Teach Yourself Outdoor Photography

Outdoor photography is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding areas in which a photographer can specialise. But battling with the elements, working with unpredictable creatures, and capturing movement can also make it one of the most challenging photography genres. The Teach Yourself Outdoor Photography book tackles popular subjects, from landscapes and seascapes to wildlife and nature, as well as sports and action photography. Discover incredible tips and tricks for getting the most out of your camera and creating images you feel proud to show off; read interviews with professional and amateur photographers alike; follow step-by-step guides on capturing and editing your outdoor photos; and discover techniques for mastering composition, lighting and much more. It’s time to grab your camera, step outside and get creative!…

All photographers strive to produce sharp imagery, but sharpness issues often plague even the most skilled of image-makers. Tacksharp imagery is often the most striking and memorable, and ensuring your imagery is as sharp as possible can help you stand out from your peers. Over the next few pages, you’ll discover how your equipment can affect the sharpness of your shots, and why keeping your kit stable is essential. You’ll also see how important having the correct settings is, as well as focusing considerations that must be made in order to produce the sharpest shots possible. Shooting techniques are only part of the sharpness process, so you’ll learn essential Photoshop editing techniques, as well as important Lightroom edits and adjustments.…

The quality and condition of your kit is the most obvious reason for your imagery not being as sharp as you’d like. The quality of the lenses you are using will have an effect on how sharp your images are; this is down to the amount and quality of glass found in the lens and how the light is able to pass through it. Generally, prime lenses will produce far sharper images than cheaper zoom lenses, because prime lenses have fewer internal lens elements. The quality of light will deteriorate slightly as it passes through each element, so the fewer internal elements, the better the image quality will often be. Photographer Paul Ewing (500px.com/paulewing5) says the correct equipment is essential to ensure sharp images. “Get the best lens you can…

To ensure that your images are tack-sharp, you must choose the correct camera settings that fit with the kit you are using and the environment you are shooting in. Traditionally film photographers used a simple formula to work out the slowest shutter speed that they can use when hand-holding a camera to ensure that their images are sharp – and this formula is still applicable to most modern cameras. The idea is that you shoot at one over the focal length of the lens, so if you are shooting with a 200mm lens, your minimum shutter speed should be 1/200sec, and so on. Obviously, the faster the shutter speed that you use, the sharper your image will be, as there will be less chance for any movements to affect the…

Any camera movement that occurs as the shutter is pressed can result in an unsharp image, so it is important that you keep your kit as stable as possible. The most straightforward way to stabilise your kit is to attach it to a tripod, but Stefan Lackner says it is important to remember the stability is reduced the higher the tripod is built up. “One should therefore avoid the middle column, because it costs a lot of stability.” He goes on to say that keeping your tripod as compact as possible will also help you maintain the stability. “Also it’s recommended that you closely observe the ground. For example, small vibrations on bridges caused by traffic can harm the sharpness.” “I always use a good strong tripod when taking every…

Alot of sharpness issues come from failed focusing or a lack of understanding when it comes to focusing correctly. Modern cameras generally have impressive autofocus capabilities – but for absolute precision, you should master manual focusing. “I greatly prefer manual focus for landscapes,” says Matt Reynolds. “I think many new users are afraid of manual focus and hesitant to use it, but at closed-down apertures it is actually not complicated and, after some experience, can even be faster.” “Mirrorless cameras have some built-in focus aids to help with manual focus, such as focus peaking and focus magnification. For me, the most used and helpful is focus magnification, where I can zoom into the scene and check focus at my current aperture settings with an assigned button.” Similarly, on a DSLR…