Wildlife Photography Tips
Going wild in the country – by Wildlife Photography Tips
You don’t need to go on an expensive African safari to shoot stunning wildlife pictures
— you’re local country side is home to many beautiful species of animals and
Birds, and although stalking a fox may not seem as exciting as stalking
a big cat or elephant in the Serengeti, the thrill of the hunt and the primitive
sense of adventure are just as great. For some practice try photographing your own
Pets
at home
Lens size
Once you have cut your teeth closer to home you can then become a little more ambitious
and look for less common species such as badgers, deer, weasels, stoats, otters,
owls Birds
of prey. A 200 mm telephoto or 70—210 mm telezoom will be powerful enough for animals
Birds
that you can get close to. Timid species will have to be captured from further away,
so you will need a longer lens. Anything over 300 mm is suitable, but professional
wildlife photographers tend to use a 500 mm or 600 mm almost as their standard lens.
If you cannot afford the expense of such a long lens, buy a 2 x teleconverter and
double the focal length of the longest lens you already have.
Using a hide
A good wildlife photography tip is to work from a hide which is an excellent way
to photograph timid animals and
Birds, because it allows you to get close to your subject without letting
them know.
Hides can be made by draping a large sheet of camouflaged or drab canvas over a
framework of poles driven into the ground. A selection of holes in the sides will
allow you to poke the lens through, and undergrowth can be added as further concealment
if necessary. For those of you with money to spare, purpose-built hides are available
that collapse into a small storage bag for easy carrying and can be erected in a
matter of minutes. Before using the hide you first need to find a suitable location
where wildlife activity takes place. This could be the nest site of a blackbird
or kingfisher, a badger run or a deer’s favourite watering hole.
It may take many hours of waiting quietly and patiently before any activity begins,
so make sure you have food and drink at hand to sustain you throughout your stay,
plus warm clothing to keep you comfortable if the temperature drops.
Prepare your camera
Animals have a habit of appearing without warning, so a good wildlife photography
tip is to make sure you are ready to respond, by mounting your camera on a tripod,
setting the exposure and focusing your lens on the area you expect to be covering.
The lens you need will depend upon the subject you are hoping to capture and how
close you are. A 200 mm lens or 70—210 mm telezoom may be powerful enough to fill
the frame with a small
Birds if you are only a couple of metres from its perch or nest, but for
rabbits, deer, foxes and other animals you may need anything from a 300 mm to a
600 mm telephoto. On a more everyday level your car can be used as a temporary hide,
allowing you to shoot common animals
Birds from the roadside. Car parks and picnic sites in woodland or parks
tend to attract all sorts of species in search of food, so if you stay put and wait
you could be handsomely rewarded. Just wind the window down, and place a jacket
or beanbag over the frame to support your lens. You could even put out morsels of
food on the ground to attract common animals and
Birds
Stalking wild animals
Another common approach to wildlife and
nature photographyinvolves carefully stalking your subject until you are
close enough to get a decent picture. Most photographers use stalking for deer and
other large animals whose whereabouts are known or can be traced by any signs left.
The key to success with stalking is moving very quietly and carefully so your subject
does not realise you are nearby.
Staying downwind will also help reduce the risk of you being heard or smelt. Equipment
should be kept to a minimum so you can travel lightly and quietly. A DSLR body and
a single telephoto lens is all you really need in terms of hardware — make that
lens at least a 300 mm telephoto so you do not have to get too close, especially
if you are photographing potentially dangerous animals on safari A chest pod, shoulder
pod or monopod will come in handy for supporting the lens and preventing camera
shake. Alternatively, take a beanbag along so you can turn tree stumps and other
features into convenient supports. Use a shutter speed of at least 1/500 sec to
freeze any subject and camera movement, plus a wide aperture of f/4 or f/5 .6 to
blur distracting backgrounds.
Here at Wildlife Photography Tips we hope you’ve enjoyed this article on wildlife
photography. Why not try one of our other Photography Tips article. Check the menu
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