Six tips for taking great outdoor photos
Occasionally, a scene will present itself which makes for a perfect impromptu photo opportunity.
The image accompanying this article was a perfect example – an unlit indoor water feature facing onto a Central American beach resort.
However, such opportunities are rare.
Most of the time, taking great outdoor photos involves more than simply whipping out your chosen smartphone and holding down the capture button.
Even the best smartphone cameras struggle with certain aspects of photography, and many of us own handsets several generations behind the latest-and-greatest models currently on sale.
Without a degree of foresight and framing, that blink-and-you’ll-miss-it opportunity might be gone.
When spontaneous opportunities do present themselves, our tips for taking great outdoor photos will ensure you capture an image worth saving:
1. Practice holding your smartphone fully horizontal or vertical. Few scenes survive being captured at a jaunty angle, and post-production can only do so much.
Practice taking photos until each image appears consistently level. Add grid lines to the viewfinder if you can, and ensure in-shot right-angles line up with structures like buildings.
2. Try to eliminate shadow. Unless you’re deliberately trying to capture a contrast between light and shade, choose either a sun-drenched or fully shaded backdrop.
Shadow is hard to airbrush out, but two steps forward might ensure a road sign doesn’t cast a shadow across your shot. Similarly, one step left may remove sun glare from the camera lens.
3. Turn off flash. You might not notice an automatic flash firing on a bright day, but any reflective objects in shot will appear strangely irradiated.
Auto flash is rarely advisable, and a burst of light could distort the camera’s ability to accurately represent how bright or dull an external scene actually is.
4. Frame the shot in your mind. Some people like to have a focal point in the centre of an image, while others prefer it a third of the way into shot (the rule of thirds).
If you have time, quickly survey the scene for a better way to frame the shot. Influencing factors may include the sun’s position, street furniture, shade and whether you can get closer.
5. Keep people out. Unless you’re taking someone’s photo, people are an inconvenience. They wander into shot, creating motion blur while often staring into the lens.
Taking great outdoor photos often involves positioning yourself above passers-by or standing well away from crowds, which also eliminates any complaints about being snapped.
6. Take multiple shots. This is particularly important if you’re capturing something dynamic and unique, like the final moments of a sporting event.
Even fractions of a second can create marked differences in the way a moving object appears in-shot. One photo in a burst or series of quick captures might look better than the others.