Photographic Techniques
I bought my first "real" camera in 1991, a 35mm Minolta 7000i. Most of
my first photos were of my girlfriend (at the time), but once we went to the Jacksonville
Zoo and I took pictures of the animals, flowers, etc; I was hooked. Early in my
photographic career, I was using print film and was often frustrated at the results
I was getting back from the photofinisher; now I shoot slide film exclusively (see
my discussion on film for more details). After shooting with
the Minolta for a few years, I bought a Nikon F4 in 1993. It had several features
I found lacking with the Minolta, and before I began investing too much in lenses,
wanted a more professional level platform. I still have the F4 today.
I began buying books on how to be a better photographer; in particular, I fell in
love with the images and work of
John Shaw, a noted nature photographer. I studied his techniques and exposure
hints, and was always careful to use a tripod and cable release. I highly recommend
his books for anyone interested in learning more about successful nature photography.
In particular, his The Nature Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional
Field Techniques is an excellent book.
I have attempted to "boil down" some of the primary concepts I learned
from John, as well as other sources, in the Composition Techniques
and Shooting Techniques sections below.
Equipment
Tripod and cable release
For shooting landscape photography, the PRIMARY piece of equipment should be a tripod.
A tripod allows the shooter to use slow-speed film which reduces graininess, desired
when making enlargements of your art. As well, the tripod allows for the slow shutter
speeds necessary for increased depth-of-field. In conjunction, use of a cable release
enables the photographer to open the shutter without disturbing the camera. The
importance of using a tripod and cable release CANNOT be stressed enough, which
is why I discussed it before even covering camera and lenses.
Camera and Lenses
The camera is simply a light-tight box, and has the least amount of impact on the
final image. Choose a body which offers the features you need. Features of importance
are: choice of aperture or shutter-speed exposure priority, and the option to use
either automatic OR manual focus. Other features which might be less important are
depth-of-field preview, mirror-lockup, and exposure and/or focus locking. More important
than the camera are the lenses you choose!! Spend more of your budget for
good quality (read: the BEST) lenses you can afford. For landscape and nature photography,
typical lenses are (in order of highest use):
- medium-range zoom, such as a 35-85mm
- fixed wide-angle lens such as a 20mm, 24mm, or 28mm (non-zoom is easier to set maximum
depth-of-field)
- long-range zoom, such as a 70-300mm
- for close-up detail work, a macro lens (60mm or 100m) can come in handy,
but this lens gets much less use than those previously listed
Film
Whether you decide to use slide or print film, choose the slowest speed film possible
for the conditions. The slower the film, the sharper (less grainy) the final image.
I practically NEVER use anything faster than 100 ISO film, preferring the slower
films such as Fuji's Velvia. Elimination of grain is critical when you wish to enlarge
your work to 8x12 sizes and larger.
My conversion from print film to slide film
When I first started photography, I only used print film as that was what I had
always used growing up. The concept of slide film was alien to me, in that I couldn't
have something to hold in my hand that I could easily look at, or show to my friends
and family. Instead, I would need a light table and loop, or a slide projector to
look at my photos... Hmmph, just what I needed, something ELSE to have to buy! So
I resisted using slide film for quite some time, and continued using print film.
However, after going out on a photo trip, and spending lots of time composing and
shooting photos, I would almost always be disappointed by the results after I got
my pictures back from the photofinisher. The photos were usually washed out and
did not contain the vivid colors I remembered seeing when making the image.
One day, I decided to shoot a roll of slide film. I bought a cheapy light box and
loop to view my slides, and when I put that first roll on the slide table, I was
HOOKED! There it was, the same vivid colors and clarity I saw when I was taking
the picture. From then on, I've always shot slide film for my "serious"
work. If my slide did not have the desired result, it was my fault... either I composed
it poorly, or made a technical mistake such as using the wrong aperture and didn't
get enough of depth-of-field.
However, I always wondered why my print film did not give me the results I saw with
my slide film shots. One day, I read an article in a photography magazine which
cleared up this mystery for me. When the photofinisher is making the print, they
have an exposure control (for the amount of light passing through the negative)
which works much like the shutter the photographer uses. The author of this article
went on to say that approximately 80-90% of the rolls of film delivered to the photofinisher
is UNDERexposed!! Why? Because so many people use small point-and-shoots indoors,
where the puny flash (designed for 10 feet, maximum) has no chance to provide enough
light for birthday parties, etc. The photofinisher must therefore OVERexpose the
print in order to provide the customer with a viewable print. And for the 80-90%
of the customers, this setting is fine. Well, when a PROPERLY exposed roll of film
comes across their counter, if they don't reset this control, the properly exposed
roll will produce OVERexposed prints!! And this caused the washed-out effect I was
seeing!! Of course, I could ask the photofinisher to re-print the roll (and I would),
but this got to be very tiring, very fast. But basically, the idea is that YOU,
the photographer, is NOT in charge of how your prints come out, but instead, how
careful the person is who's running the machine that day. For them, as long as the
photo comes out halfway decent, they think all is well. Meanwhile, you the photographer
is unhappy with the result.
When you shoot slide film, the photofinisher only passes the film through a chemical
process (print film also goes through a similar process prior to being printed),
and that's it! As long as the chemical process is executed correctly (and it almost
always is), there's nothing else that is done to your film.... the finished result
is truly the work of the photographer. There's no one else (such the person running
the print machine who's just trying to get prints out the door) who has an impact
on your results.
Once I saw the results I received from slide film, I have NOT used print film for
any of my "serious" work.
Lastly, the vast majority of published work (magazines, ad agencies, etc.) REQUIRE
slide film... they do NOT work with print film! So if you feel that you would like
to work towards having your work published... shoot slides.
My choices
I currently use a Nikon F4 (an 8008 or even a 6006 is more than enough camera).
My lenses are all Nikon: a 24mm, a 60mm macro, a 35-70mm, and a 75-300mm. I use
a Bogen 3221 tripod and cable release whenever possible, which for me, is about
90% of the time. For film, I prefer the Fuji films: Velvia and their 100 speeds.
I can't remember the last time I used a 200 speed (or faster) film for nature photography...
leave the fast films to the sports photographers!
Composition Techniques
While learning how to make good photographs, I purchased multiple "How To"
books on the art of photography. In particular, John Shaw's books are an EXCELLENT
resource for the beginning nature photographer. While many excellent photos may
not fit under any particular "rule", most use at least one aspect. Whether
you purchase books, or study successful photos, try to determine what it is that
makes the photo work.
In particular, many beginning photographers tend to "bulls-eye" their
subjects, placing them exactly in the middle of the frame. This seldom works...
better is to offset the subject using the "Rule of Thirds" rule, the "Balanced"
rule, or one of the other many techniques available.
Rule of Thirds
This rule splits the rectangular frame into horizontal and vertical thirds... sounds
complicated, but simply imagine a tic-tac-toe diagram in your viewfinder. Place
primary subjects on these lines, and when possible, on the intersections of these
lines (in particular with smaller subjects). If you'll notice, the heron in the
below picture is directly on the intersection of these lines. This example is a
horizontal, but it works the same for verticals.
Balanced Rule
This rule splits the frame into halves. Place the main subject into one half, another
less-important subject in the other. Often the less-important subject is purposely
not as sharp (not in the depth-of-field) than the primary subject. This technique
allows the eye to focus on the primary subject; when the eye strays to the less-important
subject, the fact that it is out-of-focus causes the eye to return to the primary
subject.
Wide-Angle Lens Technique
This technique isn't a rule as much as it uses the special aspects of the wide-angle
lens. Wide angle lenses allow great depth-of-field, from a foot (or so) from the
lens, out to infinity... given that the photographer uses the smallest aperture
(f32?) possible. This is one of my favorite techniques. Place your tripod as close
as possible to a foreground object, even something as simple as a rock. Using the
lenses depth-of-field scale, select maximum depth-of-field; also use the smallest
aperture possible.
Shooting Techniques
Aperture-priority Exposure Mode
When faced with a new camera, many beginning photographers have no idea which of
the many exposure modes to use. Often, they use "Full Auto", and expect
the camera to be able to know what they want. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. The camera will
almost always use a very wide aperture, yielding narrow depth-of-field (little of
the image will be in focus). This is fine if shooting a portrait, but in many landscape
nature photographs, the desire is to have everything in clear focus, from near to
far. This requires the smallest aperture, and consequently, a SLOW shutter speed
(are you using that tripod and cable release?).
For 90% of my shots, I have the camera in aperture-priority mode. This allows me
to select the aperture I desire; the camera gets to pick the proper shutter speed.
It is up to the photographer to understand what the different apertures will yield.
Rule of thumb... small apertures (f22, f33) give great depth-of-field where everything
is in focus. Larger apertures (f5.6) yield less depth-of-field.
Knowing how the finished picture will look with the selected aperture is why I bought
the Nikon F4. You see, when you're looking through the viewfinder, you're seeing
how the picture will look at the lens' widest aperture. If you've selected anything
other than that, you won't know what you'll be getting. The F4 has a depth-of-field
preview button, pressing it steps the aperture down so you can "see" what
you will get. Unfortunately, this doesn't work well with anything below F8 or so,
so I wouldn't buy the F4 (or F5) based on just this feature, it's not worth the
considerable additional cost.
Manual Focus
I almost always put the camera into manual focus mode. What, you say? Why would
I use my expensive auto-focus camera in manual focus mode? Simple, auto-focus technology
wants to focus on the part of the image in the center of the viewfinder. But if
your primary subject isn't IN the center... remember our compositional rules? We
*seldom* center our subject, as this is called "bulls-eyeing", and seldom
makes a successful photo.
When you're using the tripod, it is just easier to take the time and compose the
image, then insure the subject is clearly focused. I know, I know... it seems awfully
archaic... but for nature photographers, that's what we're faced with. Just bite
the bullet and get used to it.