It's so easy as a nature lover to get caught up in the moment while in the field and just press the shutter. But once you get home it should be time to get serious and focus on what you actually did while you were out there. It's the time to learn from your work whether it is on the light table or viewing your digital images via computer. Whether your goal is to be an artist of the craft, to document the natural world, or to take pictures for your own enjoyment, I would hope that a similar goal would be to become a better photographer.

Once you have your images ready to view, it's time to put away the vision of what you wanted to capture and deal with reality. Quite often our love of what we envisioned when we pressed the shutter is much different than the reality of what was before us. If you can put away your pride, ego, find the courage to look at what is really there before you, a higher level of photographic accomplishment can be achieved. So let's talk about some techniques I use to evaluate my own images.

Of course I want my images to be sharp and properly composed. That's a given. But just as importantly, I want to capture "the light". When I stress light, I don't mean the light at high noon. I mean the light that makes an image stand out. We all know about the quality of light in early morning and evening, but there is more. Look at shadows and direction of light to emphasize texture. Make the most of your light; if you don't see that in your images now, then that is the first place to start.

Watch the edges of your frame for distracting elements or lines that lead away from the subject and pull the eye. Also look at the background. Nothing kills an image faster for a viewer than a busy or distracting background. Yes, I know you just love the expression on that animal's face or the way the tail is displayed on that bird, but that is an emotional attachment that you the photographer have. Put that away and LOOK at the image as an unbiased viewer.

Sometimes I see subjects that are perfectly poised, great backgrounds, technically perfect images and the subject is molting. Unless you have a specific purpose you might not want to post it online or have it in your slide show. Should you take it? Oh, yea! Because who knows when you will get a call for this image from a photo editor that needs a cardinal with only half his feathers. However, does that mean every subject should be photographed in its less than best appearance. No. Flowers need to be their best. They are beautiful delicate entities that should be shown that way.

The next thing I look for on my bird, mammal, and reptile images is the eye. If the eye is not there then, with rare exception, I toss it into the very large File 13 bin. A slight turn of the head can help show the catch light adding life to the image. My rule is there must be one eye clearly visible and preferably with catch light.

Often we talk about backgrounds, and just as important are foregrounds. I prefer to have my foregrounds in focus. If a fast shutter speed precludes me from having enough dof then I eliminate that foreground IN THE FIELD as much as possible.

I just read a wonderful article by Darwin Wiggett regarding digital, the pros and cons. In it he said that digital CAN make the photographer lazy. I think that applies to Photoshop. If we rely on Photoshop to make our images perfect, then we are being lax in becoming a real artist of our craft, if that craft is photography. If you prefer to spend your hours behind a computer correcting your images, then you need to note that in your image just as you would a captive animal shot.

My number one tip is to be selective in what you shoot. Not every situation should be captured on film. We all get caught up in the excitement of seeing a perfect subject for the first time. But look around, as a photographer you should always strive to be aware of your surroundings. Check the angle of the sun, watch the background and once you note all the shortcomings of the situation, you have the power to sit back and enjoy the moment or photograph it. If you still can't help yourself, go ahead and press the shutter. Once you get the image home, you may be able to see it for what it is, but then again your emotional attachment may take over, and you just can't file 13 it. If you find this happening frequently, you might want to start a separate file for these images. These images should be just for you and not for an audience.

I think as you begin to evaluate your work with a more unbiased attitude your rate of great images will increase and as that happens, you will begin to feel more confident in your photography.

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