20 Things I Wish I Knew As A Beginner Nature Photographer

Are you feeling overwhelmed with all there is to know about nature photography?  It’s a familiar feeling among beginner nature photographers.  From all the different gear to expectations to being out in the field, there is a lot of stuff to know.

I thought it might be helpful for you if I compiled a list of things I wish I knew when I was starting out.  Maybe save you some frustration, missed opportunities, or just make the day more enjoyable.

If you’re a seasoned photographer, it’s always good to read through these types of articles just as a reminder.  And, if there is something you wish you knew that I haven’t mentioned, add it in the comments below.

What are the things I wish I new as a beginner nature photographer?

1. Learn Photography Basics

When starting as nature photographers, we all want to grab our cameras, get outside, and create amazing photos. This is great, but if you want to create photos that stand out from all the other photographers, it’s essential to learn the basics. Like the exposure triangle, lighting, focusing, etc.  

A solid understanding of the basics will enable you to make more creative and exciting nature photos that stand out.

2. You Don’t Need Expensive Gear

You don’t need expensive gear when you’re beginning your photography journey. I know many seasoned photographers who don’t use costly gear and create amazing photos. Some professional photographers use point-and-shoot cameras exclusively. I had an old point-and-shoot for my adventures.  

Once I started to get serious about photography, I told myself I would learn the basics and how to create great photos with my old point-and-shoot before investing in a DSLR or mirrorless camera. I  made some of my favorite photos with that point-and-shoot.

3. Get to Know Your Camera

Read the manual! It’s so easy, yet we rarely do it. Cameras today can do so much and have many features we can use. First, we have to know they exist and how to use them. Also, each camera is different in its way.  

Spend time taking your camera out to learn and practice, not necessarily shooting for a wall hanger. One day, take it out to try out different ISOs or shutter speeds. Or, play with the WB settings. Or, 4k mode vs burst mode.  

I’ve had my current Lumix for three years and still discovered features or something new that would have been useful in past photo shoots. It’s also helpful to know your camera’s menu and layout so that it becomes automatic when you need to change something quickly.

4. New Nature Photographers Need to Be Prepared

Nothing can ruin a good day of photography like forgetting a crucial piece of photography gear. I am speaking from experience on this one. Leaving your food and water behind. Not having the proper clothing for the weather. Or going to a new location and not having a map or GPS track to where you want to go.  

Pack everything the night before. Make sure your batteries are charged, and you have your memory cards. Check the weather and pack the appropriate clothing. If you’re going to a new location, look at a map.  

Look at the terrain on the map; where might you catch a good sunrise, sunset, or reflection? Consult Google and social media to look at pictures posted from the area you are going to.  

Are there any rules and regulations where you’re going? Some parks do not open until sunrise and close at sunset. Some areas might be closed for trail maintenance or wildlife protection.  

A little time spent preparing can save a lot of frustration while you’re out.

5. Arrive Early and Stay Late

(invest in your copy here)

No matter what type of nature photography you like to shoot, arriving an hour early and staying an hour late is a great idea. If you want to shoot sunrises and sunsets, arrive an hour before sunrise or wait an hour after sunset for blue hour. The golden hours in the morning and evening, just after sunrise and sunset, provide amazing light for flowers and nature photos.  

If you love to create fantastic wildlife images, not only is the light amazing, but these are the times wildlife is most active.  

I don’t necessarily enjoy waking up at 2:00 am to drive to the mountains and hike a trail in the dark, but once I’m at my spot pressing the shutter, I am so happy I got out of bed. 

6. You Don’t Need a Big Lens for Wildlife Photography

If you are an aspiring wildlife photographer, you’ll probably want to invest in a good long lens at some point. But, if you’re a beginner, you might need to save up for that expensive super zoom. In the meantime, use your lens and create images of wildlife in their habitat.  

While I enjoy zooming in and filling the frame with wildlife, I might enjoy showing them in their natural habitat even more. This adds context to your image and helps to tell the story of the wildlife you photograph.  

Take this time to observe and learn about your subjects’ behaviors, reactions, habits, etc. This will help you to be in the right place at the right time.

7. Go Out In Any Weather

One of the first things you’ll learn as a new nature photographer is that mother nature rarely cooperates.  You might have your day planned around a beautiful sunrise, but the sky ends up 100% cloudy.  Or, you were planning to go to your favorite wildlife spot, but it’s raining.  

Go anyway!  Not only will it give you practice of being creative on the fly, but you never know what you might find.  I almost stayed home one foggy, snowy morning but decided to hike one of the popular local trails anyway.  I created some moody images of the trees in the fog and found a fox den with a vixen and four kits.  Most people decided to stay home, allowing more quiet time for the foxes to come out so late in the morning.  

The icing on the cake was the higher I hiked on the trail, the thinner the clouds were getting.  I soon popped out of them to find I was standing above a cloud inversion!  

Get out with an open mind and explore.  You never know what you might find.

8. Use A Tripod

There are so many reasons why all nature photographers should use a tripod. I could write an entire post on these alone.  We all need one if we shoot in low-light situations to avoid blurry photos.  

If you have long lenses, they make your arms tired and shaky, so a tripod will save your arms and prevent unwanted motion blur.  

If you get to your spot early and find the perfect composition before the light is right, you won’t lose your composition while waiting if your camera is on a tripod. 

 I could go on and on.  Will you need your tripod for every shot?  No.  But, it’s nice to have for the moments you do.  

9. Use A Remote Shutter Release

(invest in your print here)

Some debate this, but when you can buy one on Amazon for $9.00, why not?  They come with a wire, wireless, or an app on your phone.  

Many landscape photographers use the 2-second timer instead of a remote shutter release, but I haven’t had much success.  Sometimes, my camera is still moving when the shutter releases at two seconds. Occasionally, my tripod is set up a little precariously, and I don’t want to press the shutter button, afraid it might move or even fall, so a remote shutter release is great for these moments.  

If you want long-exposure photography, a remote shutter release is necessary.  

Wildlife photographers also use them, usually wireless. Incredible photos have been created when photographers have set up their cameras and then walked away from their cameras, away from the wildlife, using a wireless remote shutter release.  

You get a big bang for your buck with this purchase.

10. Shoot In RAW

Shooting in RAW allows your camera to capture all of the data it receives from your camera’s sensor uncompressed.  This will give you a higher-quality image with increased brightness, colors, and a higher dynamic range (HDR).  This allows you to edit and post-process your photos to your liking.  

JPEG files are the opposite of RAW.  JPEGs are compressed files that lose most of the details RAW files capture.  This gives you less freedom to make changes to your photos.  

So, if you want the ability to edit your photos to your liking, shoot in RAW.

11. Try Different Perspectives

For this tip, we’ll use the word perspective regarding your image’s position and direction.  As beginner photographers, we tend to create a photo from our typical standing position or with our tripods our standing height.  These can be boring and blend in with any old photo out there.  

Instead, change up the perspective.  Get up high and look down on your subject, or get low and look up.  Get closer or further away by zoom or foot.  Create an image from the side.  

Try different perspectives to make your nature photos unique and stand out.

12. Landscape And Portrait Orientation

(Invest in your photo here)

Once you find your perspective, try it in landscape and portrait orientation.  One of the great things about photography is that there is no right or wrong answer as to which orientation to use.  It all depends on your goals and vision for the photograph.  

You might not have an answer as a beginner, so why not try your composition in both to see which speaks to you more?  Over time and with experience, you’ll be able to know which to use for your desired image.  With that said, I still like to try both sometimes.

13. Look Behind You

We spend our time looking in front of us to watch where we are going, so naturally, we look in front of us for photo opportunities.  But don’t forget to stop and turn around to see what is happening behind you.  

Sure, you might have just looked at it as you walked by, but turning around and looking at the view from the other side could give you different opportunities.  

Maybe the light is different.  Maybe there are things you could see now that you couldn’t while walking towards it.  

Sometimes, wildlife will hear us coming, hunker down until we pass, and then come out.  That has happened to me on more than one occasion.  And, I never would have known had I not stopped to look behind me.

14. Don’t Delete

There will be images that deserve to be deleted.  Maybe the perched bird decided to take off and left you with a big blur.  Or, the sunlight completely overexposed the clouds in the sky.  But, keep the rest.  

Never delete an image file, even if you think you will never use it.  As your post-processing skills improve and evolve, you will be amazed at what you can do with most photos.  

I have gone years back into my archives; photos that I completely forgot about or didn’t give much thought to have become some of my favorite images initially.  

As I continue to learn how to manipulate the light, contrast, color, etc, in post-processing, I’ve brought to life photos that I left for dead.

15. Study Your Photos

In today’s digital age, we have a massive advantage over those who started in the film era.  There is the obvious of seeing the image instantly.  

But we also go home, upload our images to our computers, and see the settings we used to create a particular image.  This is such a massive advantage if you take the time to use it.  Study the pictures that came out great, what makes them great, why you like them, etc.  Then, study the settings that you used to make the image.  

Repeat this with the images that didn’t come out great and learn what you should’ve done differently. 

16. Keep A List

Is there a spot you’ve found that you want to return to for sunrise or sunset?  Or maybe the fall colors?  Or, did you find a fox den you want to revisit next spring when the kits are coming out to explore?  

Make a list!  And not in your head.  Write it down in a notebook or journal.  Or, create a Google doc.  

As a nature photographer, you’ll have many ideas and places to return to, but you forget about them until just after the moment passes.  

Don’t forget to look at it….often.

17. Practice

Practice, practice, practice.  The more you get out with your camera, the more automatic things become.  

Whether that be familiarity with your camera, settings for specific situations, light at different times of day in a particular location, or learning wildlife behavior and patterns….I could go on.  

Try different things.  Make mistakes and learn from them—practice, practice, practice.  

18. Be Respectful of Nature

I’ll try to keep this short, but watch for a post on this in the future.  This one is important to me, and I hope it is also important to you.  Even though we are out to create photos, our photography isn’t the priority.  

The nature we love to photograph is our responsibility to take care of and preserve it.  

Don’t trample flowers to get a different perspective.  Don’t disturb the wildlife for the shot.  Leave no trace that you were there.  Leave no footprint off the trail.  Pack out whatever you pack in; don’t leave your trash.  

Be a steward and take care of nature so that it’s always there for us to photograph and enjoy for years to come.

19. Beginning Nature Photographers Need to Have Patience

Patience is a virtue as a beginning nature photographer.  And, honestly, as a nature photographer in general.  You have to have patience as you’re learning photography skills.  You’re going to miss the shot sometimes.  

That’s just the way it is, so be patient with yourself and try again.  And be patient with nature.  Stop and wait for the light to change.  Or for the moose to walk out of the trees into the opening.  

20. Have Fun!

Most of us have taken up nature photography because we love being outdoors.  Have fun with the process of creating the perfect image.  Even if you don’t get the ideal image, enjoy the beauty of the nature you are fortunate to be surrounded by.  That’s how we got here, after all.

I hope you find this list of tips helpful!

What tips would you like to read and learn more about?  Let me know in the comments below.

If you’re a seasoned nature, landscape, or wildlife photographer, what do you wish you knew when starting your photography journey?  Let us know in the comments.

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