Top techniques for nature shots

Three ways to work in tandem with the natural world and get the best results

6 Nature’s lead-in lines

Look out for lines within nature that you can use to lead the eye to the focal point of your subject. The tightly bunched-up petals of this rose make brilliant lead-in lines that swirl around the frame, directing the eye to the heart of this rose and creating an obvious focal point.

7 Focus on fungi

Mushrooms and fungi make for fantastic subjects. You can backlight them with off-camera flash or LED panels, or use a small reflector to bounce some of the available sunlight back onto them. An articulating LCD screen can help when you’re getting down low to the ground.

8 Invest in a macro lens

For best results, a true macro lens with a reproduction ratio of 1:1 offers best results. It will render your close-ups at ‘life size’ – in other words, the same size as if you’d laid your subject on to your camera’s sensor – so you can get framefilling shots of even the tiniest subjects.