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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.

Nature Photography Tips 6

Our last nature photography tip was about diagonal lines. Multiple parallel diagonal lines bring a picture to life, and add a three dimensional aspect. Diagonal lines in various directions provide even more action, but the most dramatic use of parallel lines in nature photography involves one single line dividing the photo into two distinct areas.

In this photo we have one heavily laden branch of a persimmon tree. These persimmons are far too puckery to eat, and become sweet only after being peeled and dried in the sun. In Japan you can often see strings of them hanging from farmhouse rafters. They are especially photogenic, because they hang from the tree long after the leaves have all fallen.

I tried several different angles for this shot. dividing the photo vertically with persimmons on one side and blue sky on the other was effective, but stationary. Filling the photo with persimmons was just too heavy and cluttered. I then followed this photography tip. The single diagonal line gave the effect I wanted. It adds an element of vibrant life to the photo.

The most dramatic use of the single diagonal line involves having a completely different color or texture on either side of the line.

This simple example of nature photography does just that. The red maple leaves contrast sharply with the blue sky, but the theme is so simple that it might not be very interesting if the photo was cut vertically or horizontally.

Nature Photography Tip:

Try adding the single dividing diagonal line to your nature photography repertoire. Experiment with this concept, and try to one each of a very simple two textured photo, and a more complicated composition incorporating the same technique.

Nature Photography Tips 5 – Diagonal Lines

We’ve been covering some great nature photography tips that are easy to apply instantly. We started with the rule of thirds and horizontal lines, then moved to repeated vertical lines. Today, we’ll talk about lines on the diagonal. Diagonal lines are great for expressing rhythmical movement. Western viewers tend to look at a picture from left to right, so a diagonal line will lead the eye up or down, and provide a sense of excitement and motion. This is a great tip to keep in mind as you’re pondering your composition.

If you want to portray a sense of stability and repose, focus on horizontal and vertical lines. A lower horizontal line will emphasize wide open expanses, and give a sense of freedom, a higher one will emphasize the foreground. If you want movement and excitement, use diagonal lines instead, or at least attempt to incorporate one in your photo.

Assignment:

Go take some photos with diagonal lines in them. Try to find ways to get shots both with and without diagonal lines. For instance, I took this shot of the hills on a snowy day from on top of a ridge. When I faced the next ridge directly, I got shots with mainly horizontal lines, but by turning just a bit to the right, I was able to focus on the edge of the range as it sloped down toward the valley floor. Compare your shots, and see if you don’t sense more movement in the ones with diagonal lines.

In Nature Photography Tips 6 we’ll cover a special form of the diagonal line that add even more power to your composition. Enjoy!

Nature Photography Tips 4 – Vertical Lines

The next step in our series on nature photography tips will take up several posts. The rule of thirds is the most fundamental concept in art composition, but there are many others. Let’s spend some time exploring the various lines we should be aware of as we decide where to point the camera, what angle to shoot from, and what to fill our frame with.

There are 14 basic line patterns to choose from and, of course, an infinite number of ways to use each of those 14 patterns. Being aware of what types of lines are present in your frame will instantly improve your results.

The first two patterns are simply the horizontal line and the vertical line. We covered both when we covered the rule of thirds, but lets just review the vertical line again here.

Here’s a picture of some snowy trees I took by holding the camera down near the ground and pointing up toward the sky. Most of the lines are vertical spaced evenly, and roughly parallel to each other. The snowy hedge ads a horizontal line which serves to break up the photo. I could have chosen to avoid the hedge and had only vertical lines. I also could have moved around a bit to space the vertical lines unevenly, or added a closer tree to give more variety to the thickness. Each shot would have been an entirely different composition.

Here’s another example. It’s a closeup of a single tree trunk with some summer maple leaves against it. The vertical lines are provided by each side of the trunk. I wanted the trunk to fill up most of the photo, so I couldn’t use the rule of thirds for both sides. I chose to line up the right side of the trunk close to the 1/3 mark, and have the trunk a bit off center.

Assignment:

Find a subject with strong vertical lines. Try taking several shots from different distances and angles. Think about achieving as much symmetry as you can, then change your approach to get an asymmetrical effect. Try zooming in to get just one or two vertical lines for a simple, striking composition. Don’t forget to implement the rule of thirds where applicable as well.

Nature Photography Tips 3 – The Essence of a Great Photo

What one tip for taking nature photography would sum up the essence of the art? I’m sure there could be a dozen different answers to this question, and they would all be right, here’s what I was told yesterday.

It was the first clear day in weeks, so I took my mom to visit the private gardens of Mr. Bridgestone of Bridgestone Tires. I was hoping to get some shots of the maple and ginkgo leaves in their autumn glory through the gates and hedges. The man who was standing guard happened to be the head caretaker. To our delight, he invited us to go in to one small section of the grounds to get closeups, and later took some time to talk with us.

The subject of what is the essence of a great photo came up, and he told us he has been taking pictures for a living most of his life. His take on the question:

It’s important to know the basic principles of good photography such as the rule of three and put them to use, but that alone won’t make a photo great.

A great photo has two factors. First, it expresses what the photographer actually sees and feels. It tells a story about the situation. For instance, if it is late evening, it might show a long shadow to indicate that.

In addition to that, the photographer thinks about what the audience who views the photo will want to see. If the photo succeeds in expressing the photographer’s personal experience, and the viewer senses that and experiences the same thing with a sense of satisfaction that says, “Yes, that’s just how I would have seen it,” then you have a great photo. The key is an inner level of communication between the photographer and the viewer.

I ended up taking literally hundreds of shots yesterday. Many of them simply document what the garden looked like, but I chose these three because, although they may not be great photos, they tend to express what I was feeling. I have a huge thing for moss, and the main garden consists of a whole hillside of moss as ground cover. I wanted to protray the moist cool feel that it contributes, so I set the camera low to the ground, and let the autumn leaves be simply a background for the garden’s main feature.

The magic of being surrounded with bright maple leaves was hard to capture in a photo. I didn’t realize until I got home that the hole in the foreground branches I was shooting through for this shot was roughly heartshaped. It seemed appropriate, as I was trying to protray how I felt about the riot of color around me.

And finally, my favorite. The evening sun was streaming toward me from an angle, igniting each leaf like a thousand molten furnaces. This is one I think will end up printed out and mounted on my wall. Do click on it and view it enlarged with the black frame it makes all the difference.

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. We’ll be continuing with the basic principles of photo composition in this Nature Photography Tips series, but I wanted to take time out to interject with a vision of what we are actually striving to achieve with all our lines and dimensions.