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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Guide to Outdoor Photography

By Barry Craft

With outdoor photography you can share the beauty of the wilderness with your friends and family. The first and most important rule when taking pictures of wild animals is to be patient! Good pictures require lots of it so make sure you move slowly and don't scare the animals away. Keep far enough away to stay unnoticed, but close enough to get the good shots.

Small animals will look small in a picture, so take the picture closer to ground level to get a better picture. You may need a zoom lens for this type of a photograph. This is probably something you will want to consider when purchasing a camera.

Even if you don't get any good pictures on the first day, don't get discouraged. There will be another opportunity to get that great shot. Remember that large wildlife can be photographed at a distance since they are big and can be seen easily.

Always be prepared, since the right one opportunity to take a picture could be there one second, and gone the next. Also, make sure that you capture the eyes of the animals. When you capture the eyes, you capture a great photo.

Natural lighting is another important factor in outdoor photography. Depending on the time of year and time of day, your lighting will vary. The time of day, such as sunrise or sunset can give your photo a different personality and feeling because the angle of the sun will cast a different shadow.

You may have to use a fill flash to decrease the amount of shadows in the picture but keep it soft so it doesn't look too artificial. The worst time of day to take pictures is mid-day when the sun is directly overhead. The use of a soft flash can help offset the harsh shadows the sun creates at this time of the day.

The best way to ensure photo brilliance is to use a tripod. It will bring out the best in your subjects and the lenses you buy. Find a sturdy, rigid tripod, as this will create the best images with the sharpest focus.

Also, make sure that you keep your lens clean, since sand or dust can create a speck on all of your pictures. If you have sand, make sure you don't try to clean it yourself. Get help from a professional, because if you scratch your lens, you will have to buy a new one or else have scratches in all of your pictures.

After you download your pictures to your computer, you can use a photo editing program if needed.

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