Being A Nature Photographer

I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked by email, phone calls or in passing, “What does it take to be a nature photographer?” and over the years my answer has gone from philosophical, to technical, to educational. So, what’s the answer, you ask then. Well there really isn’t just one answer. It takes a little of every answer I have ever given, so why don’t I try to sum it all up here?

If you’re anything at all like me, you enjoy being outdoors, and love to make photographs, and probably have the basic keys to becoming a nature photographer. To start off let’s define what a Nature Photographer is. First and foremost a nature photographer is a photographer who’s dedicated focus is on the natural world. Devoid of manmade objects or scenes, showing the natural world as untouched as possible is the basic idea behind being a nature photographer.

Most photographers who photograph nature are not purists; they tend to venture into a wider genre of landscape and nature photography. They will allow minimal evidence of man’s existence in their images or maybe more in some cases. Some go into agriculture, archeological, zoological, wildlife, and in some cases architectural elements of photography. Travel and adventure are two genres that often benefits from photographing nature.

So for the sake of trying to simplify the whole deal, I am going to try and avoid the division lines and just appeal to the basic premise of what it takes to be a photographer of the natural world around us. Photographing nature is physically, as well as mentally challenging, but it offers such amazing rewards that you are sure to be drawn back time and time, again.

The first step in to becoming a nature photographer is to understand what draws you in. What appeals to your senses and speaks to your deepest core. You can find limitless numbers of books, photo essays, and displays by world renowned and emerging nature photographers and through them you can be inspired. I first became inspired tophotograph nature when I was a young man in the Navy. There was something peaceful about being in the middle of a vast ocean than called to me and said, pick up a camera.

I shot roll after roll after roll of sunrises and sunsets, which by the way, is hard to distinguish in photographs in the middle of any ocean. I photographed dolphins playing just off the bow of the ship, I photographed Seagulls and other sea birds. I photographed Coastlines and sometimes the vastness of nothing but deep blue water.

While in the Navy I photographed a great many other things that had nothing to do with nature, but it was the natural scene that I felt compelled to photograph. It became more than a passion for me, it became a natural act just as breathing.

The second step to being a nature photographer is to understand the basic elements of photography and make them second nature to your thinking process. The third step is to understand artistic composition and all the elements to a work of art in any medium.They will teach you how to see.You might want to look for galleries of nature photography online or in your town.Expose yourself to the work of as many different artists as you can. Take notes on the composition, lighting, subject matter and technique of these pictures. Use them asinspiration for your own methods.

Keep in mind, very rarely does a photograph do the beauty of nature justice. But naturephotographers are always up for this challenge. Personally, I refuse to say that it ispossible to have a full time professional career in nature photography but it is possibleto be professional in how you work and present yourself as a nature photographer.

Being a nature photographer revolves around being comfortable in all harsh elementsand continually striving to being published in various magazines, such as NationalGeographic, Outdoor Photographer, Nature’s Best and other publications. That’s not tosay that’s all there is to being a nature photographer.

I think to be successful at anything takes dedication, education and a deep desire toevolve technically and personally in any craft. So by putting your work in art shows,submitting to magazines and self publishing photo essays, you are on the road tolearning and growing.

I have found that it is best to become a sort of non-specialist and venture a little bit intoother forms of photography. Learn to see things from other angles. In most cases it candeepen your passion for one subject just by appreciating others. Photography as a craftis much like medicine. You can be a general practitioner or a specialist and be successful either way.

I would have to be honest and say I am a general practitioner of photography, as I haveworked in portrait studios, shot print photojournalism, videography and even productphotography. The great thing about that is the lessons I’ve learned to create captivatingimages in those specialties ahs taught me different ways to photograph my passion andvice versa. So my advice is not to close yourself off from other forms of photography.

Branch out, learn different techniques and disciplines as they will make you an overallbetter photographer.Now, let’s get back to being a nature photographer. One of the funniest things I haveever seen or heard of is a person that calls themselves a Nature Photographer and allthey do is drive up , jump out and click a shot off then rush off to the next scene. Inorder to be good at any subject, it takes a little knowledge of the subject. Naturephotography is about getting away from your creature comforts and spending a littletime getting down and dirty. Actually, it take a lot of time doing exactly that. It is alsoabout being there even when conditions are not picnic perfect. It means standing,sitting, crawling, hiking, and even climbing in some of the foulest weather you can imagine.

I don’t know how many times I’ve gotten up at midnight, drove hours to a trail head,hiked hours in darkness up long winding trails only to sit on a rock high in themountains on what would be a miserable day, just to get a glimpse at a scene thatmight only last seconds, then hike miles back to by car and drive several hours home,then spend hours poring over several exposures I took just for one image, and in somecase, end up with nothing printable in my opinion. I think it has been said that the ratioof truly marketable images to trash is 1 out of a hundred. I think that ratio has grown toone out of a thousand because digital photography has allowed us to snap away andcreate more crap piles of digital files. Think of it this way. When you see images inmagazines and books or art galleries, you are seeing a tiny fraction of that artists work.

You are seeing only the cream of the crop.

You need to know how light works at a select location throughout the year and time ofday. Light is key to what we do and what you might think of as a bad day forphotographing is more often than not a perfect blend of conditions for images thathave impact. It’s going to literally take a bit of blood, sweat and tears to be successful atthis genre of photography. It is not a passing hobby, it is a form of religion, dedication atrue passion. It is a state of being.

So the next time you see an image that moves you and inspires that twinge of creativityrooted somewhere down deep inside you, don’t jump too quickly to say, ”I can do that.”It would be better to ask yourself first, “Do I have the time, energy and personal passionto lay my life and world on the line to try to attempt shooting something like this?”