Overcome outdoor photography challenges

Outside the studio you lose control over the environment. Use these techniques to address associated problems

BATTLE RAIN SPOTS

Keep a UV filter on your lens while composing, remove it just before the exposure and replace it immediately afterwards. This protects the front glass from rain drops, but still allows framing.

NO EXCESS FILTERS

Even professional filters provide additional barriers for light to pass through to reach your sensor. Avoid stacking filters to get the most from your lens and maximise sharpness.

VIBRATION PROBLEMS

Water movement can cause detectable vibrations. By lengthening your exposure to several seconds, these occur over less percentage of your total exposure time, reducing their appearance.

UTILISE LIVE VIEW

Live View provides magnified views for critical sharpness checking and locks the mirror in DSLRs up by default, reducing internal vibrations in longer exposures.

DIFFRACTION EFFECTS

Landscape shooters often use long exposures with smaller apertures. Try not to go beyond f16, as this creates lower sharpness due to diffraction. f11-16 gives a good balance.