(c) iStockPhoto / Lucas Cornwell
One of the hardest parts about photographing wildlife is learning how to use a long lens. There’s a lot of little things you have to get used to with that big lens.
One of those is simply learning how to quickly locate your subject in the viewfinder. With such a long lens (around 400mm or greater), you have such a small field of view that it becomes hard to locate your subject.
Being able to locate your subject quickly is important because you usually only have a second or two to take a shot. This is something I learned pretty quick when I went to photograph hawks with my dad a few weeks ago.
Well, I’ve thought of a little exercise that will help you get used to locating your subjects through that long lens–and it involves three bananas. And, don’t worry: I’m not gonna tell you to use the bananas as bait! [read more…]
Anna's Hummingbird (male) / Photo by Steve Berardi
Getting sharp photos of wildlife is a constant battle. With an uncontrollable and constantly moving subject, you usually end up with a lot more blurry shots than sharp ones.
To increase your chances of getting a sharp shot, you can do things like shoot in JPEG to help you take a lot more photos in a burst.
And, if you’re shooting in JPEG, there’s one more setting you should adjust to make your sharp photos even sharper. It won’t do anything for the blurry shots, but it’ll make those good shots even better. [read more…]
Photo by Steve Berardi
We’re starting to get a good layer of snow on the mountains here in southern California, so I figured now’s a good time to start getting ready for some winter photos.
There are a few unique problems with winter photography because of the bright white snow and cold weather. So, here are a few resources to help you deal with these problems and capture some great natural light this winter season: [read more…]
A few weeks ago, I explained how to use the histogram to get a better exposure. And although the default histogram will give you a general idea of an image’s exposure, there’s actually a special histogram that’ll tell you a lot more: the RGB histogram.
Here’s how it works:
If you understand the regular histogram, then the RGB histogram is simple: it shows you the histogram of each individual color channel (red, green, and blue).
The bad thing about the regular histogram is that it lumps all these color channels together, making it hard for you to see if you’re underexposing or overexposing a specific color channel. And, on some cameras, I’ve heard that the regular histogram only shows you the green channel. [read more…]
Snowy Plover / Photo by Steve Berardi
When you encounter wildlife, it’s pretty easy to get excited, isn’t it? It doesn’t happen often, so when you’re lucky enough, the first thing you’re probably thinking is, “wow, I do not want to scare this thing away!” (well, unless it’s a bear or mountain lion, heh).
In the moment of excitement, it’s easy to forget about camera techniques and just start snapping photos from where you’re standing. But, if you want an intimate, sharp, and isolated portrait of any wildlife subject, you’re gonna have to get down to their eye level to snap the photo, and here are at least three reasons why: [read more…]
