Follow these tricks of the trade to make your wildlife and scenic photographs look like they were taken by a pro.
Photo by Whit Richardson
Slot Canyon
The Trick: In tight spaces, put people in unusual positions.
Location: Grand Canyon, Matkatamiba Canyon
Tools and Settings: DSLR camera, 15mm fisheye lens, ISO 100, f/4, 1/60 second
For this shot in a slot canyon, I stemmed up the walls as high as I could go and waited for Donna to descend below me to give a sense of scale to the scene. Body positions and expressions vary widely when photographing people in action, so you want lots of options. I shot more than 70 images of this section of canyon. If your subject doesn’t mind, direct her to create more dynamic body positions. If the person is facing you, have her look up naturally every once in a while so you can see her eyes. Move around and shoot down low looking up, and up high looking down, really close and farther away from the person.
Tips:
›› Create dramatic effects by using a very wide lens such as a 16-35mm or a fisheye (used here).
›› Experiment with cropping the shot (in this photo, I cropped out the sky) to enhance the emphasis on the person.
Photo by Whit Richardson
Elk
The Trick: Get “close ups” of wildlife with a long lens.
Location: South Kaibab trailhead, South Rim
Tools and Settings: DSLR camera, 70-200mm lens, ISO 800, f5.6,
1/45 second
Wildlife in Grand Canyon and other popular national parks need their space. Rather than approach animals, possibly endangering them and yourself, use a long lens and crop out surrounding distractions. This elk had a huge rack and was standing in an area with buildings and cars. Rather than trying to get the whole rack (and distracting elements in the background), I zoomed in on the elk’s face using a long lens that allowed me to keep a safe distance.
Tips:
›› When photographing animals with a long lens, make your focus point the eyes. A sense of eye contact with the viewer gives the image drama.
›› Make handheld camera images sharper with a higher ISO, an image stabilized lens, and a tripod.
›› A large aperture like f2.8 (the smaller the number, the bigger the aperture) also helps when handholding, as it creates a shallow depth of field, which blurs the background and makes the subject stand out.
Photo by Whit Richardso
Backpacker
The Trick: Use fill flash to illuminate faces on portraits.
Location: Grandview Trail, South Rim
Tools and Settings: DSLR camera,16-35mm lens with graduated neutral density filter, ISO 100, f/8, 1/200 second on tripod
When photographing people who are backlit by the sun, use fill flash to provide supplemental lighting on your subjects. This will allow you to get a good exposure of the sky and surrounding landscape while avoiding harsh shadows on faces. If done properly, as with this self-portrait (taken using timer and tripod), the light from the flash looks natural.
Tips:
›› Position flash to the side of camera body and dial down the power (anywhere from minus ½ to 2 stops).
›› Compose a more interesting portrait by using the rule of thirds (see below). Whatever you do, don’t put the person’s head in the dead center of the frame.
›› When photographing people under a bright sky, use a graduated neutral density filter (see “Lens Filters” at left) for warmer lighting and to keep the sky from being blown out.
