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Nature Photography Tips 11

The next line in our nature photography tips is one I bet we’ve all used. It’s the simple dot, showing a theme in the center of the frame with a relatively plain or purposely unfocused background.  This simple composition expresses a singular purpose, and evokes concentration and clarity of thought.

I wanted to share this particular winter rose with you, not because it’s especially beautiful, but because it was such an amazing flower. It bloomed in late October last year, and was still hanging in there long after New Years. I’ve never seen a winter rose bloom for more than a week, but this tenacious flower just sat there clinging to its branch through several freezes and thaws. Each time it froze the petals got a little more transparent until it looked like it was made of stained glass. Some things don’t have to be especially beautiful to be a worthy candidate for nature photography.

Here’s a classic example of the central dot. The background is intentionally blurred in order to direct your eye to the center of this early peach blossom. I got this photo from my daughter, who doesn’t have a proper camera. She took this with her cell phone. She says her pocket digital camera tends to focus on as much of the frame as possible, and has a large depth of field at any setting, but the cell phone is designed to focus on only one thing in the center of the frame, so works well for this kind of shot.

You don’t have to find a round object to qualify for the central dot. The idea is to focus on a single object. It doesn’t have to be right in the center either. The cricket in our rule of thirds photography tips is a great off center example.

Nature Photography Tips

Do you take a lot of central dot shots when you are shooting nature photography? If not, try a few and notice the clarity and focus they express.

Use a macro lens or setting to get the blurred background effect, or play with the aperture to see if you can achieve a shallow depth of field in order to emphasize the subject.

Experiment with the position of your subject, and also the angle. Straight into a flower may not always be the best angle. The beauty of digital photography is that you can take as many shots as you want, and choose the best one later. I had about 15 photos of the winter rose to choose from.

We have 4 more shapes to cover in this section of our nature photography tips. Keep collecting shots of each composition style!

Nature Photography Tips 10

Our example for today isn’t exactly nature photography, but my daughter took these Christmas lights at the mall yesterday, and it shows the photography tips we want to talk about.

We’ve been discussing lines and shapes in nature photography. In Nature photography tips 9 we discussed upright and inverted triangles. An arrangement of multiple triangles makes a great composition as well. Multiple triangles can be found in nature in valleys, near streams and waterfalls and really just about anywhere if you are looking for them. Interesting rock formations and clouds can form into multiple triangles as well.

This photo of the Christmas lights is a classic example with the lion forming an upright triangle, and the hanging lights an inverted triangle. The two complement each other, and make a much more interesting composition than either object would have by itself.

Multiple triangles in nature photography tend to express a sense of happy, dynamic movement with the impression that there is a lot going on. Richard Scarey’s Busy, Busy World comes to mind.

Nature Photography Tips:

Multiple triangles might be a bit more of a challenge to find, both in your files, and in your daily photo lifestyle. You will be well rewarded when you find them, though, as your photos will gain a dynamic dimension that you may not have discovered before. This Christmas season may be a great time to look for them, as obviously Christmas trees and Santa hats tend to be triangles!

Nature Photography Tips 9

We’ve covered six different kinds of straight and curved lines in our nature photography tips so far. Now we move on to triangles. Nature photography can be based on either upright triangles, like a pyramid, or inverted triangles, essentially standing on end.

Upright triangles occur naturally in nature photography, especially when shooting mountains, or certain trees, but many subjects can show a triangle with a little thought. Upright triangles emphasize a sense of solid strength and stability, and serve to direct the eye to the top.

I made a very interesting discovery while looking through my photos for upright triangles. I had taken quite a few pictures with a composition based on triangles, but I couldn’t find even one shot featuring an upright triangle. They were all inverted!

Inverted triangles are easy to find, too. Deciduous trees and valleys come to mind, but it seems I’ve subconsciously found inverted triangles all over the place. Inverted triangles express tension derived from instability, and also a sense of freedom resulting from the rising and ever widening expanse.

Nature Photography Tips:

Look through your nature photography files to see which type of triangle you have been favoring. Are you like me, attracted to inverted triangles, or do you see more beauty in a sense of solid stability? I have no idea what this could mean on a psychological level, but I could take some wild guesses.

Try to capture some triangles in your photo lifestyle. Take some obvious shots such as mountains and trees, but see if you can find some more subtle triangles to shoot as well. Keep snapping away, as there are more photography tips coming soon.

Thanks to my dad, Ted Wilkinson, for the photo of Mt. Shasta in Northern California.

Nature Photography Tips 8

Our nature photography tips so far have covered only straight lines. The next step is obviously curved lines. We’ll bundle up all possible curved lines into one quick lesson, as you can really only have an arc or an s-curve. Curved lines tend to express beauty and grace along with a sense of quietness, smoothness and dignity. Prominent curved lines invite the eye to travel along them in a relaxed and leisurely manner, noticing other details in the photo. This tends to get people to spend just a little more time looking at your composition, which is definitely a good thing!

This photo emphasizes the curved lines in these ancient stairstep ricefields in Japan. The red flowers along the edge bloom in the late summer just before the rice is harvested. I’m not sure what it is with red flowers. These flowers in Japan have a tradition that if you pick them, it will rain, just like the red bottle-brush in Hawaii.
Here’s a classic arc type example of curved lines. The mountain in the distance on the right is Mt. Unzen in Shimabara, Japan. You may remember years ago reading about a volcano in Japan that continued to release a pyroclastic flow off and on for over a year. The mayor of the town that was being systematically buried under the scalding volcanic dust determined not to shave until his town was back to normal. The poor man ended up with a beard down to his waist.
Nature Photography Tips:

As usual, look for curved lines in your nature photography files. Notice how the curved lines contribute to the beauty and dignity of the composition. Be aware of both s-curve and arc type curved lines when you are deciding on an angle to shoot from in the next few days. See if you can get the same subject with and without the curved line, and compare how you react to the photos.

Remember these quick photography tips, and you will be able to create great nature photography without much time or thought. Simply decide what you are trying to express, and then look for those types of lines.

• Vertical lines indicate strength and power.
• Horizontal lines suggest freedom and wide open spaces.
• Diagonal lines give an impression of movement and speed.
• Curved lines show grace, beauty and dignity.

Nature Photography Tips 7

Our exploration of nature photography tips started with the rule of thirds, and then began working through the 14 basic lines in photo composition. So far we’ve covered:

• Horizontal lines
• Vertical lines
• Multiple diagonal lines, and
• Single diagonal lines

This nature photography composition is based on radiated lines. Most of the strong lines in the shot are radiating out from a single source. This is a style that’s often easy to achieve when taking shots of linear clouds or sun rays. If you look directly down straight rows in fields or orchards, or even large highways, you’ll get a radiated line as well.

Radiated lines tend to give a sense of power or strength and also emphasize a wide open expanse of space.

Nature Photography Tip:

Look through your photo files to see if you’ve already subconsciously mastered this technique. I found I had relatively few pictures with radiated lines in them.

Try finding radiated lines in your daily routine, and take photos of a few of them. Notice the impression of vitality and power you’ve achieved.

If you have a star filter, try doing some nature photography with the sun peeking through branches or around a rock. You’ll see a perfect radiated line effect that could add a touch of mystery and strength to an otherwise ordinary scene.