INDISPENSABLE20PHOTO

IAN PLANTTIPS

My mission, plain and simple, is to educate, inspire, and entertain others in the art of nature pho-

tography. To that end, I strive to make my books practical, informative, fun to read, and packed

with plenty of delicious eye candy. You won’t get any pompous, long-winded mumbo jumbo

from me—just tried and true, proven professional artistic techniques. And I won’t just give you

the how; I do my best to tell you about the why as well (which, in my opinion, is the most impor-

tant part). This eBook is intended to be a basic introduction to many important concepts, and

hopefully it will leave you wanting to learn more. Many of the ideas and photographs introduced

in this eBook are covered in greater depth in my other books; if you wish to delve a bit deeper, I

encourage you to check a few of them out.

Copyright Notice: © 2013 Ian Plant. All rights reserved. This eBook, and all of the photographs

and written text contained therein, are the intellectual property of the author and are protected by

U.S. and international copyright laws. You have been granted a limited license to use this eBook

for personal purposes only, and cannot reproduce or disseminate this product, in part or in

whole, without prior express written consent from the author.

Front Cover: “Winter Eyes”—Quebec, Canada.

Twenty photos. Twenty indispensable tips. Simple as that.

We all love beautiful sunrises and sunsets, so it

almost goes without saying that you should take

photos at these times—but I’ll go ahead and say it

anyway. When the skies light up with color, you

should be taking photos! Sunsets and sunrises are

usually most intense when partly to mostly cloudy

skies prevail; as long as there is a large enough gap

on the horizon where the sun is going up or down,

you’re likely to get some colorful light striking the

clouds, such as the case with the image to the left.

“Los Cuernos”—Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.

Quick Tip: A two- or three-stop graduated neutral

density filter can come in handy when shooting

sunrise or sunset, helping to balance bright skies

with relatively dark foregrounds.

1shoot stunning light

2I was getting lots of nasty lens flare from the setting sun, just outside the image frame. My solu-

tion? I decided to use the flare creatively. Selecting a small aperture (f/16), I created a radiating

burst of light framing the lone tree in the meadow. So, whenever a technical or artistic problem

arises, find a way to turn it to your advantage. “Light is Life”—Mt. Rainier National Park, USA.

turn obstacles into opportunities

It is important to wait for the moment

when your subject does something

interesting. Whether stretching its

wings, tilting its head, yawning, bit-

ing—or, as the case with this sea tur-

tle, surfacing for air—becoming a

master of the moment will greatly

improve your photos. Ideally, the

moment will tell a story about your

subject. It may take some waiting, but

when the right moment comes, you’ll

be glad you were patient. “Snorkel-

ing”—Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes

Marine Reserve, Belize.

3wait for the decisive moment

Nothing demands attention more than leading

elements. Leading lines in particular can be very

powerful, but leading elements can include other

shapes, or even a progression of objects from

foreground to background. Leading elements

encourage the viewer to travel deep into the

composition, creating a high level of visual

engagement. For the image to the right, I used a

strong leading line—formed by the reflection of the

sky in the water within a flooded slot canyon—to

direct the viewer’s eye from foreground to

background. “Into the West Away”—Glen Canyon

National Recreation Area, USA.

4 lead the eye

Quick Tip: Lines provide an obvious visual cue

pointing to what is important in an image. If you use

a leading line, make sure it points somewhere inter-

esting. If it points, for example, outside of the image

frame, then you’re not going to excite viewers, but

rather confuse them.

Although humans perceive the passage of time, artistic blurs and brush strokes. Long exposures

our cameras can record time in ways our eyes can help you capture a new perspective on real-

cannot see. Moving elements gradually lose ity, and show the world in an unexpected way.

distinctness and form, becoming abstract and “Moonscape”—Adirondack State Park, USA.

5go with the flow with long exposures

Nature has an infinite variety of cool and interesting

shapes—use them to your advantage! Look for swirls, circles,

triangles, curves, and other simple, powerful shapes to create

boldly graphic and visually engaging images—such as with

this curve created by the interaction of shadow and light.

“Shadows and Sand”—Death Valley National Park, USA.

6 focus on shapes

Reflections are a great way to add some extra style to

your nature images. Still water works best, although

rippled or moving water can create abstract reflec-

tions. In terms of composition, reflection images

often work well with a 50/50 split between the sub-

ject and its reflection; sometimes, however, other

variations make more sense. You might even want to

consider only photographing the reflection itself, to

add a hint of mystery to your image. For the image

to the left, I used a 50/50 split, but I made sure to

include elements in the water to help break the sym-

metry resulting from the composition. “Mirror

Image”—Rocky Mountain National Park, USA.

7make a statement with reflections

8Radiating diagonal lines leading from the image corners to the center can be very effective at

grabbing the viewer’s attention and holding their interest over time. The key to success, how-

ever, is to have areas of off-center interest, creating a visual tug-of-war between the center and

other parts of the composition. “The Devil’s Eye”—Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, USA.

draw attention to the center

The best photographs tell a story

about their subject—such as a

well-earned nap after a hard day

of monkey business. “Sunset

Slumber”—Tambopata National

Reserve, Peru.

9 tell a story

10use visual anchors

Visual anchors are bold, eye-catching elements

which help simplify an otherwise busy composi-

tion by attracting the viewer’s attention. The

visual anchor provides an obvious reference

point, and a place for the viewer to start their

visual journey. Other elements of the scene may

attract the eye, but the visual anchor will always

command attention. The best visual anchors actu-

ally serve to lead the eye deeper into the scene,

and then attract the eye back to the anchor, star-

ing the process over (and hopefully over)

again—the boulder in the foreground of the

image to the right is a good example. The effect is

a composition which captivates the viewer, mak-

ing it hard to tear their eyes away. “Virgin

Waters”—Chugach State Park, USA.

Flash is a vital, although often ignored, nature

photography accessory. Flash has multiple

uses: it can be used at low power to add an

attractive “catch light” to a wildlife subject’s

eyes, it can provide fill light for a subject in

shadow, or it can be used at night and during

twilight to create surreal images (such as the

one to the right). Start experimenting with

flash, and be on the lookout for interesting

ways to incorporate flash into your work

flow—it can open up many bold creative

opportunities. “Night Heron”—Blackwater

National Wildlife Refuge, USA.

11 light up the world with flash

Quick Tip: A “flash extender”—basically, a

lightweight, portable device which focuses

and concentrates the output of your flash

through a magnifying filter—can help you

illuminate distant subjects.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll likely say it over

and over again: bad weather makes great pho-

tographs, and can tell a story like nothing else.

For example, the heavy snowfall in this image

tells a story of the struggles animals face in

winter, even when that animal is a mighty bull

elk. Bad weather can lend mood, mystery, and

drama to an image. Use bad weather to your

advantage, and derive satisfaction from the

fact that while other photographers are hud-

dled over hot drinks at some overpriced coffee

shop, you’re out making great images! “Snow-

storm”—Yellowstone National Park, USA.

12 tell a story with weather

Exclude extraneous elements that confuse your

composition. Boil each subject down to its essence.

If something doesn’t add to an image, exclude it.

Here, the image needed just two elements: the

distant island and the menacing storm clouds

above. Anything less, and the image would have

appeared empty and static. Anything more, and

the drama of the moment would have been lost.

“Stormburst”—Great Salt Lake, USA.

13 keep it simple

“The eyes are the window to the soul”—this popu-

lar expression applies with double force to wildlife

photography. For many images, an animal’s eyes are

the most important part of the picture—the eyes tell

the story. By making the eyes the focus of your

images—and I mean this both literally and figura-

tively—you can greatly improve your wildlife pho-

tographs. Above all, make sure that the eyes are in

focus. Beyond that, pay close attention to what the

eyes are doing and the direction they are pointing.

For the image to the right, eye contact gives the

viewer a sense of being there right in front of the

bear. One can’t but help feel like they’re being

stalked with such hungry eyes upon them. “Stand-

off”—Lake Clark National Park, USA.

14 focus on the eyes

Quick Tip: Sometimes autofocus will try to lock on

to your subject’s ear, head, or nose instead of the

eyes. If you are having this problem, consider using

a smaller aperture (such as f/8) to give you enough

extra depth-of-field to ensure the eyes are in focus.

15frame for emphasis

Framing is an effective tool for creating depth in a photograph,

simplifying a composition, and focusing attention on important

elements of the scene. Examples of commonly used frames include

trees, natural arches, and old barn windows. Frames can also be

abstract, formed (for example) by areas of deep shadow or a con-

trasting color. “Desert Window”—Arches National Park, USA.

If you really want to wow viewers, get low and close

to interesting foreground elements with a wide-

angle lens. An “in-your-face” perspective can really

give viewers a sense of being there in the scene. Also,

the juxtaposition of nearby foreground elements

and more distant background elements creates an

illusion of perspective and scale, which helps

encourage the eye to wander through the image. For

the shot to the right, I got very close to the fore-

ground rocks with a wide angle lens (17mm). I

wanted to exaggerate their relative size and impor-

tance; by making the cobbles more prominent, they

are able to visually compete with the colorful sun-

rise and other elements in the background. “Even-

tide”—Acadia National Park, USA.

get low . . . get close . . . get in your face!16

17shoot twilightThe colors of twilight can be otherworldly. Moving elements (such as water and clouds) blur

during long exposures and a colorful, soft light bathes the landscape. Twilight photography

means shooting on the edge of light—which means long exposures. Adjust your ISO to

lengthen or shorten exposure times if necessary. “Ancient Portal”—Isle of Lewis, Scotland.

18 shoot backlight

Although some photographers live by the maxim

“shoot with the sun at your back,” I’m always on

the lookout for opportunities to do the exact oppo-

site. Backlighting presents some unique technical

challenges, but the results are well worth the

effort. Backlighting can often be dramatic, creat-

ing striking and graphic images which attract

attention from viewers. The impact of

backlighting can be especially powerful when the

subject is in the light and the background is in

shadow. Here, I photographed this bison rolling

around in backlit dust at sunset—with a very

evocative (some might say demonic) result. “The

Beast”—Yellowstone National Park, USA.

Quick Tip: Flare is a significant challenge when

working with backlit subjects. To prevent flare,

shade your lens with a lens hood or your hand.

This stops stray light from striking the glass.

19It is often (but not always) a good idea to fill the

frame with visual elements. I don’t mean that you

should try to stuff everything including the

kitchen sink into your composition, but you

should include a sufficient number of visual ele-

ments to nicely fill the frame. For example, for the

image to the right, there is an even distribution of

visual elements progressing from bottom to

top—no area of the image is left blank or empty.

Multiple visual elements help encourage the

viewer to wander through the composition, and

to study multiple areas of interest. Of course,

many compositions work with few elements and

plenty of empty space—but that is a lesson for

another day! “The Snake River”—Grand Teton

National Park, USA.

fill the frame

20

Strive to develop a style which is your very own. You don’t need to trek deep

into the wild to make great images—you just need the courage to try something

different. “The Far Side”—Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina.

get off the beaten path

About Ian PlantWorld-renowned professional nature photographer, writer, and

adventurer Ian Plant has been photographing our natural world for

almost twenty years. Ian is a frequent contributor and blogger for

Outdoor Photographer Magazine, a Contributing Editor to Popular

Photography Magazine, and a monthly columnist for Landscape

Photography Magazine. Corporate and conservation clients include the

Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Apple, The Humane Society, REI, Tamron,

National Parks Conservation Association, and Southern Environmental Law

Center. Ian is the photographer/author of several dozen print and

electronic format books, including Chesapeake: Bay of Light (which

received critical acclaim from leading newspapers including the

Washington Post and Washington Times), The Ultimate Guide to Digital

Nature Photography, and Visual Flow: Mastering the Art of Composition.

Ian’s work has also appeared in a number of other books, calendars, and

magazines worldwide.