Tips to taking better nature photographs

“It’s summertime and the living is easy; fish are jumping and the cotton is high.” I quote my dad’s favourite song to introduce these hot photgraphy tips for taking shots of Mother Nature — provided by our friends at Kodak Canada.

Now is the time to grab your camera, get outside and capture some nature shots with your digicam.

Because you don’t want to miss that “Kodak moment,” you’ll want to get that perfect shot the first time around. And so the following tips should help improve your nature photography — be it of animals, waterfalls or gardens. Thanks to Kodak Canada for these timely suggestions. Hope everyone is out enjoying their August…

Step into the light

* Look for interesting combinations of colour, light, shadow and texture 

* Morning light gives you warmer, yellow colours

* Late afternoon, or evening light provides colours with a hint of red to full red

* Learn more about capturing perfect sunrises and sunsets   
 
Prevent flare-ups

* Sunlight can hit the camera lens and create flare – those hexagonal shapes that veil over the image

* Use a hat or your hand to shade your camera

* Find a location where something like a tree or its limbs can block the direct sun 
 
A new angle on life

* Sometimes the best photo is the one you just walked by

* Look up, look down, look all around you

* Take a few wide-angle shots of the area

* Move in close to capture the details of a flower or bark of a tree by using macro mode on your camera  
 
Explore your camera modes

* Landscape mode – optimizes the camera settings for landscape photos and capturing objects at great distances

* Macro mode – perfect for taking extreme close-up photos

* Panorama stitch mode – combines up to three shots together into one large picture

Cut the clutter

* Unrelated elements compete for the viewer’s attention and draw the eye away from the center of interest

* Fill the frame with your subject by moving in close to exclude any extraneous elements

* Take vertical pictures of vertical subjects like trees, flowers, and mountains

* Shoot from a very low or very high angle to help the subject stand out

* If practical, move the subject to a better location with a cleaner backdrop 
 
Capture the full view

* Take dramatic shots of beautiful landscapes. Capture the whole scene, be it a landscape or plunging waterfall using the panoramic mode.

* Learn more about capturing panoramic pictures
 
Location, location, location

* Even city slickers can find opportunities for nature photography – simply head to the park

* Do a web search of your region, or a location that you plan to visit on vacation

* Search for gardens, wildlife rehab centers, zoos and various nature preserves

Sync readers, do you have any photo-taking tips — specific to capturing nature — you’d like to share with other readers?