Since DSLRs have become easily available, more and more wildlife photography enthusiasts have started taking this up professionally and as a hobby. It seems that wildlife photography has really seen massive growth over the last few years. This article will attempt to give you some easy-to-apply tips to improve your wildlife photography skills.
Some of these tips might seem like common sense, and you’ve probably read similar ones. But we know that common sense is not so common these days and everyone has their own opinions on things. We will cover some points which are not only based on technical skills but also as an art form.
Tips For Improving Your Wildlife Photography are:
1. Know your gear
This sounds very cliché, but you know that it’s true! You need to have a thorough knowledge of your gear. If you are not deeply familiar with the settings of your camera or the abilities of your chosen lens, chances are that you will miss the shot or blow the images you do manage to capture.
- You should know the minimum shutter speed at which you can obtain a sharp image with your camera.
- Know about any margins that the in-camera stabilization show you.
- How to quickly shuffle between focus points
- Know how high you can push your camera’s ISO setting
2. Know the wildlife
This is so important, right? Since most of the wildlife photography is based upon capturing fleeting moments of nature, you should be able to predict behaviours and patterns. But not every species is as predictable. But there are behavioural patterns in every animal species. Knowing your subject can make a massive difference between being ready and prepared for capturing that perfect moment. Study wildlife and read as much as you can to gain immense knowledge.
3. Work the light
The best advice which can be given while shooting is to stick to the hours of golden light. This means getting up early in the morning and being in the field before sunrise, and going out in the afternoon to make the most of the last hours of sunlight.
4. Shoot wider; shoot closer
Most wildlife photographers get fixated on the “focal-length debacle” where it becomes an obsession to have the biggest lens possible. But this is not necessary it is location-dependent, as you may need more than 600mm just to get any shot at all in certain wide-open spaces. Don’t be too close but stay far and try to get the most from the background as well.
5. Patience isn’t a virtue; it’s a necessity
Everything in nature is unpredictable and as a wildlife photographer, your images are based on that fact. Anything can happen at any time and they rarely coincide with the exact time that you are in that specific spot. It is therefore extremely important that you become patient and it’s something you constantly have to work on.
6. Be an Ethical Wildlife Photographer
You need to respect the animals and their environment and know the fact that you are an external element in their surrounding so act acoordingly. Wildlife photography is photojournalistic you are there to document the events and not create or affect them in any way. However, not everyone thinks this way. Some people scare birds into flight or get so close to the animals that it startles them. Your goal must also be not to affect the animals’ behavior and let them be and click naturally.
