Dedicated to our Grandchildren ...
Established in 2005, the Better Photographs website (www.better-photographs.com) has attracted over a quarter of a million followers worldwide, including schools, colleges and camera clubs ... The SNAP Initiative builds on this success and aims to encourage more care and concern about Nature, with a view to inspiring activities which help preserve its future.
Introducing
The SNAP Club
“Almost everyone has a camera, although some call it a mobile phone.”
Welcome to theSNAPclub.org - a free app/website to help you take better photographs of your favourite nature subjects with ideas, examples, tutorials and masterclasses.
If you want to be INSPIRED by stunning images, IMPROVE your own photography and become INVOLVED with others in saving nature, then this is the place for you.
As you progress with the SNAP Club, you will come across projects, competitions and opportunities to achieve recognition as your photography improves; plus ways to meet others who enjoy photographing the nature we all love.
We hope you will enjoy belonging to the SNAP Club, that it will help you to increase your love of nature, to share that passion with your family and friends and to join in with some of the many ways you could help preserve its future.
Before we even begin, there is one hard and fast rule which must be remembered and observed at all times -
All set, let’s get going ...
If you first started taking pictures recently you probably learned your photography technique with a modern camera or mobile phone.
This gave you tremendous advantages because all you had to do was switch it on, point the camera at your subject and press the shutter button to record your image.
You didn’t have to worry about all the settings that the camera made for you automatically or, if you were offered a choice of settings, there was an “auto” or “program” setting that you selected.
[If you are using a smartphone then it is already set up to take photos and videos but you can find out how to improve your results from a master photographer, if you make some adjustments to the settings by clicking here. You might not be able to make all of the adjustments, depending on the smartphone you have, but it is worth bearing all of them in mind for your next model.]
Had your interest in photography begun a little earlier, before automatic cameras were available, you would have had a bit more to learn before you could grab those pictures.
How boring. Or was it?
Learning and understanding the basics of how to set up the camera yourself actually takes you a long way towards improving your photography technique and therefore taking better photographs.
So what are the basics?
Whenever you prepare to take a photograph there are four important things to remember -
CLEF - Easy to remember, even if you are not a musician!
Of course there are a few things to consider before you set up to take the photograph but I'm assuming you have learned about the controls of your camera from the instructions that came with it!
When learning about the controls and their functions, it’s a good idea to practice finding and using them with your eyes closed. It’s surprising how often the light isn’t quite good enough to see them, especially if you usually wear spectacles and they are not readily to hand.
Also, it helps to be able to change a setting without looking away from the viewfinder or screen and perhaps losing a valuable second or two before the subject moves or the light changes.
There is one thing in your photography technique that you should pay extra special attention to …..
HOLDING THE CAMERA/PHONE
If you have never known or are not sure of the correct way to hold your camera, then please click the button below, read and practice the guidelines before returning.
Right. All set up. Batteries charged and camera switched on? Nearly ready, but one final thought .....
Who will be viewing your picture?
This may not seem important but it is always worth remembering when you take a photograph. The reason is that you will have experienced the actual scene and your photograph will trigger the memory of it when you view it in the future. It will give you a feeling.
When someone else who was not at the actual scene views your photograph, they will want it to communicate a feeling to them, even if it is different from yours.
Try to bear this in mind whenever you take a photograph.
Let’s consider Composition - Do you ever feel that your photos are not very exciting?
Whatever camera you are using, your photographs will only grab attention if they are well composed - your viewpoint, how the elements are arranged within the frame, what’s included and, just as important, what is left out.
The next topic to look at is Lighting - What is in the light and what is not (and what colour the light is!).
If there is one element in your photography technique that can make or break a photo it is lighting and yet, it is often the least considered element, even if it is thought of at all.
Now we come to Exposure - Do your photographs always turn out just right or are they sometimes too light or too dark?
Finally, Focus - Have you ever noticed that certain parts of an image stand out in a great photograph?
Here are some ideas to get you started at home.
Seeking INSPIRATION? Here are some books you might like to see. Ask for them at your local Library, or perhaps buy one or two.
- Remembering Wildlife - The Series
- Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Folio 23 - Rosamund Kidman Cox
- Sacred Nature 2 : Reconnecting People to Our Planet - Jonathan & Angela Scott
- 2020 VISION: One Vision to Rebuild Our Natural Home
- LIFE: A Journey through Time - Frans Lanting
- Tooth and Claw - Peter Cairns
- Visions - Kevin T Karlson, Lloyd Spitalnik, Scott Elowitz
- Untamed - Steve Bloom
Ready to IMROVE? These books are to help you learn from the experts.
- The Handbook of Bird Photography - Bence Mate
- Insect Photography: Art and Techniques - John Bebbington
- RSPB Guide to Digital Wildlife Photography - David Tipling
- 100 Ways To Take Better Wildlife Photographs - Guy Edwardes
- Tuning into Nature: A Personal Journey - Andy Rouse
- Photographing the Natural World - Heather Angel
- The Art of Nature Photography - Niall Benvie
- Catching the Moment - Richard du Toit & Gerald Hinde
Some Competitions you can enter ...
- British Wildlife Photography Awards
- Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
- Wildlife Photographer of the Year
- BBC Countryfile Calendar Competition
- International Garden Photographer of the Year
- Landscape Photographer of the Year
- International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Time to get INVOLVED? Clubs, Organisations, Social Media and Societies where you can meet others who enjoy photographing the nature we all love ...
- A list of UK photographic societies and camera clubs.
- Learn with the OM System Academy
- Natural Photography on Facebook
- The Nature Group of the Royal Photographic Society
- The Natural History Museum
Some ways in which you can help save nature for all of us, before it's too late ...
Credits:
© John Curgenven