Capture the Moment!

Here are all my posts on photography, covering techniques, trips, research, exhibitions, talks and workshops. Watch out for my latest article every Saturday.

I’ve also written dozens of articles for Expert Photography and Camera Reviews.

If you’d like to contribute a guest post on any aspect of photography, please email me at nick@nickdalephotography.com. My standard fee is £50 plus £10 for each dofollow link.

Note: Some blog posts contain affiliate links to Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

How to Take Backlit Shots

Sometimes as a photographer, you need to make a difficult decision: do you want to take a good shot or a great shot? There’s a big difference, and it affects your whole approach. Backlighting is a good example.

Mirrorless Autofocus Settings

I’ve been using a Sony a1 for over a year now, so I feel like the time has come to talk about the autofocus settings. I used to have a series of Nikon DSLRs (the D800, D810 and D850), and I’d never used a mirrorless camera before. However, it was pretty easy to learn, and even now I’m still amazed by the sharpness of the images.

Nine Ways to Sex African Wildlife

I’m always keen to learn, but one thing I’m not very good at is working out whether safari animals are male or female. I know a few of the rules, but it’s easy to make a mistake—and that can be a bit embarrassing!

Here’s your cut-out-and-keep guide to a few of the major species. It’s not exhaustive, but it should prevent you having to refer to animals as ‘it’ all the time…

Four Ways to Photograph African Birds in Flight

Most people prefer wildlife action shots to portraits, and I’m no different. I also spend a lot of time on safari, so I end up taking quite a few pictures of African birds in flight. Even the most beautiful bird looks better on the wing than on a stick, so it’s worth the wait! Here are a few tips to help you get the best possible results—depending on the size of the bird.

Bulk Editing in Lightroom

Wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein thinks I take too many pictures, and he’s probably right. I once took over 38,000 shots of seabirds on a cruise ship one afternoon in Antarctica! Personally, I blame my Sony a1’s high frame rate—I mean, what’s a poor photographer to do…?!

How to Become a Resident Photographer

A few years ago, I asked Andy Skillen how to win clients as a wildlife photographer. He didn’t tell me, but he did tell me a story of the ‘dream scenario’. He had an enquiry from a group of managers who wanted to buy a retirement present for their departing chairman. They wanted it to be a picture of a row of five hippos in the water, all looking towards the camera.

Eight Steps to Becoming a Great Wildlife Photographer

I saw a post the other day on what makes a great wildlife photographer, and I didn’t like it. Not because it was badly written, but because there were an awful lot of generalisations that I’m sure don’t apply half the time. That’s why I decided to write this piece as a ‘how to’ guide instead. That makes a lot more sense to me.

Social Media for Photographers

Are you confused about how to use social media as a photographer? Do you have personal accounts but not business accounts? Do you struggle to understand the difference between all the platforms? Would you like to get started but don’t know how?

Update Your Firmware!

When did you last update your camera’s firmware? What version are you running? What’s the latest version? When did you last check the availability online?

Okay, enough difficult questions! The truth is that most of us don’t really care about the firmware, and we certainly don’t make sure we have the latest version running at all times. But perhaps we should…

Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words?

It annoys me when signs at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition tell me that photographs should ‘tell a story’. How, exactly?! Even if it were possible to write a story based on one of my pictures, it would probably sound like it was written by a 10-year-old!

Which Exposure Mode Should I Use?

Exposure modes (or ‘shooting modes’ or ‘camera modes’) are just different ways of controlling the three elements of the Exposure Triangle: aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

How to Use a Mirrorless Camera

Most people buying a mirrorless camera these days will be switching from a DSLR. Using a mirrorless is a little bit different, so here’s my guide to help you make the transition.

There are a few key differences, and I’ve divided them up into which camera to buy, how to customise it, which settings to use, plus sections on shooting mode, the EVF and custom buttons.

20 Photography Mistakes to Avoid

There are lots of articles and books about how to take pictures, but there aren’t so many about how NOT to take pictures. This is a list of the silly mistakes we all make—and should all try to avoid. I’ve illustrated them with some of my own worst photos, so you can take heart from the fact that even I can be a bit of a muppet sometimes…!

Sony ⍺1 Mirrorless Camera Set-up

I’ve just come back from a week in Arviat, Canada, for the polar bear migration. I had a very good trip—apart from all the waiting around and BA losing my rucksack! - and I was particularly pleased with my new camera, the Sony ⍺1. Here's a complete set-up guide.

The blue hour

The blue hour is less well-known than the golden hour, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its advantages. The phrase simply refers to the hour just before sunrise or just after sunset when the colour of the light is generally ‘cooler’. In this article, I’ll show you a few of the benefits of this time of day and give you some ideas for the kinds of shots to take.

The golden hour

The quality of light is crucial in creating a great photograph.

The word photography, after all, means ‘writing with light’, so it’s no surprise that a lot of photographers spend most of their time shooting during the ‘golden hour’ either just after sunrise or just before sunset.

Head-to-head: Bear Gills v Bear Necessities

This is the first of a series of head-to-head photo critiques that compare two similar wildlife shots I’ve taken in the last few years.

The idea is to show you first of all that nobody’s perfect (!) and also to help you identify problems in your own shots that you can then fix - either in camera or during post-processing.

Low key portraits

Wildlife shots are ten a penny these days, so how do you make yours stand out from the herd? Well, one thing you can experiment with is low key portraits. All you need to do is underexpose the shot (either in camera or in Lightroom – see sections below), and you’ll create a whole new atmosphere, something that’s either moody, mysterious or threatening – whatever works best.

Zoo photography

If you’re a wildlife photographer, zoos and safari parks can be a cheap and cheerful alternative to going on a long-haul destination such as the Masai Mara.

How to improve your photography

When it comes to golf and photography, I’m largely self-taught.

Photography is quite a lonely profession, so I thought I should write down how I’ve learned and improved as a photographer in order to help anyone out there who wants to do the same.