Photography: Getting Close Ups Of Nature
Today I’m going to focus on photography and getting close-ups of nature with my camera.
People are always asking me how I get close-up bird photos. I am self-taught, so I have no idea how a professional photographer would advise you.
How I Take Photos Of Nature:
But I will tell you how I take photos of birds and nature in general.
First, you must learn to practice patience. If you want bird shots, make it a practice to sit outside quietly with your camera. I use a Canon Rebel T2i with a zoom lens.
Sooner or later, particularly if you have birdseed or a birdbath, a bird will visit you. Just be ready.
Focus on the bird and make sure you can see it clearly through the lens.
Use A Good Photo Editing Site:
Then I take my camera inside and download my photos to my computer. I then transfer them to Picmonkey, the photo editing site I prefer to use.
If the bird was far away, I wait with anticipation while the photo loads to see if I got a clear photo of it. Then I start cropping.
Sometimes it will be too blurry or the lighting will be all wrong. But sometimes I can fix this with Picmonkey. And at other times I can’t.
Sometimes I am rewarded with a really great bird photo.
My Secret For Good Photos After I Take Them:
The secret for me is cropping. Even with a zoom lens, oftentimes it’s going to be really hard to get great photos.
I crop, then crop again. If the photo is getting blurry, you know to stop cropping. I don’t crop below 500 pixels.
Wait until you’re done cropping to set the size of your pixels for how big you want your photo.
In my early days, I didn’t pay attention to the size of pixels. So I didn’t realize I was loading photos with thousands of pixels.
Too Many Pixels Means It Takes Longer Loading Time:
Which meant that some people would have a hard time loading my blog.
I generally set my photos at 500 pixels. And I prefer vertical photos. Also, Pinterest prefers vertical photos at this time.
A Late In Life Hobby:
Photographing nature is something I came to enjoy later in life. I am never more patient than when I am tracking a bird. Waiting for it to find a perch so I can do my thing.
It is very rewarding to get up-close shots of my bird buddies.
Super photography , all bird pictures are so beautiful .Birds will almost always fly away if you get too close to them, so instead wait for them to come to you.
Microstock photographs
These are just amazing-love the woodpecker! Did you ever print them up as notecards? They'd be lovely!
Beautiful bird photos, Brenda! These would be great printed, framed and displayed together…in the sweet blue cottage!
Blessings,
Dianne
http://www.sweetjourneyhome.com
Oh, Brenda! What a wonderful way to start my day…your bird photos are amazing! Thank you for sharing them, and for the tips. I recently purchased a new camera with a zoom lens, now if I can just find the patience it takes to do this!
Thanks for the info, love your bird pics. I got a few last winter around the feeder, but the trees are so thick in my back yard during summer you rarely see the birds. Looking forward to feeding (and photographing) again this winter.
Mary
Your bird photos are lovely. My favorite is the cardinal.
Well those are all pin worthy amazing award winning shots, Brenda.
Thanks for sharing your secrets.
I think you lost ME with "practice patience." LOL.
I have a good camera and great subject matter but seldom have the patience or drive to make good pictures GREAT pictures. Ah well, sometimes just posting is enough of a challenge on some days.
LOVE that Cardinal – it's our state bird here in Ohio.
Have a wonderful week.
I could do the sitting and waiting thing and I could do the cropping, but I just don't have the beautiful birds you have in your yard.
Lovely Pictures of some very beautiful birdies! Good Job Brenda! 🙂 Carol
You have a lot of patience whether you know it or not, Brenda. Your bird pictures are amazing.. Birds don't hold still very long to have their pictures taken..
I love the picture of the Cardinal.. I guess because Cardinals are red and they are our Virginia state bird.. The females are beautiful also. I think their brownish color helps to camouflage them while they are on their nest.
I love little black-capped Chickadees also.. They have their own special little bird noise that they make.. I can always tell that they are in my yard when I hear them.
I enjoyed seeing all of your pictures today.
Smiles, Charlotte in Virginia
You sure have some great shots there, Brenda. I love the one of the woodpecker! I don't think I have the patience for bird photography. I can never seem to get a clear view or some other problem 🙂
I always love your bird shots, especially the woodpecker. Though now I think that cardinal might be my favorite for awhile! 🙂 But the the young robin next to the mama or older one is priceless so I guess I can't pick a favorite!