Nature has an interesting way of arranging some beautiful situations in which we can soak up and be astonished at what is in front of us. I have always loved what natural light provides in terms of image quality, and while I have learned how to photograph in a studio setting and enjoy it, there's something about allowing the animal I'm photographing to be outdoors in order to catch their character that I love even more.

I want to discuss a few tricks and tips for shooting outdoors and simultaneously creating a studio feel. In the four images below, I used different techniques including cropping with my feet and overpowering the background light with the light on the subject, but each one has it's own unique story.

In this and second image, the dogs were both in vehicles and I was able to position the camera so as to black out all details in the background. This is a really handy trick when you know how to get the best angle of the animals face while making your post processing job much easier. This technique is best achieved when you underexpose the image slightly, so as to let the subtle details in the background fade in the pixels, which still allows you to pull out the details in your medium and light areas.

In the image of the cat, I actually used a variety of post processing techniques to achieve the studio feel, but I made sure that the lighting and exposure in camera facilitated for the most success with my post processing edit. This means that I arranged the window light to fall directly on the cat, and I exposed for the lightest areas of where that window light was falling. This image was actually taken in an empty apartment room with one window light only, even though it looks like it could be a carpeted studio.

This last image was also taken with all natural light, but this time the horse was in his pasture. Because there was such a tight cluster of trees behind him, as I knelt down slightly (cropping with my feet) I could black out the details in the background and focus the light entirely on the horse. This type of technique and style of shooting always makes for extremely focused and expressive images, as there is nothing distracting or contributing in the background. As you are out in the world shooting, experiment with creating a natural backdrop using the elements you encounter outdoors!