“The best images immediately capture the viewer’s attention, have impact and elicit an emotional response” – Renowned photographer Ken Crossan shares tips for award-winning nature shots

The best images immediately capture the viewer’s attention, have impact and stand out from the crowd, and elicit an emotional response.

This may be, for example, one of wonder at the beauty of nature, powerful storytelling brought about through recording amazing [animal] behavior, or awe at nature’s spectacles.

Remember that judges are likely to have ‘seen it all before’ and (presuming technical competence), capturing something that is a little bit different is more likely to catch the judges’ attention.

Although autumn is always a wonderful time to explore the local woodlands for fungi, the velvet shank is later fruiting, can withstand sub-zero temperatures, and brightens up dark winter days.

This specimen was found on a dead horse chestnut and, looking up from beneath the group of mushrooms to capture the delicacy of the gills, the bare tree canopy was used to frame the main subject.

Lighting is key to capturing the mood of an image. For example, a subject taken in bright overcast conditions will have an entirely different feel to one taken in the warmer light of early morning or late evening (the so-called ‘golden hour’).

“Although I virtually always use natural light, this image was an exception, illuminating the [mushroom] gills with a daylight-balanced light.

The size and position of the subject in the frame may elicit very different responses.

For example, do you want the subject to be significant in the frame with a diffused background, or is the story that you want to convey better told by positioning the subject smaller in the frame and including context / habitat?

There are basic factors that should almost be second nature, such as being at eye level with the subject, be it fauna or flora (there are always exceptions!), and scanning the frame for any distractions.

A small shift in position can make a big difference as there are strict processing restrictions in natural history competitions. Removal of unwanted elements, for example, is not allowed.

Nature being nature, capturing that shot seldom happens by chance or straight away—it may take a great deal of patience before that magic moment happens, and it may not happen at all!

Similarly, it helps to be persistent. I often go back to the same familiar, local location to try and improve on a shot, learning from images previously taken.

The most overriding factor in any potentially award-winning natural history image is getting to know your subject in such a way that you can anticipate or predict behavior, thus capturing that special, natural moment without any interference or stress on the subject.

As I live on a spectacular stretch of coast, marine life such as seals are a natural subject to engage with and record. Each common seal (also known as harbor seals) has a different pattern of spots, identifying this particular seal on a rock as the right subject.

I sat an appropriate, unthreatening distance away and waited for the seal to adopt its typical banana pose as the light caught its face. This only lasted a few seconds, and so I had to be alert at all times.

One of the magical aspects of photography is that it can capture a fleeting moment in time which cannot be appreciated by the naked eye, something that may not have been captured in quite that way before.

How an image is viewed is ultimately subjective. An image viewed positively by one judge may not be appreciated as much by another. Whilst the Velvet Shanks image won the Botanical category in the SNPA, it was not accepted at all in the BWPA.

If you do go down the path of entering photography competitions, never let this interfere with the love and enjoyment of this absorbing activity.