Creative Nature Photography Tutorial

– by Varina Patel

A beginners guide to develop out-of-box thinking and creativity to build a diverse portfolio outside the golden hours.

Creative Nature Photography at Sunset Beach, Mana Island, Fiji

Creative Nature Photography at Sunset Beach, Mana Island, Fiji

That’s not a straightforward question to answer. For some, creativity is all about light. Others might think of an abstract wash of colors or an extreme close-up of a mystery subject. Really, creativity can mean any and all of these things. It’s a reflection of the photographer and their unique interpretation of a visual and emotional experience. That means that creative photography can take limitless forms.

With this in mind, let’s take some time to explore the topic of creativity a little more deeply. Jay tries his hand at defining what makes a photo creative and reveals some of his own creative process.

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Why creativity is important?

At this point, you already get the sense that it takes more than just great light or an interesting subject to produce a creative photo – it takes intentionally pushing yourself outside of your normal workflow in order capture the mood, the light, and the subject of your photo in a way that is unique to your experience of it.

In the previous example, Jay was able to capture creative photos of a crab on the shores of Fiji because Jay took the time to observe the entire scene and then only included the elements that enhanced my subject. In this case, that meant including the waves crashing around the crab as the tide came in.

Of course, what enhanced my subject in Fiji won’t work in every situation. Being creative isn’t as straightforward as following a formula or a set of guidelines. It all comes down to taking the time to observe your surroundings and pushing yourself think outside the box. That’s what makes creative photography so challenging.

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Now that you know the importance of out-of-the-box thinking in the field, what is the best way to get the creative juices flowing?

If someone were to take a few hundred random photos, it’s likely that at least some of them would turn out to be pretty good. Jay experienced this for myself when he first started out in landscape photography. However, whenever he attempted to take a specific type of photo, his lack of skill became quite obvious. When Jay took this shot of Marymere Falls, for example, he struggled to work through the details of setting up his camera. It wasn’t until returning years later that Jay was able to come away with the shot he had hoped for.

  • Marymere Falls, 2001

  • Marymere Falls, 2010

Over the years, I’ve learned that one of the best ways to learn about photography is to shoot with a specific intent in mind. That’s where creative challenges come in. If you’re hoping to develop your technical skills and your eye for composition, these challenges will guide your time in the field by providing specific goals for you to work toward.

Introducing Creative Challenges

Creative challenges are short photography assignments that will help you to push your skills to the next level by giving you an intention to keep in mind while you are shooting.

There is NO purchase or subscription fee necessary to participate in creative challenge. Participation is absolutely free. We hope you’ll make the most of these creative challenges by committing to push yourself and give your absolute best with every assignment.

  • First of all, participate! Embracing challenges is one of the best ways to improve your photography.
  • Set goals for yourself. Though it’s not required, we encourage you to create new images for the assignments instead of simply using the ones you’ve taken in the past. Why? Shooting with a specific intent in mind or giving yourself a goal for your time in the field will help you develop creativity and learn to approach your subject in a new way.
  • View the work of other photographers to get ideas for how a specific task can be accomplished in different ways.
  • Be consistent. Over time, you will see that you are able to approach your subject matter more creatively and come away with dramatic, eye-catching photos.

Before embarking on your first creative challenge, here is a brief video from Varina to get you started.

Objective: Create an image with one single, dominant color.

Capturing monochromatic image is harder then it sounds. You can use your camera settings, composition and light to capture images with monochromatic colors. This weeks challenge is for you to capture images with monochromatic color scheme. Here are some examples to get your started:

Cover for nature photography composition blog post by Jay Patel
Cover for nature photography composition blog post by Jay Patel
Nature Photography composition using leading lines from Iceland by Varina Patel
Nature Photography composition using leading lines from Iceland by Varina Patel
Cover for Macro Photography blog post by Jay Patel
Cover for Macro Photography blog post by Jay Patel

What You Will Learn

  • How to create an image using only one main color in a variety of shades and tones.
  • How textures, lines, patterns and light can help to make your subject stand out.
  • How to use your camera settings and equipment to isolate a single color.
  • How getting up close to your subject can simplify your composition.
  • How to define your subject without the help of color and create stunning monochrome images.

In this video, Varina talks about a few different types of color schemes then challenges you to find a way to make your subject stand out without the help of color by paying attention to other compositional elements. She gives a few examples of successful monochrome images from her own portfolio and offers a few ideas to help you get started.

LEARN TO CREATE PHOTOS WITH BRILLIANT COLORS
Check out the following tutorials on Visual Wilderness:

Objective: Capture a single scene or subject in multiple different ways.

  • Glen Eilt, Scotland

  • Minimalism Example at Glen Eilt, Scotland

    Glen Eilt, Scotland

When you come upon a jaw-dropping scene like this one, it can be hard to know what to include in your shot – or, perhaps more importantly, what not to include. After all, when the grasses are glowing gold, smokey storm clouds are giving way to a perfect blue sky, and a serendipitous rainbow has gracefully arched into view, the landscape photographer’s reaction is usually to grab a wide-angle and capture it all at once. And, as you can see from the first image, that is often a very worthy endeavor. But sometimes zooming in can offer another completely new, just-as-worthy perspective.

It has been my experience that, learning to see is one of the hardest skills to master. One of the ways you go about mastering this is to capture photos of the same scene in completely different styles and composition. For example here are few photos of the same scene captured as either an all inclusive landscape or a minimalist image.

Long exposure photography at Skogafoss Waterfall with ND Filters, Iceland
Long exposure photography at Skogafoss Waterfall with ND Filters, Iceland
Landscape Photography from Skogafoss, Iceland
Landscape Photography from Skogafoss, Iceland
Macro photography blog cover by Varina Patel
Macro photography blog cover by Varina Patel

With this in mind, let’s take a look at our next challenge.

What You Will Learn

  • How to enhance your images by making creative choices in the field
  • How to effectively use your camera settings to control what your viewers see
  • How local elements like mist and other weather conditions can impact the overall mood of your photos and change your viewers’ perception of the scene
  • How light, angle, color scheme, depth of field and other elements can help you to simplify and enhance your compositions
  • How to develop an all-inclusive workflow that focuses on equipment, camera settings, composition, light and location

In the following video Varina offers some tips, techniques and creative ideas for coming up with different compositions of the same scene. She gives a few examples of minimalist and inclusive compositions and shares some of her own personal workflow in the field to help you get started.

BEGINNERS LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIALS
Check out the following tutorials on Visual Wilderness:

Objective: Create a series of images with motion as the central theme.

In nature, something is almost always moving: the flapping wings of a sparrow, the grasses blowing in the wind, the waves crashing on the shore, the storm clouds racing overhead. Motion makes up the experience of our lives, but it can be difficult to capture in a single image. Here are few examples that showcase motion:

  • Big Island, Hawaii

    Big Island, Hawaii

  • Aspen. Colorado

    Aspen, Colorado

  • Maui, Hawaii (HI), USA

  • Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

  • Skogar, Iceland

  • Evening Light on Mount Rundle – Banff National Park – Alberta, Canada

What You Will Learn

  • How to capture many different types of motion with your photography.
  • How a fast shutter speed can freeze motion and capture details that aren’t easily seen with the human eye.
  • How a slow shutter speed can eliminate distractions and cpture patterns by blurring motion.
  • How blending multiple exposures can help you to capture extremely slow motion or only select motion in the scene.
  • How to creatively embrace motion in the field instead of fighting it.

Here is a video in which Varina walks us through her thought process in the field as decides which camera settings to use as she captures different types of motion. She provides examples of motion at several different shutter speeds and offers some inspiration for making the most of the motion in your environment.

HOW TO SET YOUR EXPOSURE
Check out the following tutorials on Visual Wilderness:

  • Spot on Exposure Tutorial Cover

    Spot on Exposure Tutorial

  • Photography Histogram Tutorial Cover

    Histogram Exposed Tutorial

  • Exposure Bracketing Tutorial for Landscape Photography Cover

    Bracketing Exposed Tutorials

Objective: Use contrast to make your subject stand out.

  • Color Contrast - Death Valley National Park, CA

    Color Contrast – Death Valley National Park, CA

  • Contrast in Texture, Big Island, Hawaii

    Contrast in Texture, Big Island, Hawaii

  • Contrast in Lines - Vermillion Cliffs - Arizona, USA

    Contrast in Lines – Vermillion Cliffs – Arizona, USA

Our eyes gravitate toward things that are different – differences in light, in texture, in color, and even in shape or form. Take the photo of the gecko above, for example. Even though the image is almost completely green, we can clearly decipher the subject from its background because of it’s distinctive shape. In the next image, we see a variety of colors, tones and textures, all which send our eyes racing across the sand dunes and into the cloud-scattered sky. Each of these images effectively uses contrast to draw the eye toward the most important parts of the scene and ultimately to create impact. With this in mind, let’s take a look at this week’s Creative Challenge.

Objective: Use contrast to make your subject stand out.

What You Will Learn

  • How to use contrast to isolate and define your subject.
  • How to recognize different types of contrast, including contrast of color, form, texture, focus, size, and motion.
  • How to create contrast with your camera settings and equipment by adjusting your aperture, using a long exposure, choosing a specific type of lens, etc.
  • How light and mood can create contrast in your images.
  • How using contrast can help you to create images with impact.

What to Expect in the Video

In this video, Varina provides a few examples of the many kinds of contrast – besides just the difference between light and dark – that can help you to call attention to your subject. She explains how she goes about finding contrast when she shoots and discusses a few in-camera and compositional techniques to help you start creating images with impact.

LEARN ABOUT CREATIVITY & PHOTOGRAPHY COMPOSITION
Check out the following tutorials on Visual Wilderness:

Objective:  Move in close to your subject to capture details.

When you’re traversing the great outdoors, how often do you stop to take a closer look? Take some time to slow down and look a little deeper, and you’ll begin to notice teeny tiny landscapes all around – a few strands of a spider’s web, the ragged edge of a leaf, a single droplet of water. It’s up to you how you want to fill the frame of your camera. But rather than focusing on the grand vistas, why not focus your attention on just one tiny piece of a landscape this week? Taking some time to slow down and observe details present at the scene can yield spectacular results like these…

  • Details in a Flower, Ohio

    Details in a Flower, Ohio

  • Tides Pools, Redwood National Forest, California

    Tide Pools, Redwood Forest National Park, California

  • Broken Heart, Death Valley National Park, CA

    Broken Heart, Death Valley National Park, CA

  • Big Island, Hawaii (HI), USA

Objective:  Move in close to your subject to capture details.

What You Will Learn

  • How to look past the obvious elements of a composition and start noticing interesting details.
  • How using special equipment – such as a macro lens, tripod, diffuser, and reflector – can help to make your subject stand out.
  • How to enhance details by controlling and manipulating the light and environment around your subject.
  • How to simplify your compositions by blurring the background and eliminating distracting elements.
  • How to choose which part of your subject to emphasize in order to create an eye-catching, highly-detailed image.

What to Expect in the Video

Varina explains the importance of paying attention to the small details in your environment. She also shows how moving in close to your subject can help you to highlight its most interesting characteristics. She offers a few examples of simple, minimalist compositions that are all about detail and she talks about the equipment and camera techniques that will help you to get the job done.

GET STARTED IN MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY
Check out the following tutorials on Visual Wilderness:

Conclusion

Now that you have gone through our creativity course, it’s time to honestly evaluate yourself. What challenges did you run into?

  • Did you have trouble with any technical skills such as focus or exposure?
  • Was it challenging to find a proper composition?
  • Did you have any difficulty finding your subject matter?
  • Was finding the correct light an issue?
  • Did you struggle with post processing?

If you did run into one or more of these issues, you are not alone. Unlike other genres of photography, you have almost no control over the many variables that present themselves when you are trying to capture a stunning landscape or nature photo. Light, weather, subject matter and even human elements play a role in getting the right photo. Although there are always unforeseen challenges in the field, by thinking creatively, we are able to overcome some of all of these variables and walk away with beautiful images.

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I spent gobs of time trying to wrap my head around Hyperfocal Distance, but for whatever reason, I just never found the right teachers until I saw your class on the subject. I’ve watched it twice now, and guess what? I’m successfully using Hyperfocal Distance all the time now! It’s literally like you guys opened a curtain and let the sun in.

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