Tips for Beginners on the Four Seasons of Nature Photography

If you are a beginner in nature photography and enjoy taking pictures, there is an abundance of subjects to be found. No matter what season it happens to be, nature is all around you. Just open you mind and look in unexpected places. Here are a few tips for beginners for the four seasons of nature photography.

Of course, everyone loves taking pictures in spring! Everything is blooming and there is an abundance of color, from beautiful white apple blossoms to bright red tulips. The beauty of nature is at it's peak in spring. Don’t forget the trees in your yard. I love to take pictures of trees in bloom. Take some close up shots of the blooms themselves. If they don’t have blossoms, the new leaves themselves can be beautiful. Try a comparison shot. Find a tree that hasn’t bloomed yet and one that has, and combine them in the same picture for a great contrast. Set up a bird feeder near your house. Spring is a great time to see many types of colorful birds. Some of them may be migrating farther north and spring may be the only time they come through your area.

Summer is always a great time for nature pictures. They early blossoms of spring have now turned into beautiful trees or your flowerbeds are full of brightly colored flowers. Back up and take some pictures of your entire flowerbed. Take it from an angle to give it some depth. Now, get up close and personal on some of those beautiful flowers. Take some pictures vertically and some horizontally. Of course, the insects have returned! But they can give you some really awesome and interesting subjects. Look under the leaves or flowers. You might find a ladybug or a butterfly hiding there. Don’t forget about the squirrels and the birds in your yard. I have set some peanuts outside on a large rock that is in my yard and taken pictures of the squirrels that come up to eat them.

Fall is a wonderful time to take some great nature pictures! I love to go walking in the country in fall. The leaves are changing to beautiful red, yellow and gold colors. This is another time for some good “comparison” shots. Some trees are changing to bright yellow while others are still green. The best time to take pictures, especially in fall, are about 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before sunset. This light adds an extra warm glow to your photos. Grab a handful of differently colored leaves. Lay them in an interesting pattern on the ground, or maybe on a moss covered rock and take some close up pictures of them. Their colors and textures can make excellent photographs.

Winter can give you an array of subjects to photograph. The leafless tree branches can be wonderful subjects. Look at the different ways the branches are reaching up and out. They can be graceful or some may look ominous. Take pictures as the sun is setting behind a particularly interesting tree and exemplify it's shape. Macro shots of snowflakes are always beautiful. Trees with their naked branches covered in snow. Evergreens with their still green branches give a good contrast of color. Take pictures of colorful birds against a background of white. Even animal tracks in the snow can a pattern to your picture and add depth.

No matter what the season, nature is all around you. Now grab that camera, go outside and enjoy nature’s beauty!

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