Wildlife Photography is not a door that is opened for everyone; it only opens for a few selected ones. Wildlife Photography requires certain qualities that might not be the most necessary for other types of photography. To conquer world of the Wildlife Photography, you need to be attached with nature and the wildlife. Love for nature and animals are what inspire people to head towards Wildlife Photography.
So below we present the most effective Wildlife Photography tips and tricks for beginners by Professionals that can help you on your way to a Wildlife Photography career.
Wildlife Photography Pro Tips and Techniques
Know Your Gear
Knowing the gear is unarguably the most common advice that you will get in any of the photography types, but it is the most important to know about your gear in Wildlife Photography. Great scenarios do not last for more than 5 to 20 seconds in Wildlife, so you will not get the time to set the ISO settings, Shutter speed, focus, etc.
You need to keep everything almost set for a good picture, and have your hands expertise on these. Knowing about these precisely will help you not miss any good shots. There are certain cameras that are highly designed and made for Wildlife Photography, which make it a little easier to get better shots.
Lens Hood will protect
Many people think that the Lens Hood is only provided for keeping them in the bag forever, because they never use it. You may think what does a wildlife photographer do? What you will observe is that many Professional Wildlife Photographers use Lens Hood because it is really necessary in protecting the lens of the camera.
Wildlife Photography is not sitting inside the car and capturing everything from there. You need to go to many different spots, spots where you are not at all comfortable to get a good snap. In some places there might be risk of falling or getting your camera and lens damaged, so for that Lens Hood are used, to protect your lens.
Use a Tripod
In Wildlife Photography, you won’t get a good shot as soon as you reach a spot. You need to stay at a particular spot for hours to get a good shot. It is really difficult to have the camera in hands for hours and hours. For that you can use a Tripod which will provide rest to your hands and won’t make you as much tired as you would have been. This Wildlife Photography Tip will help you to stay focused on your subject instead of the camera.
Do your Research
Having a research on your subject before getting your feet on the grass can be a really helpful step in Wildlife Photography. This will provide you with sufficient knowledge about their behavior and will let you know more about their traits and species. We acknowledge you to go to some sites that contain loads of information about almost everything such as Wikipedia.
Observe Your Subject
Like humans, every animal is also different. Though they have similar behavior and habits, but they have different strategies in different situations. Observing your subject for a long time will help you know about their daily life, where they go, what they do, how they hunt, etc. This will give you a better knowledge on when and where to be to get a good shot.
Many Professional Photographers have said that they have stayed with their subjects for days and also weeks to observe their everyday lifestyle and to get the view of life from their perspective, which is a tip that they give to everyone.
Knowing the Rules
The Professional Photography rules such as the Rule of Thirds, Filling the Frame, etc also apply in this Photography field. These rules are really the most crucial things you need to know to achieve great shots. However, many Photographers have clicked awesome pictures without following the rules, which also tells us that there is no problem in breaking the rules and trying out new things. This advice needs to be applied observing the situation.
Getting the Right amount of Light
Light is fundamental in all kind of Photography. You need to work hard enough with light in every kind of photography. But with that mentioned in point number one, we do not that time to fix the light, position, or even the settings of the camera in Wildlife Photography, intelligence will be in working with whatever you got.
Keeping the things of point #1 in mind, you need to look for angles that will support the light you got in producing the best picture. There are many pictures where Professional Photographers have clicked great Wildlife pictures in really low light.
Go LOW
Shots taken from lower angles make the picture look more alive and realistic. Try to go as low as you can to get a much more focused picture. Eye Level is the most important Wildlife Photography Technique. Try to shoot from the subject’s eye level to give the viewer a perspective of the animal’s point of view. This will help you to bring some life into the image that many pictures lack.
Shoot Wider
There are many pictures that contain a creature without giving out any idea of the background or the environment. These kinds of images do not look natural and realistic at all. Those only end up looking like capturing a picture of a creature kept in captive, without having any “Wild Life” factor in it. To get a picture that explains the wild environment that the creatures are living in, you must choose a wider lens. Wider images will give the viewer an idea of the environment in which the creatures are living in.
Shoot Closer/Zoom in
When shooting at a wider angle, you can’t just shoot the whole field, where the animal will look so small just like the other things in the picture. But if you go real close to the creature, either the creature will harm you, or the creature will get isolated from the environment, which will again ruin the picture.
You got to use a good lens which will allow you zoom in and get the details of the animal/bird you are capturing. This will bring more emotion and enthusiasm to the picture assuring your Wildlife Photograph to be one of the best.
Look for Animal Chemistry
Regardless of being portrait or landscape, a flawless picture of a solo creature always looks amazing. But just think; if there are one or more creatures in the picture, playing with each other, won’t it bring a different kind of briskness and buoyance in the image? It surely will. So look for some chemistry between animals/birds, which will make the image more cheerful and lively. Not many give this Wildlife Photography tip but we have it for you.
Patience is the Key
Whether it is Life or Photography, Patience plays a huge role in deciding you will succeed or not. Patience is the consummation of all the points mentioned above. If you are not patient enough, then Wildlife Photography might not be your game. Events in nature are unpredictable, and no one knows when what is going to occur. Some sights in nature are so rare but those rare sights coinciding at the exact time you are shooting is ever rarer.
For this cause, you need to be really patient and alert about what is happening around you. Professional Wildlife Photographers state that they have waited for more than five-six hours just to get one shot; it is less because normally you need to wait even more.
Conclusion
Wildlife Photography is one of the most interesting types of photography in this field. There are so many spectacular moments that take place in the wild, which we usually do not get to see through the huge buildings of our rural areas.
Wildlife Photographers help us to see the life in wild through their flawless photography and skills. Imagine sitting on a spot for more than six hours; this stuff needs crazy patience. Patience is not a virtue; it is a necessity in Wildlife Photography.
These are some of the Expert Wildlife Photography Tips and Techniques that the Professional Wildlife Photographers have shared and we have them for you to help you succeed in your Wildlife Photography Career.
