INDISPENSABLE20PHOTO

IAN PLANTTIPS

20 Indispensable Photo Tipsby Ian Plant

Copyright © 2013

All rights reserved. This book, and all of the photographs and written text contained therein, are the intellec-

tual property of the author and are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. No part of this book

may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of the author.

Author: Ian Plant

Publisher: Dreamscapes

Editor: Chris Flack

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My mission is to educate, inspire, and entertain others in the art of nature photography. So I make my

books practical, informative, fun to read, and pack them with plenty of delicious eye candy.

This eBook introduces you to many important concepts in nature photography. The ideas in this eBook are

covered in greater depth on my blog and in other books and video tutorials for sale on my website; to

delve deeper into how to improve your photography, visit the or my .

Enjoy the book—you'll be taking better photos in no time!

Ian Plant

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Twenty photos. Twenty tips. Simple as that.

World-renowned professional nature photographer and writer Ian Plant 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. Ian’s work also appears in many other

books, calendars, ad campaigns, and magazines available worldwide. Visit his

for plenty of gorgeous images, and daily inspiration and education in

the art of nature photography from top pros in the business.

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INDISPENSABLE20PHOTO

IAN PLANTTIPS

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 colorful light striking

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

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

Canon 5DII, 45mm, polarizer filter, 2-stop graduated

neutral density filter, ISO 200, f/11, 0.4 seconds.

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 nasty lens flare from the setting sun just outside the image frame. My

solution? Use the flare creatively. Selecting a small aperture, I created a radiating burst

of light framing the lone tree in the meadow. Whenever a technical or artistic problem

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

Park, USA. Canon 5DII, 37mm, ISO 100, f/16, 0.4 seconds.

turn obstacles into opportunities

It is important to wait for the moment

when your subject does something

interesting; stretching its head, yawn-

ing, biting—or as is the case with this

sea turtle, 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. Canon Powershot

S100 with Fisheye Fix Underwater

Housing and Fix UWL-28 Fisheye Wet

Mount Conversion Lens, ISO 200, f/4,

1/320 second.

3wait for the decisive moment

Nothing demands our 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 fore-

ground to background. Leading elements encour-

age 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. Canon 5DIII, 14mm, ISO 100,

f/11, 2.5 seconds.

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

interesting. If it points, for example, outside of the

image frame, then you’re not going to excite view-

ers, but rather confuse them.

Although humans perceive the passage of time, help you capture a new perspective on reality,

cameras can record time in ways our eyes can- and show the world in an unexpected way.

not. Moving elements gradually lose distinct- “Moonscape”—Adirondack State Park, USA.

ness and form, becoming abstract and artistic Canon 1DsII, 12mm, ISO 100, f/11, 17 minutes.

blurs and brush strokes. Long exposures can

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, cir-

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

create boldly graphic and visually engaging images—such

as this curve created by the interaction of shadow and light.

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

5DII, 50mm, ISO 50, f/11, 1/15 second.

6 focus on shapes

Reflections are a great way to add some extra style

to your nature images. Still water often works best,

although rippled or moving water can create

abstract reflections. Reflection images often work

well with a 50/50 split between the subject and its

reflection; sometimes, however, other variations

make more sense. Consider photographing only

the reflection itself and add a hint of mystery. For

the image to the left, my position was such that the

reflection (at first glance, at least) doesn’t quite

seem to match the birds above, adding an eerie

quality to this photograph. “The Gathering”—Ding

Darling National Wildlife Refuge, USA. Canon 5DIII,

500mm, ISO 800, f/9, 1/500 second.

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 interest over time. The key to

success is to also 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. Canon 5DII, 14mm, polarizer filter, ISO 400, f/11, 0.5 seconds.

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. “The Politics

of Distraction”—Tambopata

National Reserve, Peru. Canon

5DIII, 500mm +1.4x, ISO 800, f/5.6,

1/200 second.

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 lead

the eye deeper into the scene, and then attract

the eye back to the anchor, staring 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, making it hard to tear

their eyes away. “Virgin Waters”—Chugach State

Park, USA. Canon 5DII, 21mm, polarizer filter, ISO

100, f/11, 0.8 seconds.

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 experi-

menting with flash, and look 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. Canon 20D,

500mm, flash, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/4 second.

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.

Don’t just zoom in tight—consider taking a wider

view to provide context and show your subjects

interacting with their environment. For this

image, I didn’t just want a picture of elephants;

rather, I wanted a picture that said “Africa.” So I

zoomed out to show the surrounding landscape,

including the characteristic tree on the left. The

result doesn’t just merely record a moment—it

tells a story as well. “The Spirit of Africa”—Etosha

National Park, Namibia. Canon 5DIII, 70mm, ISO

6400, f/2.8, 1/60 second.

12provide context

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 a

few elements: the floating icebergs in the foreground and the

radiating pattern of twilight clouds in the sky above. Any-

thing less, and the image would have appeared empty and

static. Anything more, and the impact of the moment would

have been lost. “Time Stands Still”—Jökulsárlón, Iceland. Canon

5DIII, 16mm, polarizer filter, 1-stop graduated neutral density

filter, ISO 400, f/8, 82 seconds.

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

figuratively—you can greatly improve your wild-

life photographs. 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 con-

tact 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. “Standoff”—Lake Clark National Park, USA.

Canon 5DII, 400mm, ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/400 second.

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, try 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. Canon

5DII, 17mm, 10-stop neutral density filter, ISO 200, f/18, 30 seconds.

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 fore-

ground 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 foreground rocks with a wide

angle lens. I wanted to exaggerate their relative

size and importance; by making the cobbles more

prominent, they are able to visually compete with

the colorful sunrise and other elements in the

background. “Eventide”—Acadia National Park,

USA. Canon 5DIII, 17mm, 2-stop graduated neutral

density filter, polarizer filter, ISO 400, f/11, 5 seconds.

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

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

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

photography means shooting on the edge of light, requiring long exposures. Adjust

your ISO to lengthen or shorten exposure times if necessary. “Ancient Portal”—Isle of

Lewis, Scotland. Canon 5DIII, 17mm, polarizer filter, ISO 100, f/11, 30 seconds.

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 opposite. Backlighting presents some

unique technical challenges, but the results are

well worth the effort. Backlighting can often be

dramatic, creating striking and graphic images

which attract attention from viewers. The

impact of backlighting can be especially power-

ful when the subject is in the light and the back-

ground is in shadow. Here, I photographed this

bison rolling around in backlit dust at sun-

set—with a very evocative (some might say

demonic) result. “The Beast”—Yellowstone

National Park, USA. Canon 5DII, 500mm lens, ISO

400, f/5.6, 1/1250 second.

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

elements to nicely fill the frame. For example,

for the image to the right, there is an even distri-

bution 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.

Canon 5DIII, 61mm, 2-stop graduated neutral den-

sity filter, ISO 100, f/11, 1/30 second.

fill the frame

20You don’t need to trek deep into the wild to make

great images (although there is certainly nothing

wrong with doing so)—you just need the courage

to try something different. Don’t merely follow in

the tripod holes of the photographers who have

come before you. Strive to develop a style which

is your very own, and never be afraid to try new

places and subjects. Dare to dream big, and big

things will come to you. “Dawn Greeting”—Los

Glaciares National Park, Argentina. Canon 5DIII,

24mm, ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/640 second.

get off the beaten path

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