Like many, I discover nature pictures pleasing and a incredible passion. As knowledgeable videographer, many ideas I’ve realized apply to nature pictures. Probably the most necessary is depth of subject (DOF).
Depth of subject
Correct depth of subject could make an excellent picture nice. As a assessment, depth of subject is the world vary in a photograph the place content material is in focus. Variables that have an effect on depth of subject embrace the gap between you and your subject material, aperture dimension, and focal size. The farther away you’re, the smaller the aperture (bigger F-stop), and the shorter your focal size, the bigger/deeper the depth of subject will likely be. For shallow depth of subject, the alternative applies.
I used a big DOF for this panorama picture (North Cascades, WA).
Rain or shine, I take advantage of a big DOF for panorama photographs (Ruby Seashore, WA).
In my video world, I all the time have three lenses at my disposal: A large-angle lens with a shorter focal size for giant DOF, a zoom lens to supply shallow DOF and an ordinary lens for common capturing.
It’s good to be ready, particularly in nature pictures. A few of my finest pictures weren’t deliberate, they had been simply issues I stumbled upon.
Panorama vs. plant and animal pictures
For panorama pictures, you want most DOF so all the picture is in focus. I begin with a smaller aperture as a result of it permits much less gentle, which gives a deeper depth of subject. However publicity should nonetheless be sufficient, so I alter accordingly given the climate, publicity time and ISO setting.
Then, I manually concentrate on one thing that I imagine to be one-third of the gap into my shot. That is due to a rule: Depth of subject extends twice as far behind the focus because it does in entrance of the focus.
I used a shallow DOF to make this plant stand out (Volcano Nationwide Park, HI).
I used a shallow DOF for this animal portrait (Hoary Marmot in Glacier Nationwide Park, MT).
When capturing an animal from afar towards a panorama backdrop, I’m going again to utilizing a deep DOF (Glacier Nationwide Park, MT).
For close-ups of vegetation or animals you come throughout, you’ll almost definitely desire a shallow DOF. This makes the focus of your picture the star, as supposed. Use a large aperture.
In case you can, shoot at an angle the place the background seems farther from the topic. Or, transfer nearer to the topic (within the case of an motionless plant, not an animal that you could be frighten by encroaching upon). Each ways will create extra background blur.
