Photography tips

In this post, I want to list some recommendations I can give for people starting with photography. This is from the perspective of an amateur photographer that focuses on nature and wildlife.

If you decide to follow any of my recommendations, you do so at your own risk. I warned you. You are on your own. No refunds. These tips are based my personal experiences and might not be correct and good for everyone.

Get a good book on the basics

  • You can go far with a good book in combination with experimentation
  • I have the German version of The Beginner's Photography Guide which I can recommend
  • Read and understand the book before buying more stuff

It is ok to start with entry-level equipment

  • If you upgrade later, the older camera can still be used as a backup or second camera
  • You can sell your used equipment when you upgrade

Not everything is needed to start

  • A camera and a lens go a long way, especially together with a tripod

Get a camera with interchangeable lenses

  • If you have a decent camera, the lenses are more important for the image quality and photography style than the camera

Take your time and research before buying

  • The camera brand and body define what lenses are available
  • Which brand you choose is not that important, as all larger brands will have most equipment available
  • Consider that you are usually limited by the brand's ecosystem
    • Research the lens mount type to see compatible lenses and equipment
    • There are adapters for using lenses with other mounts, but I have never tried them
  • The image sensor format (medium, full frame, APS-C, Four Thirds) influences depth-of-field (DOF), signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, but also effective focal length and camera and lens weight
    • Medium format results in shallow DOF, good S/N-ratio and large and expensive camera systems
    • Four thirds results in deep DOF, worse S/N-ration and smaller and cheaper camera systems
    • I like APS-C because of the longer effective focal length and smaller and cheaper system
  • It is possible to rent cameras and lenses to try them out
  • A camera should feel good and fit in your hands so that you can reach all the buttons and dials, otherwise you will not enjoy using it (tip added by Steinwaelzer@nrw.social)
  • Depending on the used market where you live, there can be good prices on used or refurbished lenses that will have a much better quality/cost-ratio than some of the cheaper lenses bought new

Get good quality lenses

  • Kit lenses (bought in a set with the camera) are cheap, but often lack quality
    • They are a good starting point, especially if you are not sure if photography is for you, but consider that you will likely upgrade sooner than later
  • It is better to save money for a more expensive lens, then buy a cheaper one
    • That said, there are relatively cheap and small prime lenses that have a good quality (e.g. 50 mm f/1.8)
    • Nowadays any decent lens is likely good enough if it fulfills your requirements, except if you have a sensor with a high pixel density and want to blow the image up to room scale
  • Zoom lenses increase flexibility, but often reduce image quality compared to a comparable prime lens
    • Most of my lenses are zooms, as I prefer not having to swap lenses as often
  • Good lenses stay relevant for tens of years
  • The best lenses have wide apertures (usually f1.8 or f2.8, f4 for telephoto)
    • These are often the most expensive and heaviest, so a good balance between budget, image quality and weight has to be struck

Get a good camera strap

  • One of the most important pieces of equipment for me
  • Allows effortless carrying of heavy telephoto lenses
  • Blackrapid (which I use) or Peakdesign are good
    • I am paranoid and have a second, more simple buckle connection to the camera to break the fall, should the strap connector fail
  • Warning: For heavy (telephoto) lenses always attach the strap to the lens, not the body
    • The weight can damage the mount between lens and camera

Get a good tripod

  • For travelling and everyday use, get a lightweight carbon fiber one with a hook to add extra weight
    • You get (mostly) what you pay for, so do not buy cheap stuff
    • Cheap tripods are not good at dampening vibrations
    • A good tripod will last you a lifetime
  • A more heavy tripod with a gimbal can be helpful for stationary photography, e.g. from hides
    • I have not used mine a lot, as it is heavy and bulky, and I prefer to be mobile
  • Get an L-bracket or quick release for your camera, so you can quickly attach and detach from the tripod
    • The one I use has an attachment point for the strap
  • If your long lens does not have an included quick release plate, get one, so you can quickly attach and detach it from the tripod
    • The one I use has an attachment point for the strap
    • When using a long lens, always attach the lens to the tripod to balance the weight and avoid damaging the lens mount

Always carry multiple batteries

  • Otherwise, the best shot well line up just as you loose the juice

Be prepared

  • Nothing is more annoying than having to stop a photo tour because you get wet, your hands or feet get cold, you get thirsty, or you get sunburned

Just go outside

  • The more you test and play around the better you will get
  • Get familiar with the camera, so you know how to quickly change the settings you need
  • There are a lot of settings you will need to test to see what works for you in certain situations
  • To learn wildlife photography, zoos, animal enclosures, and parks are great places to practice camera settings and composition

Use auto ISO

  • Going from completely manual to manual with Auto ISO is life-changing for wildlife photography
    • Especially if you walk around and the lighting conditions change all the time due to clouds and trees
  • You still need to know when to change the aperture or shutter speed, so always keep an eye on the ISO
  • If it is darker, I keep the settings on open aperture and lowest shutter speed I know I can get sharp images with

Hold the camera correctly

  • A good grip on the camera and stable body stance can reduce the camera shake by a lot
  • Look through the viewfinder when doing handheld photography
    • By pressing the camera to the face you stabilize it
    • If you use your right eye to look through the viewfinder you can keep the left eye open and reduce the risk of missing something

Every equipment has its purpose

  • "You don't need X" or "you need Y" arguments are mostly irrelevant (except this epic list of course ;)
  • It all depends on your personal style, goals, and preferred subjects
  • Every photographer has to make their own experiences and find their own style and workflows

Study photos of other photographers

  • Looking at photos with known camera settings is very helpful to learn how to approach different situations
  • One awesome resource is Flickr, where you can see equipment and settings for each photo

Learn about composition

  • Know the basics of composition
    • You can learn from theory, practice or from studying any type of visual artworks from other artists
    • I mostly learned by practice and looking at artworks
  • If unsure:
    • Use the rule of thirds (most cameras and software allow overlaying such composition rules)
    • Avoid visual clutter, so the eye is drawn to the subject and not the background
  • Know that ignoring composition rules and best practices can create unique images
  • A well composited cropped photo is better than an uncropped photo with bad composition
    • Especially in wildlife photography it is difficult to compose during the shoot, as it requires a lot of planning and even more luck
    • I often do not have the time for both, so I take what I get and fix the composition in post-processing

Photograph wildlife at eye level

  • If possible, try to get the camera to eye level of animals
  • This creates a much more natural and engaging image

Make sure your image is not crooked

  • Except if you do tilt it on purpose
  • Water should not look like it would flow over the edge of the image
  • Water reflections should mirror the objects/subject in a straight vertical line
    • This is useful, if the horizon cannot be seen in an image, but water is visible
  • Trees usually grow straight up (except if they do not)
  • Many cameras nowadays have an artificial horizon or lines that can be displayed in the viewfinder or display
    • I always have the artificial horizon active
  • If the image is unintentionally crooked, fix it in post

Photograph during morning or evening hours

  • The best photos often are taken during golden or blue hour
  • Many animals are especially active in the early morning, before most people are up and about
    • If you stand up early you are basically guaranteed to see some large and small mammals, like deer and hares (no guarantee though)
  • This can require hikes in the dark to get there in time
    • I have had many memorable encounters during early morning hikes, from a group of wild boars (a sounder) to a fox interacting with a deer

Do not disturb nature

  • This is especially true during breeding season, where wildlife is the most vulnerable
  • Learn to read animal behavior, so you know when they get stressed
  • Do not try to get a picture at all cost, it is not worth it
  • Try to stay on paths, where animals are accustomed encounter people
    • Always stay on paths in nature reserves

Display your best images

  • Post your images to dedicated sites or social media to get feedback
  • Make sure to remove image metadata you do not want leaked (like GPS coordinates)
  • Choose a license you want to publish your images under, I recommend creative commons
  • Warning: Everything you post will be downloadable and usable by other people and AI, if you allow it or not
    • I add watermarks, post in lower resolution and add extensive metadata to mark my images

Don't get fooled into the "professionals need Adobe" crap

  • There are plenty of alternatives, some of them even free and open source
  • I have not used Adobe products for many years and use open source software instead
  • I will make a separate post about my workflow at some point, until then, here is a brief summary
  • If you opt for open source, remember to support the creators with bug reports, donations and publicity

Back up your photos

  • Some cameras allow in-camera backups during shoots via a second storage card
  • Reduce SD card failure chance (unproven tips, but they have worked for me so far)
    • Avoid removing SD cards and use the camera's USB connection to get photos from the SD card
    • Always copy the images, not move them
    • Do not use any in-camera editing and image deletion
    • To remove all images from the card, use the in-camera format option
  • The best backup scheme is one where you have one backup onsite (at home) e.g. on an external HDD and one external backup (cloud, friend, family)
    • I use a Syonology NAS, multiple external HDDs and a private, encrypted cloud backup
      • I know, I am paranoid
  • Every photo that is not backed up can be lost at any time

It's going to be legen...