What Do I Need For Outdoor Photography 

     It starts when your film of that dream vacation comes back from the processor.  It intensifies when you get up close and personal with your first moose – and don’t get a good photograph to prove it!  And that fabulous sunset – how did you get it so wrong?  Sooner or later, most folks develop an interest in learning how to get better results from their outdoor photographs.

     Modern cameras and films make it a lot easier to bring back good results.  And with digital cameras, we can even see if we got it and maybe have another shot at it before we leave.  But with all these advances, those who want to consistently bring back better images from the outdoors still need to know some basics.

     As the instructor for nature and wildlife photography at L.L. Bean’s Outdoor Discovery Schools for the past 8 years, I’ve learned what folks do right and wrong in the pursuit of photography in the outdoors.

     Let’s start with the things folks do wrong.  The first mistake most people make is to take the front page of their camera manual too literally.  You know, the part that says this camera can do everything – no matter what you point it at.  Wrong.

     The next mistake people make is to never read the rest of the manual.  Even with a “point and shoot” camera – also known as a PHD camera (push here dummy) - you need to know how things work.  Read the manual when you first get a camera.  Then go and play with it for 6 months.  Then read the manual again.  You’ll be surprised at how much they’ve added to it.

     Another mistake is to believe that you need a better camera to improve results.  While there may be some truth in that, there’s always a better camera isn’t there?

     That raises a common question: what do I need for a camera?  It’s easy to be confused, with all the choices available.  And it’s not only the camera.  Depending on what you get, there’s also a choice in lenses.  Now we also digital cameras – it’s all so complicated.  Isn’t film obsolete?  Wrong again.

     The short answer is to get the camera that meets your purpose for the subjects that you want to photograph.

     What is it that you want to photograph?  Why?  If it’s people enjoying the outdoors, what will they be doing?  A camera that works for the family picnic might not adequately capture someone shooting past in a raft.  Or if wildlife photography is your goal, you’ll need longer lenses.

     A 35mm film camera with interchangeable lenses still makes the most sense for the serious nature photographer.  With it you can get quality prints or slides.  It will give you a chance to develop compositional skills, learn to control exposure and to make lens selections based on the subjects that you want to photograph.  And you can capture people in the outdoors, nature scenes or wildlife.  Even that moose you had a close encounter with!

     Whatever your subject matter, catch yours in the good light.