Photographing Wildlife
© Text copyright Scott Bourne – Photofocus.com
1. Always
be ready for an animal encounter. Wherever you live, chances are there are
animals nearby to photograph. Be aware of local species. Do research to find
out which kinds of animals frequent your area and when they are nearby.
2. Always
carry a 300 to 400mm lens with your camera. You never know when you’ll get a
chance to make a wildlife image. And you can’t make that image unless you have
a reasonably long lens and camera nearby at all times.
3. Keep
your basic gear on your person, not in your bag. Things like flash, batteries,
and memory cards should be in your pockets, not in your bag. Pawing through
your bag in the middle of a wildlife encounter will usually result in a lost
opportunity. I wear a vest for this reason and keep my basics in the same place
every time I go out, so I know where to find them.
4. Start
by finding a good background. Background, background, background is the most
important thing in the image after the subject and the light. The simpler the
background, the better. If the story is the animal, keep the background simple
to focus attention on the real subject.
5. Shoot
with a fast shutter speed when trying to get moving animals in focus. I shoot
wildlife in shutter priority mode, and when using my long lens – the Sigma
300-800 f/5.6 – I set 1/750 of a second as my minimum shutter speed.
6. Look
for situations that tell a story, convey a concept, or communicate a mood.
7. Keep
the light at your back, and point your shadow at the subject unless you have a
very good reason to do otherwise.
8. When
photographing groups of animals, look for separation between subjects. Avoid
merges. It takes patience, but it’s worth it.
9. Remember, in a photograph, a sleeping animal appears to be a dead animal and, therefore, not interesting.
10. Remember, when photographing action such as
moving animals, staring at the LCD screen will cause you to miss opportunities.
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