Australian Golf Digest is a wonderful publication that I enjoy a particularly good relationship with. Their series of informative articles on a whole manner of topics is supplemented by a range of my photographs that I have taken around the place.

Steve Keipert (Editor) approach me recently and felt that it would be useful to publish some tips for budding photographers out there and this was published in a recent edition of Australian Golf Digest. Take a read below to find out some tips which you might find useful.

Are you blown away by the golf-course photography in the pages of AUSTRALIAN GOLF DIGEST? Much of it comes from the lens of Melbourne-based photographer Gary Lisbon, who offers these tips for taking your own great golf course photos: 

• As with many things in life timing is key 
  • best time for taking photos is Sunrise and up to 1.5 hours after sunrise 
  • and 1.5hrs prior to sunset until the sun does set 
• Be patient – often I have stayed in one particular spot for 60 minutes waiting for something to happen. When it does (ie. Clouds part and sun streams down) it is an amazing place to be 
• Don’t be put off by clouds – they add character to images. Heavy cloud where there is no hint of sky or sun are the worst conditions for landscape photography so stay inside if this is the case! 
• Whilst a blue sky may be great to be a part of it can get a bit boring in a photograph 
• Get some elevation with your shots. I use an 8 foot ladder on most shoots that I climb to get a bit more height. Other examples might be benches, back of motorized carts (I am not suggesting this!), helicopters (if you can afford it) or the natural undulations that many courses have 
• Use different perspectives with your shots – don’t always shoot from the middle of the fairway. Move slightly off centre– the beauty of digital (which most people use these days) means you can take an abundance of shots and delete the ones you don’t like. Take shots looking up a hole as you would play it but don’t be afraid to take shots from the back of the green looking down the hole just played. 
• Feature something in the foreground (ie. Bunker or bush) which helps provide a feeling of depth to the shot 
• Incorporate a feature into your image which gives the viewer a sense of perspective ie. A golfer, flagstick, bunker, trees, clubhouse in background etc 
• If you can incorporate ocean into the shot then this generally produces a more spectacular image (places like NSW Golf Club, Barnbougle Dunes, The Cut, Kauri Cliffs, Cape Kidnappers are good examples of this) 
• Use a circular polarizing filter to bring out the blues in the skies and white clouds – best use of this is at 90 degrees to the angle of the sun. Well worth investing in (between $80 and $160) if you are doing any kind of outdoor photography 
• Always have a camera ready – you never know where there might be a good shot waiting! 
• When you take a shot compose the shot in the viewfinder and imagine this photo up on your wall at home. Doing this will give you a feeling of how interesting the image might be and may cause you to adjust the angle prior to shooting. 
• Whilst you can do a level of post shooting work on your computer (like removing rakes from bunkers, fixing divots etc) remember that the better the initial shot the less work you will need to do. I am a firm believer that any work you do on your computer using a program such as Photoshop should not distort the image from the scene you saw when you took the shot. 
• Enjoy yourself and remember where you are – on a golf course rather than sitting in an office!