Nature photography is a genre of photography focused on elements of the outdoors. Specific subjects may include sky, water, and land, or the flora and fauna that inhabit these spaces—or both. The world is an amazing place, and it’s the job of the nature photographer to capture that in their work
If you’ve picked up a camera before, then you’ve probably turned your lens on nature at some point. There’s always inspiration to be found in the outdoors, from broad landscapes to close-ups of plants, flowers, and wildlife. There are also endless sources of wonder, with nature photography shining a spotlight on some of the most magical parts of this planet that we call home.
Nature itself is extremely multi-faceted, so it’s no surprise that there are quite a few different types of nature photography. These types are often considered to be their own complete genres, with techniques, strategies, styles, and famous works that embody each field.
If you’re new to nature photography, it can be a useful exercise to explore each of these types separately, particularly if you’re interested in pursuing one or more as a hobby or career. Here’s a snapshot of the various types of nature photography to get you started.
My primary photography interest and focus is landscape and wildlife. I find more abundant opportunities for wildlife photography as birds and animals are all around us vs. landscape requiring a search for unique and dramatic locations along with timing the shoot for magical light. A lot of my photography revolves around travel…some trips as simple as visiting state parks and some as unique as traveling to Iceland to do overnight landscape photography or to Hudson Bay to photograph polar bears. But many of my favorite opportunities are right under my nose on Lancaster Conservancy preserves. I have focused more on bird photography in the past few years since becoming a pandemic birder. The diversity of bird populations throughout the year in the Conservancy preserves and along the Susquehanna is remarkable.
