Essential Spring Photography Tips to Capture The Magic
As the cold grip of winter loosens its hold, nature awakens in a burst of colors and life. Spring is a magical time for nature photographers, offering a plethora of creative opportunities to capture the beauty of blossoming flowers, vibrant landscapes, and the return of wildlife. In this blog post, we’ll explore five essential tips to help you create breathtaking nature photos this spring.
Use Wide Angle Lenses to capture Spring Blooms
Spring is synonymous with the explosion of colors as flowers bloom, transforming landscapes into a vibrant tapestry. Seek out locations with a variety of blooming flowers, such as cherry blossoms, tulips, daffodils, and lilacs. Experiment with different angles, compositions, and focal lengths to create captivating images that showcase the diversity of colors and textures that spring has to offer. Jay used a wide angle lens to capture the photo below:
Capturing Wildflower Blooms in Iceland
Here are some pit falls to avoid when using wide angle lenses for spring photography.
- Distracting Elements
Wide-angle lenses are fantastic for capturing vast scenes, so don’t be afraid to embrace the breadth of your surroundings. However, it is easy to include unwanted elements with wide-angle lenses. Jay chose his photography composition carefully to avoid nearby houses and parked cars. - Out-of-Focus Elements
When shooting up close, the depth of field becomes more critical. Accurate focus ensures that everything in the frame remains sharp and detailed. This is especially important when capturing intricate details in flower blooms that occur in spring. Jay used our simple hyperfocal distance workflow to get everything sharply in focus in the above image.
Expansive view provided by the wide angle lenses not only adds drama to your spring photography composition but also invites viewers into the immersive experience of the scene.
Capture Intimate Details with Macro Photography Lens
Spring is a season of intricate details, and macro photography allows you to capture the small wonders that often go unnoticed. Invest in a good macro photography lens to photograph delicate petals, dewdrops on leaves, and the intricate patterns of insects. Varina used my macro photography lens to capture this crocus growing in her yard.
Crocus flower captured with a macro photography lens, Ohio
Here are a few tips for getting a shot like this one.
- Use manual exposure when photographing small light objects against a dark background, as the dark background may throw off your camera’s meter. Check your histogram to ensure your whites are not overexposed.
- Pay close attention to your color balance. A slight shift towards blue can leave those greens looking dull and lifeless.
- I chose an aperture of f/3.5 for this shot because I wanted to be sure that my droplets and the flower were in sharp focus, but blur out the green leaves. A wider aperture would have left me with a a distracting background.
By getting up close, you can reveal the hidden world within the blooming flora, adding a level of intimacy to your macro photography compositions.
Explore Creative Spring Photography Composition
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different perspectives to bring a unique touch to your spring photography. Get down low to capture the blooms against the sky, use reflections in water to add depth, or shoot through foliage to create natural frames. By exploring different angles and perspectives, you can elevate your images beyond the ordinary and showcase the beauty of spring in a fresh and captivating way. For this shot of a calla lily, Varina adjusted my photography composition very carefully to be sure the entire scene falls within the plane of focus.
Create photography composition of a Calla Lilly, California, USA
She brought my tripod down low to the ground and locked it in place. Varina aligned her camera and lens so that the tip of my subject was sharply focused, and made sure the curving petal fell within my plane of focus. If she had chosen another angle for this shot, most of my subject would have been very soft.
Pursue Wildlife Photography
Spring is not only about static beauty but also about the dynamic transformations that unfold. Look for scenes that tell a story—birds building nests, animals emerging from hibernation, or insects going about their daily business. To truly capture the spirit of spring, immerse yourself in the environment. Patience is key when photographing wildlife – observe their behavior, and be ready to click the shutter at the perfect moment. Whether it’s a butterfly on a flower or a bird building its nest, close encounters with nature provide opportunities for captivating and authentic shots.
Photography wildlife in spring, Costa Rica
Utilize a fast shutter speed to freeze the action or experiment with slower shutter speeds to create a sense of motion in your images. I utilized a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion of the humming bird in the above photo, but leaves the motion of it wing blurry. This gave the image a dynamic look. Capturing these dynamic moments will add depth and narrative to your springtime photography.
Be creative with your Depth for Field
One of the most effective ways to add a touch of magic to your spring photos is by mastering the art of shallow depth of field. By using a wide aperture (small f-number), you can isolate your subject from the background, creating a dreamy and ethereal effect. This technique works particularly well when photographing flowers, allowing you to highlight the intricate details while blurring distracting elements in the background. Experiment with different apertures and find the perfect balance to achieve that professional and captivating look.
Shallow DOF – Clifton Gorge, Ohio (OH), USA
Wide DOF – Clifton Gorge, Ohio (OH), USA
In the above photo, I experimented with two different depths of field. In the first image, he chose a shallow depth of field to blur out the background, making it less distracting. In the second image, he used a wider depth of field by using a small aperture, creating a blurred but distracting background. In the end, I decided to stick with the first image, using a clean background.
Landscape photography with Lensbaby Velvet 56 at Skogafoss, Iceland by Jay Patel
You can also play with the depth of field using a wide-angle lens. This gives you an opportunity to create impressionistic images. In capturing these photos of lupine blooms in Iceland, I utilized the unique qualities of a Lensbaby 56mm Velvet lens. The wide-angle lens used to capture this Icelandic scene adds a distinctive touch. Predicting the final outcome of the image isn’t always straightforward, prompting me to experiment with various aperture settings until achieving the precise look I desired.
Spring offers a canvas of vibrant colors, textures, and life, making it an ideal season for nature photography. By embracing shallow depth of field, mastering shutter speed, investing in the right equipment, exploring different perspectives, and getting creative, you can elevate your nature photography to new heights. So, grab your camera, head outdoors, and let the beauty of spring unfold through your lens. Happy shooting!
About Author Jay Patel
I could startoff like this – “Seeds of Jay Patel’s appreciation for beautiful places were planted early in his childhood….” but it would get boring really fast. I will just sum it up and say that I am a Landscape and Wilderness Photographer who loves to capture dramatic light. My photographs have been published in various magazines, calendars and advertising materials throughout the world.
Patience is a virtue...unless you are chasing your dreams
