Before you venture out to take photos of nature, you must have the correct camera but more importantly the correct lenses to take pictures from a distance. Most cameras do a great job of taking landscape photography, however if you plan on photographing wildlife you may need a zoom lens since you will probably not be able to get as close as you would like without scaring the animal off.

Macro photography, at the other extreme, is the photographing of small objects usually taken very close up. Examples would be such things as insects, greenery, and small flowers. Some cameras have a built-in setting that allows them to take very good pictures close up. But for the best results, you'll need special lenses for these macro shots. With the right tools, macro photography can be very rewarding.

Macro photography requires more patience, especially when photographing small animals or insects that won't stay still. Just remember, patience and persistence does pay off. The wind can play a role in the quality of your photos when photographing outdoors. This is because of the fact that you're zoomed in so close. Even very small movements will be exaggerated causing your picture to be blurred.

A solution for this extra movement is purchasing various accessories for your camera. The equipment will help stabilize the flowers or plants especially in the moderate wind conditions. They usually clip onto the tripod and gently hold your subject in position.

To compose a great nature picture, you first must decide what you want to photograph. Do you find beauty in the sun shining through a leaf, or do close-ups of insects make you happy? If you have chosen plants, you only need to wait for the lighting to be right (whatever lighting you choose will give the photo personality and feeling).

If you choose to photograph animals, you must wait until one comes along at the right angle and stance. See our Wildlife Photography article for information on photographing animals.

To compose the best picture, put your camera on a tripod or hold it straight. A crooked picture will make you look inexperienced, while a straight picture will make the photo look professional, so even if it is on a tripod, make sure it is level. To do this, aim you camera at something like a porch step or even a tree trunk, and see if it looks straight.

Some tripods come with a bubble level or you can purchase one separately that fits on your camera. This will assist you in leveling your tripod and improve the quality of your photographs. After checking this, you can begin taking pictures.

Once you have played around with your camera a bit, try to take a nature picture that shows a feeling such as joy or serenity. You might view the bright sun reflecting off of a window as joy. You may see the sun melting on top of the ocean as peaceful and serene.

Try using different lighting to give you photo personality, or capture of the emotion of an outdoor event. If you practice with your camera a lot, you can get great pictures that when you look at them, you think, "Wow! I can't believe that I took that picture!" If you take a really good photo, if you wanted to you could sell it, get a large print of it and hang it on your wall, or put it on a card, mug, pillow, etc. You will be rewarded with the smile from friends and family.