Regardless of the subject matter you photograph, it’s good to have lots of tricks in your repertoire. You never know when it will be time to pull one out of your hip pocket. Knowing they’re there is comforting. If you’re a seasoned veteran, it’s good to review the basics to keep them ingrained. If you’re a beginner, it’s good to learn and apply as many as you can comfortably absorb. The beauty about photography is the learning is unending. Whether it’s reinforcing what you’ve already learned or trying out something you’ve never done, the “aha” moments never cease. Having just returned from leading one of my nature photography tours, there were three scenarios among my participants  that kept repeating themselves. Hence the reason for my choice of the following three tips.

Histogram (wildlife and scenics): check your histogram often! Over the years teaching digital photography, I’ve seen a trend develop. In that I came from the school of shooting slide film, it’s a bit disconcerting. Many photographers no longer worry about nailing the perfect exposure as they feel it can be corrected in post production. While this may be true to some extent, the more perfect the initial capture, the better the end result. If the photo is underexposed, there will be noise in the shadows. If it’s overexposed, highlight detail is sacrificed. Either circumstance robs the image of its potential. The most common error I encounter among my workshop participants is they expose the image to look saturated on the LCD. Invariably, this will create an underexposed file. A simple check of the histogram will show too many pixels on the left side with not enough on the right. If you are guilty of this syndrome, I implore you to use your histogram to obtain the best possible exposure of the scene. 

© Russell Burden

Shoot for HDR (scenics): For those unfamiliar with High Dynamic Range, a digital sensor is capable of capturing a limited range of exposure contrast. But by making a series of exposures where one is based on the meter reading, a second is underexposed to record highlight detail, and a third is overexposed to record shadow detail, the dynamic range can be expanded. Software such as Nik HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix synthesize the series of exposures into a single capture that reveals detail in the shadows, mid-tones and highlights. The effect can be achieved in Photoshop using layers but it’s time consuming and detailed. It’s better if all the exposures are aligned so it behooves you to place the camera on a tripod and set it to auto-bracketing. This ensures each bracketed photo in the series will be in registration. Depending on the contrast range, the under and over exposed images can be either one or two stops. If the technique is new to you, I suggest you create a series of five images starting with 2 stops under / 1 stop under / on the meter reading / 1 stop over / 2 stops over. As you create more and more HDR photographs, you’ll learn just what range will net the best effect.  

© Russell Burden

Watch for Behavior or Interaction (wildlife): Photographing animals in the wild is a thrill. When they allow you to enter their space, providing it’s safe, it gets even better. It makes the photographer feel accepted. I used to think there could be nothing more desirable. But as time went on and I continuously captured more full frame shots, I wanted something different - I wanted action, movement, interaction. I soon realized that these are the images that have more impact and drama. Images of animals simply standing in their environment are very common. Being patient and persistent, waiting for the moment the animal does something, provides an image with more interest. More than likely it will be fleeting so it’s essential to keep your eye glued to the viewfinder and your finger on the shutter. Yes, it’s work, but rewards come to those who work hard. 

© Russell Burden

To learn more about this topic, join me on one of my Photographic Nature Tours. Visit russburdenphotography.com and click on the NATURE TOURS button for more information. Also, pick up a copy of my book, Amphoto’s Complete Book of Photography. You can purchase a signed copy directly from me or visit your local book store or Amazon. Contact me at rburden@ecentral.com to order your signed copy.