Q: How to do Photography for Nature?

Here we can learn some steps to learn what is Nature photography and How to do it. here we go.............

A:

STEP 1: DECIDE WHERE TO SHOOT
-- The first step to getting a good pet portrait is deciding where to shoot. Sure, you can put the pet on a chair or table in front of a black drape and shoot the subject with strobes just as you would a people portrait. However, you can get much more interesting photos of pets if you shoot them in their natural surroundings doing things they enjoy doing. If your pet is a cat, try catching it napping in the sunlight in front of a favorite window. Or, you can shoot pets outdoors playing with a ball or chasing children. Once again, you should be aware of how important it is to have good light. An attempt at shooting a black Labrador in dark shade will be challenging. Likewise, when shooting a white poodle in bright sun, getting a well-exposed photo will also be hard. Yet, if you place the same white dog in an area of your yard where overhead trees soften the bright sun, you can easily shoot against a shady background to get a photo. The quality of light makes or breaks a photo—so choose a day, time, and place where you have good light. If you have a small pet like a bird, mouse, or snake, having someone hold the pet in his hands or on a comfortable perch held near a window can provide both a good source of light and a way of controlling the pet’s movement. Think about ways to involve your pet that will result in some good facial expressions. A “meow” sound made the poodle in turn his head and look curiously at the owner, who was standing directly behind the photographer. With a cat, a string or a bit of twine can work wonders. For a horse, it might be a carrot or a lump of sugar or maybe you can get a good photo just by shooting it in the stall. Next time your pet is fast asleep, with legs up in the air, and has a silly expression on its face, quietly grab your camera and take a few shots. Many of the best photographic opportunities just happen— they aren’t created.

STEP 2: CHOOSE FOCAL LENGTH
-- Depending on the length of the zoom lens on your camera, you may want to use a supplemental telephoto lens when taking a pet portrait. Longer lenses allow you to be farther away from your subject, which can be helpful if your pet is uncomfortable with too much attention. A little extra distance can also be helpful if your pet is a real attention hog, as you can reduce your pet’s activity by being a bit more distant and aloof.

STEP 3: CHOOSE CAMERA SETTINGS
-- If you are planning to shoot outdoors, select aperture priority mode and open your lens to its maximum f-stop. Depending on the amount of available light, the maximum f-stop setting will ensure that you are getting the fastest shutter speed you can, which helps stop any movement and helps keep your pet sharply focused. Try to use at least 1/250th of a second as the shutter speed if your pet is moving quickly. Next, enable fill, or forced flash. Outdoor fill flash allows you to capture detail in shadows, and is especially helpful if your pet has dark or black fur.

-- If you plan to shoot indoors, you have to evaluate the amount of available light to decide whether or not to use flash. If you have a cat that likes to sit on a window ledge, your primary concern will be getting a good exposure by metering for the cat, not the bright window. Use your camera’s exposure compensation feature, or spot metering with exposure lock to ensure that your subject is properly exposed. Shooting in a darker part of the room may work for sleeping pets (which can actually make some very good pictures), but if you have an active animal, you need to use supplemental lights.

STEP 4: GET YOUR PETS READY
-- Because shooting a pet can be more or less challenging depending on whose pet it is, what kind of pet it is, and how manageable it is, decide who ought to be working with the pet and who ought to be behind the camera taking photographs. Some of the most manageable pets, such as a well-trained dog can still be challenging unless you can get them to mind and to look like you want them to look.

-- Getting your pet’s attention, getting the right composition, and taking pictures all by yourself is sometimes tough, so, if possible, have an assistant who can either engage your pet or take pictures. If you plan to use an assistant, choose someone who has a good relationship with your pet and knows how to control it. A family member or a close friend who knows the pet would be a good choice.

-- In addition to your camera gear, make sure that you have a plentiful supply of the pet’s favorite treat. Food is a good motivator and reward, and it helps to get your pet to do what you want. Other useful tools for getting attention are noise makers, like squeakers and clickers. For animals that are fascinated by movement, like cats, a string or bit of yarn can be useful to attract their attention. If your pet has a favorite toy, use it to keep the pet posed for good photographs.

STEP 5: COMPOSE AND TAKE PHOTOS
-- Look critically at the light, and choose your angle based on its direction. While the obvious orientation is to have the sun shine toward the subject, you should also try some shots with the sun behind your subject, and fill the shaded face with light from your flash. If your camera has an automated fill flash mode, try it first. If not, you may need to move closer or farther away to achieve the correct balance between flash and existing light. You won’t be able to shoot from too far away, because built-in flash units are only effective at close range. Getting the exposure correct may take a few tries, but backlit and side-lit shots can do wonderful things with fur. Be sure to review your results on your LCD monitor as you shoot to ensure that you’re getting the right exposure, and that you are not picking up any red-eye from the flash. If your pet has dark fur, you may need to shoot with the sun behind you to get the detail you need.

-- When you are composing a picture of a pet, be sure to get the eyes in focus. If the eyes are in focus, your mind fills in the rest of the detail, and overall, it makes for a more pleasant portrait. The same technique applies for photographing people. A catch light (reflection of the light source) in the eyes gives your portrait more life — try to shoot to get one.

-- Also try shooting close to the ground so you’re shooting level to your pet, as that perspective is much better than one where you are looking down at it. To a small kitten, grass may be like a jungle, and you can shoot through the blades of grass to capture a unique perspective. Turn off your flash if it lights up too much of the foreground. Be aware of the background, and try to keep it simple. Indoors, choosing an angle that allows the background to go dark will be relatively easy; when you’re shooting outdoors, try to keep the background plain or out of focus.

STEP 6: EVALUATE SHOTS AND CHANGE
SETTINGS IF NEEDED
-- Once you’ve taken a few pictures, take time to carefully evaluate your results to see that they are well-composed, that they are in focus, and that they are properly exposed. Use your LCD monitor to look at the overall composition, and if your camera review has a zoom feature, use it to zoom in on the subject’s face to see if the eyes and face are in focus. Likewise, if your camera has a histogram, take a quick look to evaluate exposure.

-- Although obviously some differences exist between photographing different kinds of pets, great pictures of any kind of pet share a surprising number of similarities. First, the animal’s attention will be focused. When a horse’s attention is focused, its ears are pricked forward, both pointing in the same direction. With a snake, it could be indicated with a fixed stare of one eye, and a flick of the tongue. No matter what size your pet is, its eyes should be alive and bright, and your pet should be shown in a setting that is free of distracting elements.