Nailing exposure is often a challenge with all forms of outdoor photography because of ever-changing light, complicated scenes, and a variety of tones from foreground to background. With wildlife subjects this task may require even more thought and precision.
That’s because stationary subjects typically call for a different combination of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings than situations than include motion—like birds in flight. And sometimes a static subject suddenly starts to move. What to do? Read on.
Instructor Paul Miguel is a British pro with an eclectic portfolio of landscape and macro photos to wildlife imagery. He says, “I use a range of exposure settings in different situations, and often use Auto ISO.
This tutorial for is for beginning wildlife photographers, and it begins with a helpful review of the most common exposure modes. He covers Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and the basics of shooting in Manual mode. He then explains when and how he uses each option, depending upon the subject.
Miguel also provides advice for unpredictable conditions like passing mist and rapidly changing light levels. There’s also a helpful discussion of how the exposure mode you choose has implications for the Metering mode employed.
Miguel says his “go-to” exposure mode when shooting wildlife is Aperture Priority, particularly when he’s searching for subjects in an unfamiliar location. In these situations he typically uses the Auto ISO setting for reason he explains.
“What I like about the Aperture Priority mode in combination with Auto ISO,” he says, “is that you can set a fairly wide aperture, and that means the camera automatically sets the fastest shutter speed for a correct exposure.” He also notes that many cameras have a minimum shutter speed option in the menu to minimize inadvertent camera shake caused by a shutter speed that’s too slow.
Miguel discusses the other exposure options available, how to use them, and why it’s often necessary to change your approach in mid-shoot. He also provides photos that illustrate the tips and techniques he describes.
Because Miguel is such a versatile photographer you can find a variety of lessons on his YouTube channel. So make it a point to visit there often, whenever you’re unsure about a particular challenge,
You may also want to check out the tutorial we posted last month from another pro, explaining how to fix underexposed outdoor photos in Lightroom.
If you confront an absolute mess when opening your Lightroom Catalog, you’ve come to the right place. In the video below you’ll learn how to clean up that chaos for a faster and more convenient workflow.
The video below is particularly helpful for photographers who shoot and edit a lot of images without a tidy system and end up with photos all over the place. The frustrating result is that it can be difficult to find the one image your searching for.
Instructor Austin James Jackson is an accomplished shooter and image-editing expert who shares weekly tutorials on landscape photography and post-processing techniques. This nine-minute episode is well worth watching, as it will save you tons of time, with a cleaner workflow, beginning today.
Even if you’re a neat freak it’s easy to let your Lightroom Catalog get out of hand. And if you tend to bask in clutter you need Jackson’s advice even more. Be sure to check the links beneath the video when you’re done watching, where you’ll find more helpful lessons on maintaining a fast, easy-to-use Lightroom workflow.
The first step with today’s task is to open your catalog and select All Photographs. By doing this you can see every image in the Catalog, regardless of its location. At this point Jackson offers a blunt warning: “If you use folders to store your images, STOP!” He explains why this is an inefficient practice, and explains how and why to use Collections instead.
As Jackson explains, there are a variety of methods and nomenclature you can use to create Collections, and this one-time task of organizing every image in your Catalog in this manner can be a tedious chore. But according to Jackson, “This is the best way to start cleaning up your mess,” and it will pay big dividends forever more.
Jackson has more valuable organizational advice, including the importance of separating images you’ve edited from those that still need attention. So watch the video, straighten up your room, and then organize your messy Lightroom Catalog before you go out to play!
There’s much more of interest on Jackson’s instructional YouTube channel, so pay a visit and subscribe.
And be sure to check out the recent tutorial we posted, explaining how to accentuate “atmosphere” in Lightroom for more compelling landscape photographs.
If the term “lens compression” sounds familiar and you know it’s a thing, but you’re not sure what it does, how it works, and why it can be beneficial, the video below is for you. We’re going to clear up all the above and more in this episode of “Booray Explains.”
Instructor Booray Perry is a Florida-based pro known for basic tutorials on important photo concepts and techniques that are helpful for novices and advanced shooters alike. Today’s lesson is a straightforward explainer clarifying all the key factors of this misunderstood photo concept.
Perry insists that every photographer should understand how lens compression works, “because it can make a big difference in the images you capture.” This concept comes into play when shooting with telephoto primes or at the long end of a zoom lens of 200mm or more.
In simple terms, lens compression can be used to make the background of a scene appear bigger and closer to your subject, and the effect is immediately apparent when viewing a photo. Perry makes the same shot using a 50mm lens and a telephoto to illustrate this point
Keep in mind that depending upon how you wish to depict a specific scene; a compressed perspective may not be want you want. But when you do, it can be very effective. Perry notes that for a really noticeable effect, “you need your background to be at least twice as far from your subject as you are—the farther the better.”
Perry offers several other simple yet important concepts to understand, for making the most of this technique. So what so special about using this method? Perry says to think of it like this: “Lens compression is just one more tool that we have for manipulating our environment.”
Bottom line: In appropriate situations this tool enables you to create images that don’t exactly mimic what people see with their eyes. And doing this will help you become a better visual storyteller.
If you enjoy Perry’s calm style, infused with a bit of humor, pay a visit to his YouTube channel where there’s much more to see and learn.
And if you missed the story we posted touting the “awesomeness” of affordable f/4 lenses, be sure to check it out.
