If you love taking pictures of wildlife then this article will be sure to give you some helpful tips that you can start using today. Animal photography (also called wildlife photography) includes the entire animal kingdom from house pets to zebras. This article focuses on photographing wildlife, but you can apply many of these tips to photographing Muffin or Fido. To learn how nature photographers get those amazing wildlife photos, read on and learn how you can too.
The basics for taking great wildlife pictures start with these tips. As always there are exceptions, but the following go a long ways towards ensuring successful animal photography:
* Use natural lighting to your advantage
* Fill the frame with the subject
* Focus on the eyes
* Shoot from various angles
* Capture personality
Perhaps you are wondering how you can, without a huge lens and SLR safely get close enough to a wild animal to “capture their personality” or “fill the frame”?
Actually even professional wildlife photographers don’t always take their winning photographs in the wild. Many of the photographs of polar bears, tigers and other wild creatures were taken at wildlife sanctuaries and zoos. Cheating? Not really because it’s safer for the photographer and doesn’t disturb the animals in the wild from their normal mating and feeding cycles.
If you love taking pictures of wildlife then this article will be sure to give you some helpful tips that you can start using today.
Animal Photography Tips for Wildlife Sanctuaries and Zoos
1) Simplify the Composition: If the background is distracting, use a wide aperture or Portrait mode to blur it. Or, you can use photo editing software like Photoshop to blur or clean up the background.
2) Go Natural: Avoid showing cage bars, fences, humans, signs, etc. If it is safe and not against the rules to do so, point the lens through a gap in the chain link, so you can take the photo without the fence showing. Often there will be a look out area or vantage point that lets you take pictures over the top of the fence. Look for these opportunities. Again, use a good photo editor to blur what you couldn’t eliminate while shooting the photo.
3) Fill the Frame: Use zoom (optical for best quality) or a telephoto lens to get close ups.
4) Use Sports Mode: Use Sports mode or set shutter speed priority to around 1/250 to freeze movements.
5) Use Light and Weather to Best Effect: Overcast days are often best for animal photography. If the overcast isn’t too bright, it will prevent glare from light colored or watery backgrounds. If the overcast is too dark and you have an SLR, increase the ISO to compensate for the dark lighting. With the right amount of overcast, you can get well exposed, sharp pictures with your compact, and the animals won’t be squinting.
Since the eyes are usually very expressive and the best place to focus, you really want to avoid squinting. Another way to avoid this problem is to take the picture when the animal’s back is to the sun. In this situation, you’ll need to use flash fill (turn off the automatic flash and set to “on”) to prevent underexposure or a silhouette. You will also need to wear a broad brimmed hat or use a lens hood to prevent lens flare.
6) Try this When Shooting through Glass: When you want a picture of a terrarium or aquarium critter, turn on the flash and shoot from an angle. Be sure to check your camera manual for the safe distance when taking pictures with a flash of any creature otherwise you could damage their eyes. Or turn off the flash and gently press your lens right up against the glass.
7) Plan your Visits for the Best Photo Ops: Many people will especially love seeing your animal photography when it includes baby animals. Often sanctuaries and zoos post on their websites when new babies are arriving, or you can call and check. Another good photo op is feeding time. Animals that stay in hiding throughout much of the day will come out to eat. Finally, if you’re visiting a sanctuary or zoo when the weather’s hot, go early in the day when the animals will be most active, not napping.
Use Context: While usually it’s best to fill the frame with the animal, sometimes the context is too interesting to bypass. Examples of using context include a child and baby animal looking at each other, or a giraffe bending down to look at something.
9) Capture Expressions: Animals, whether our pets or wildlife, make the cutest expressions. Be ready with your camera! Even just normal behaviors like a wolf pup yawning or a tiger bathing are cute and interesting pictures. The more you understand the habits and behaviors of the animal you’re trying to take pictures of, the better chance you’ll have of capturing a great photo of them.
And once you get a few animal or wildlife pictures that you love, don’t forget to display them in some 4×6 picture frames. When picking out a frame, you should try to avoid frames that overpower your photos like bright yellow picture frames or orange picture frames. All you want is a frame with simple clean lines in a material like wood or metal that adds a nice accent to the image.
So, the next time you’re ready to take some wildlife pictures, use these animal photo tips and you’ll be amazed at the difference applying this tips can have on your photos.