There are so many options with photography. We can choose from a myriad of camera bodies, lenses, lighting techniques, the possibilities are quite literally endless! So why would someone choose to narrow down their selection range and shoot primarily outside? 

Glad you asked! In this post I'll be explaining my mindset and creative decisions behind photographing outside. Next week I will write about photographing inside, and explain my thought process behind my creative decisions to do so. I'm real excited to dive into this weeks post, because I love explaining why the great outdoors lends itself to my style. 

First, I want to talk about lighting and color. Yes, shooting at sunset is truly my favorite time, but let me explain why. 

In the image above, I used the dog's body to block the sun, creating a silhouette. If the sun would have been much higher, I would not have been able to position my camera to block it with the dog. This was a creative decision, because you may have already guessed that the dog's face is probably pretty happy, and it would have been a great shot taken in noon day lighting as well. This is where the color comes into play. The feeling that you get from the dog trotting through the shallow beach shores is subliminally calmer than it would be had the shot been taken in the middle of the day. Because of the way that the brain works, we have the tendency to imagine what it would feel like and look like to be in the photo. There's a huge difference between splashing through the water at sunset vs. in the middle of the day. That feeling is what I wanted to capture.

Next, I want to talk about subtleties. The fact that this dog's eyes are so close to the lens allows you to see the trees in the catch lights. Imagine if there was a ceiling and a bright flash that hit the ceiling from my swivel flash instead of these trees. While I may be able to light this image as evenly as the ambient light had I made this image inside, I probably wouldn't have gone to the effort of photoshopping trees into the catch lights. Makes a difference, doesn't it?

Next I want to talk about balancing the light. This shot was taken at 50mm, f/1.8 and with a shutter speed & dragged flash that balanced out the ambient backlighting. Can you see the flash on the dog? Why does this make a difference? Well, imagine that instead of a dog in this lighting, it's a bride and groom. Bride wearing white, groom wearing black and white. How important is it that you can see the details, but that the bride doesn't look like a glowing object? Because this dog is black and white, it was real important that I lit him evenly.

Next I want to talk about tricky locations. Can you guess where this photo was taken? This dogs owners were loading him into their handicapped van when I moved in and snagged this shot just before they told him to lay on the back seat. It was a minivan, and there was a golden afternoon light coming in from behind the dog. Do you think it's important to learn how to turn unusual shooting spots into easy layouts that the brain may not even recognize or be distracted by?

Context. Given the setting of this image, what do you think the dog is looking at? If you thought tennis ball, you are right! Again, this is very subliminal, but it was my intention.

Dragged flash. Believe it or not, this dog's name is flash! This is a common technique, but it still amazes me how many people are impressed by it. Using a wide angle non-fixed lens, start with the lens zoomed in all the way, and then simultaneously take a photo and zoom out. However, you need to drag your shutter speed, and if you want the result I have here, you also need to drag your flash. This creates an instant freeze in the middle section of the image, but the blur effect around the edges. While you can accomplish this inside, the brain thinks: motion, action, sports, outside. So it was important to me to use this technique outside.

Intended ambiguity. It's pretty obvious that this image couldn't be created inside nearly as easily as outside. But I want to expand on the idea of imagination for this image. You can see that the dog is focused and possibly a little warm, due to the mouth being open. The rest is left up to your imagination. What do you think she is looking at? What do you think her expression looks like? The need that we have to create within our imagination is super important. I like to capture images that leave some things up the imagination because of this.

Color and association. What if this water was Bahamas baby blue? Not quite the same image, right? If you know doggie body language, you can tell that she hears something behind her, but is watching something off to her right simultaneously. Most people comment on this image by saying, "Aww! Poor little guy." The whites of her eyes make her look sad or cold, even though she was truly just distracted. The dirt in the water contributes to the "poor little guy" comment, because who wants a dirty wet little dog? Especially a dog that is normally depicted as well groomed, proper and clean: the yorkie. However, this was my intention. I like to play with the ideas we have associated with specific breeds. In my mind, they're all dogs. They just want to do the next fun thing. And swimming is this little yorkie's favorite activity!

Natural elements. This photo was nowhere near as successful in color as it became in black and white. Sometimes color adds to the natural elements, and sometimes it takes away. I would recommend that if you are working with an image and simply not feeling it, try making it black and white. 

Lens flare. I love creating lens flare, but let's be honest. We all know people who abuse lens flare. There is a time and place for it, but one thing I love about it is that it creates a warm feel. I can hear a high pitched simmer noise when I look at an image with lens flare, and this makes me really happy. The warmth of the light is extremely important to create the feel you're going for in any given image. Here, I wanted to create a lot of warmth because I want you to feel like you can be friendly with this horse. 

Can you see how photographing outside can be a great decision for many reasons? What are some of your favorite reasons to shoot outdoors?