods; just a decent camera and a basic understanding of a few manual settings.

If you ask 100 people what is the best time of day for landscape photography, 95 of them will probably know the answer: early morning and late afternoon. This is when the sun is low in the sky and the light is soft and colourful. The fact is, people don’t need to be told when to take their photos; they just need to be prepared to put it into action. It is just too much trouble to wait until sunset, or stay overnight to be on location at sunset.

Have you ever planned and set aside a day to get out and practice your nature photography, only to wake up to grey, cloudy skies? You are not alone, this happens to us all; professional and beginner alike. And of course when you are traveling, you often only have one chance to take your photos before moving on, so you have to make the best of the situation as you find it.

Creative photography is a mix of many ingredients; art and technology, skill and patience, cold mechanical know-how and individual flair. Photography is a lot like learning to drive. With a car, you need to know the road rules, and you need to know the basic skills of steering, accelerating and braking. What you must understand is that following the rules will only take you so far. In photography, you will find that rules help you in the beginning, and some rules will stay with you throughout your career. The trick is to understand when the rules don’t apply, or when you should choose to ignore them.