Outdoor Photography
Tips and Tricks

Outdoor photography tips include everything from location considerations and weather, to portraits and perspectives. We will provide photography tips covering:

• Landscape Pictures

• Sunset Photographs

• Wildlife Photos

• Nature Photography

• Photography Weather

• Outdoor Portrait Tips

• And bunches more

At first glance, taking pictures outdoors might seem easier than indoors. However, after further investigation, you'll find it requires a basic understanding of more factors in order to get the best results. Despair not, however. We'll make these outdoor photography tips very simple to understand.


The Many Faces of Outdoor Photography Tips

Outdoor photography tips need to address a wide gamut of different requirements.

Recording the start of your son's rise to Major League Superstar requires different techniques for his daytime little league games versus his games under the lights.

Numerous environmental factors determine which outdoor photography tips are appropriate for any given situation. We will focus on situations such as:

• Group portraits in the park

• Sunset pictures

• Pictures of roses and other flowers

• Candids and photojournalistic pictures at an amusement park

• Landscape pictures

• Wildlife pictures

• Winter photography

• Pee Wee soccer, baseball, or football games

• Scenic pictures, and more

Each has a different potential impact on your digital baby, from ruined shots to ruined camera!

• Outdoor Photography Tips involving DUST:
  
  Dust will have a tendency to get into your lens and inner electronics. The real warning here involves using your camera in blowing dust conditions outside.

  It does not pertain to having a dusty home, because keeping your camera in its case should be sufficient for that.

  If you notice a spec that is always visible when looking through the viewfinder, it could be dust on the inside of the camera.

  In most cases, it will not be visible on your photographs. If it is, do not try to clean the camera yourself. Refer to your owner's manual for proper servicing.

  Although not technically falling under outdoor photography tips, it's worth knowing that generally, only your more expensive digital SLRs are weather-proofed.

• Outdoor Photography Tips involving SAND:
  
  There is a smaller chance that sand will get into your camera, but it is possible. Take reasonable precautions when at the beach or any other sandy area (such as only changing batteries or memory in an enclosed area rather than in harm's way.)

  Unlike dust, sand can scratch your lens. And a scratched lens will show up on all your photographs.

  Be extra careful to keep your lens cover on and always place your camera in your bag when it's not in use. Keeping it in your camera bag will also help in lowering its temperature.

• Outdoor Photography Tips involving WATER:
  
  Water can ruin your digital camera as easily as dropping it on concrete. The good news is we're talking about a lot of water! If you use it in the rain, you're rolling the dice. You could damage your camera or get lucky and just wind up with some good photos in the rain.

  The real impact water has if it gets on your lens is to your photographs. The water will act like a spherical prism and cause very unusual effects. If you're the adventurous type, take a few photos with a drop of water on the lens and see the impact. Just be sure to wipe it off before the next shot!

The type of digital camera (traditional or digital SLR), manual camera controls, telephoto capabilities, and accessories all need to be considered.

Remember, taking a candid of Aunt Sally is pretty simple. You don’t have to be concerned that she will spook and fly off at 40 m.p.h. if you make a sudden movement within 250 feet of her.

However, outdoor photography (or “nature photography”) is a different ballgame with different rules. And like any other sport, to play in this game, we need to have the right equipment.

One of the best ways I have found to obtain great camera equipment at the best price is to search the web for the gear you want and then pick someone you're comfortable with...

Search for gear here:

If it takes 3 hands to push all the buttons and turn all the dials to perform some simple operation it's not very useful. And, if you can't override the automatic camera settings, forget it.

Digital SLRs (dSLR) are at the top end of the digital camera spectrum. These are the digital equivalent of the film SLRs (single lens reflex) in which the camera body is separate from the camera lens.

You don't need to start out with a digital SLR to take nature photographs. However, if you do get hooked on the results and want to be able to take any type of glorious outdoor shot, you may want to begin saving up now.

By the time you're ready to buy one, the price will have come down and the quality improved (that doesn't technically fall under outdoor photography tips, but you get the point).

Rest assured that you can begin to get into nature photography with a reasonably priced digital camera (non-dSLR).

And to avoid undue frustration, these outdoor photography tips will focus on what camera features and accessories are needed to make the most of your experience.

Your camera should allow for full manual override of most automatic functions. You must be able to use manual focus, even though it is an auto-focus camera. You must also be able to set specific shutter speeds and aperture values that you desire.

It's also preferred to have ISO values that go up to at least 800; exposure compensation; and the ability to use an external shutter release.

These are not all absolutely essential, but if you have a choice, get them. You don't have to use all the functions, but if you need one and it isn't there, you'll miss it.

Most of these functions can be found on most mid-range digital cameras. And for nature photography, the macro and telephoto capabilities are critical for any purchasing decision.

Outdoor Photography Tip #4 - What Kind of Lens Should I Have?

Bottom line, you want your lens to cover down to at least 28mm at the wide angle end and up to at least 300mm at the telephoto extreme. For a non-digital SLR, these qualifications limit you to under a dozen cameras.

If you do opt for a digital SLR, For someone beginning from scratch who wants the best "bang for the buck", I'd recommend purchasing two separate lenses... a wide angle zoom and a telephoto zoom.

The wide angle zoom should start at a maximum of 28mm and go to somewhere between 70mm and 105mm. The lower the F-stop number, the more expensive the lens.

Your maximum size for the lower F-stop number would be 3.5. A typical lens would be a 28-105/3.5-4.5 or something similar.

Of course, if your budget permits, getting a 28-105/2.8 or 2.0 would be even be better.

The second lens would be a telephoto zoom, starting out between 70mm and 105mm and going out to at least 300mm.

For example, a 100-400/4.0-5.6 would be a good telephoto zoom to start with. Better lenses can be quite expensive. However, there are numerous used lenses in good condition available from many sources (I have purchased several myself through eBay and have been quite happy with the results).

As a general rule of thumb, buying lenses made by the camera manufacturer will usually result in better quality than buying 3rd party lenses. But, like everything else, you get what you pay for. As a personal note, if going the digital SLR route, I suggest sticking with Canon or Nikon.

You will need to buy a tripod. If you don't have one you might as well not bother trying to do any high quality work. Most of your images will come out too fuzzy.

For non-outdoor photography work, you can probably get by with a tripod costing less than $40. For nature photography, if you buy one, you might as well get one that will do the job. So, in this case, plan on spending $80-$200.

Outdoor Photography Tip #6 - Are There any Accessories that are Recommended?

If you don't own these already, consider purchasing them now...

• A remote shutter release (also called a "cable release") for the camera

• A Circular Polarizing Filter

• A UV Filter (some filter should always be over the lens, to protect it)

• A lens hood for each lens (generally included with separate lenses)

• A device to tell when your tripod is level (if not integrated into the tripod)

• Traditional accessories such as carrying case, rechargeable batteries and memory cards

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