Are you going on a trip to take some nature photos and videos? Capturing plants and animals can be quite tricky, but you can learn some techniques and strategies to get amazing shots.
Here are some tips to make video and photo shots of nature better:
1. Separate the Subject from the Background
Nature photography and video capturing have many elements in one photograph, and you’ll be seeing rivers, trees, rocks, meadows, clouds, and more that can confuse the main subject. Therefore, you need to decide on your subject and separate them from the background frame.
However, you can just take a photo immediately after knowing your subject. Carefully analyze the placement of each element so that they will not overpower each other. Adjust your angles and the distance of your shot to have a better shot of the subject. Take as many shots with different placement and angles so that you can choose from these shots later for the best ones.
If you really don’t want any obstruction from the background, you can adjust your camera setting to a wider aperture that can blur out the background. But, if you’ve already taken a video shot, you can use a free mp4 video editor to crop the shot to focus the subject.
2. Bring The Right Gears for Your Camera
Nature photography requires gears besides the camera to get a better shot of the subject. This gear can either hold out the camera, stabilize shots, or do more. Here are some important gear items you can bring to set up your camera for a good shot:
- Camera tripod- is a long stand for your camera to get a stable shot.
- Remote shutter – allows you to take shots even without touching the camera to avoid camera shaking that can cause blurs.
- Lens – lenses have different magnification. You can use longer focal length lenses to capture far images.
- External flash – add light for dark shoots.
- Extra batteries – Nature shots take long hours. So, bringing extra batteries can help you avoid missed shot opportunities.
- SD memory card – With long hours of shots, it can take up lots of your memory space. So, bringing extra memory cards will also help you take more shots that you can choose from after the trip.
- Camera cleaning kit – Cameras are delicate, and you need to take care of them well. Bring your camera cleaning kit to avoid dust and moisture ruining shots and your camera.
- Camera strap – helps you carry your camera throughout the day.
- Camera bag – Keep all your things in one place to avoid misplaced items.
3. Add Effects
You can’t always predict what happens when you’re on a trip, and the weather might have ruined your shots. You can enhance them by adding effects. Technological advancements have created different filters and effects that can mimic the natural environment.
You can add effects when you edit video and photo shoots to improve them. You can use photo or video software that offers many effects like Shotcut, LWKS, and FXhome.
Here are some effects you can try out:
- Sound effects- videos can be improved by adding sounds of animals and winds so that the audience can feel like they are in the location of your video. You can look for free sound effects on the internet, but some software has free nature sound effects that you can use.
- Healing or cloning – an effect that you can use to clean dirt that interferes with the overall look of the photo.
- Color Adjustments – You can desaturate colors that you want to stand out less and saturate any colors you’d like to emphasize. You can change the hues of several colors to look more similar. You can darken any problematic spots of color.
- Split Tone – Allow you to choose a color to add to the image’s shadows. You can also use this to add to the highlights of your image.
- Adjust Texture – Emphasizes and defines the smallest details.
- Vignetting – Lightens or darkens specific areas of your shot that can emphasize your subject.
- Black and white – If you want to portray deep emotions in your shots, you can use a black and white effect.
4. Take Advantage of the Natural Light and Events
The natural light provides high-quality images with even illumination and no shadows on the photos. The best time to capture an image is just after sunrise or just before sunset with evenly diffused sunlight.
It’s also good to bring your camera for your morning and afternoon walks since nature is unpredictable, and you might encounter phenomenal events and capture them. Examples are unusual species showing up, cloud formations, storms, and more.
5. Study Your Subjects and Bring the Right Lens
Nature photography involves plant and animal species. These species exhibit different behavior. Therefore, you need to study possible species you’ll encounter on the trip to take a photo with care and at the best time. You also need to bring essential items on your hiking trip to be prepared for anything since you don’t know all the things you’ll encounter along the way.
You also need to bring the correct lens when you take a video or photo because you can’t go near species all the time. Use a longer focal length lens to have a wider and improved magnification of the subject.
For example, you’re on a trip to see tigers and lions, you need to be cautious in going near them to avoid provoking them and getting hurt. So, you’ll be needing a longer and wider lens with a great distance from your subject. However, some animals are scarier but are harmless to humans, like the basking sharks. You can go near them and take up-close shots.
Conclusion
If you want the best shots of nature, you need to prepare yourself by bringing the right items and knowing edit remedies to improve your shots afterward.