Stock Photography Articles and Tips

Stalking animals takes practice. They have a much better sense of smell than humans, so it is important to approach downwind of them where possible. Better still though, is to let the animal come to you. This is where fieldcraft and knowledge of the animal really comes in. Read more»

"Always remember the importance of detail". I can still clearly hear these words that were repeatedly drummed home by my college lecturer. Whilst they seemed unimportant and irrelevant to me at the time, they have over the years taken on a much greater significance and have become ingrained in my philosophy. Read more»

Without doubt there is something awe inspiring and wholesome in the big view. Every year there are vast arrays of calendars all full of pretty landscape and nature pictures adorning our high street shops. Many we can relate to and one day would like to see for ourselves. Read more»

Snow reflects back whatever color is in the sky. Here are some thoughts on how to maximize these hues in the final photo. Read more»

Other than birds living in the campsites of popular reserves or island nesting sea-birds, both of which have little to fear from man, successful bird photography requires some means of making oneself invisible. Read more»

It seems every decade something new and exciting happens in photo hardware. In the seventies we saw the arrival of accurate auto-exposure. This proved a great boon as we could stop having to constantly fiddle with light readings and camera settings and concentrate on the important aspects of picture taking. Read more»

Working with light is undoubtedly the key factor in making attractive and striking images. Even the most impressive bird subjects will look dull and uninteresting when photographed in the flat glare of the midday sun. Although our eyes perceive detail in both the brightly lit and shadow areas in bright harsh light, unfortunately photographic film is unable to record these extremes of contrast satisfactorily. Read more»

I believe that almost without exception, people take up nature photography because they find the natural world to be a fascinating, wonderful and beautiful place. Undoubtedly, to capture a little of that beauty and wonder on film is immensely satisfying. Read more»

Until a few years ago action photography of birds was a very difficult business indeed. Most of the pictures of birds in flight were taken with high speed flash triggered by an infra red beam device. Also, because it was necessary to know exactly where the subject would be flying to trip the beam, this pretty much restricted the use of all this paraphernalia to birds approaching a nest site. Read more»

Having invested in a good quality telephoto lens, you have just returned from the first trip using the new equipment and are eagerly reviewing the results. However, apart from a few "good uns", most of the pictures are rather below the calendar quality you had anticipated. Somehow they lack the bite and crisp detail expected after parting with a great deal of hard earned cash for the lens. What went wrong? Read more»

In this feature we will be looking at various ways of ensuring that the birds you wish to photograph are going to appear right in front of your hide. Read more»

Due to the difficulty in approaching our subjects, telephoto lenses of between 400mm and 600mm are regarded as pretty much standard fare for bird photography. However, tele lenses have what at first may appear a great drawback in that their depth of field is extremely shallow. Read more»

It is often said that bird photography is the most difficult field of nature photography. Certainly compared with photographing game in reserves where they are habituated to vehicles, then bird photography may seem a tough proposition. Most of us, after buying our first telephoto lens, are dismayed to find that birds almost invariably fly away before you can get close enough for a picture! Read more»