023 - Creating Engaging Wildlife Photographs
Today, we are going to talk about a subject that some of us have likely encountered a few times. We are outdoors, exploring and travelling (or maybe on a safari). come across a beautiful animal Or, let’s be honest it’s your friend’s cat in their backyard but you still want a great photo of it. But the photo is blurry, or dark, or just not that interesting.
While today, we are going to talk about ways to make those wildlife images much better.
Taking a great picture of an animal can be a very rewarding experience. But it can be very challenging to get great images. We are going to give you 8 tips to get better photos of wildlife.
Before we get into tips though, this is the most important thing to remember about wildlife photography. Respect these living creatures. Respect wildlife.
It can be so tempting to do anything you can do to get the best photo you can of wildlife. To try and get them to move or to follow them around, or to get to close to them. But it’s important to not do any of that and remember the best practices for taking pictures of wildlife.
Observe wildlife from a distance. Don’t approach them ever and don’t follow them. If they start coming towards you, try to get out of their way so both of you don’t come into contact.
Never feed wildlife. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers. It gets them to rely on humans for food, which they should never do. This includes baiting wildlife to get better photos. Don’t get them to rely on humans for their food.
Don’t bring your pets with you, or at the very least keep them under control.
Don’t put the animal in harm’s way. This includes getting too close to them. Approaching wild animals may cause them to lash out towards you. This not only endangers your life but that of the animal.
Be respectful of the animals. They are living creatures with their own lives and their own wants and needs. Your photo is not worth their life and it isn’t worth yours.
Always keep these points in mind while taking pictures of wildlife.
Tip #1 - Aperture Priority Mode
It sounds odd to shoot animals with aperture priority mode, but trust me, it makes sense. Aperture Priority Mode is where you select the aperture and ISO and the camera determines the shutter speed.
There are two reasons to do this in wildlife photography.
Firstly, this ensures you don’t need to keep changing settings as an animal moves quickly through different lighting conditions. It’s much easier than constantly shifting settings as you would shooting in manual mode.
Secondly, this avoids your camera underexposing an image because it has bumped up against your lowest or highest possible aperture. For example, if you select a shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second to really freeze the action, your camera may bump up against the lowest aperture of your lens and then not be able to expose the image properly. Whereas if you are shooting in aperture priority mode, you can set your aperture to its lowest setting, set a proper ISO for the scene (typically you will want a mid-range ISO) and the camera will take care of the shutter speed. If you need a slightly faster shutter speed you can increase your ISO, if you can get away with a slower shutter speed you can decrease your ISO (or increase your aperture).
Tip #2 - Use a Fast Shutter Speed
To freeze action, you are going to want to use fast shutter speeds. Generally speaking, you will want to free the motion of wildlife so they aren’t just a blur in your image. What shutter speed you use will depend on the situation and the animal you are photographing. A slow-moving animal that is sitting or just slowly grazing can be shot as low as 1/100th of a second. For animals that are walking or moving a little faster, you will want to start at 1/500th and go up from there. For animals that are running, you will need at least 1/1000th although there will still likely be a little blur in their feet. And for flying birds, you are going to want to use at least 1/1250th of a second.
These are all starting points, but they should give you a good idea of what shutter speeds you are going to need to capture moving animals.
Tip #3 - Use a long lens
Telephoto lenses are the standard in wildlife photography. They allow you to be a long way away from your subject and still get photos as though you are right up in front of them. For most people, a range of 200-400mm will be perfect (although lenses go as high as 1200mm).
One way to get the most out of your telephoto lens is to use a teleconverter. Teleconverters increase the reach of your lens through magnification. Most companies make a 1.4x and 2x teleconverter. This would mean that a 200mm lens with a 2x converter would reach 400mm. The tradeoff is that you lose stops of light in your aperture. So a 2x teleconverter on a 2.8 lens means the lowest f-stop you can have is 5.6.
Big expensive glass is most wildlife photographer’s dreams but they just aren’t practical in terms of size and price for the average person. Some lenses can cost upwards of $20,000. So, think about getting a teleconverter for your zoom lens if you want a little more reach.
Tip #4 - Get the Scenery
Counterintuitive to tip #3, don’t exclusively use a telephoto lens. We want to use zoom lenses to be able to see the eyes of an animal and get to know that animal more personally. But, the environment around an animal can be just as important as the animal itself. Getting those context shots and those environment shots can be amazing. I have one photo of elephants playing in a river together that I love and was only able to get because I was shooting with a wide-angle lens.
So don’t forget about the world around that animal’s face.
Tip #5 - Use a monopod or tripod
Big lenses can mean more lens shake, so help to stabilize your lens by using a monopod or tripod. Monopods are a great option because they are smaller and lighter than a tripod, though they aren’t as stable. You can also tend to move a bit quicker with a monopod attached. Using telephoto glass can also get quite tiring on your arms, so having something else to take the weight of your camera and lens can be great over a long day of shooting.
Tip #6 - Autofocus
Use autofocus and, if possible, a subject tracking mode. Many SLRs and Mirrorless cameras have great autofocus systems that will grab focus on an animal way faster than you will trying to focus manually. So use the autofocus system in your camera.
Most cameras also have options to continually focus on one subject as it moves. This allows you to get sharp photos of an animal as it is running or flying (as long as you can track its movements). Each company has a different name for these modes (like AI-Servo on Canon) but they all function in a similar way. Some even have animal face and eye detect today ensuring that the animal’s eye or face will be in focus. Take advantage of these systems.
Tip #7 - Learn about your Subject
If you can, get to know the animal you will be photographing before heading out. This can be amazingly helpful because then you will know what to expect while you are in the field. You can be ready when the animal moves or when it looks like it is going to do something interesting by watching its patterns if you know what you are looking for.
This isn’t a necessity, but it will certainly make your images better and make it much more likely that you will capture amazing photographs.
Learning about your subject can also hello you to not interfere with it or put it in harm’s way. You may be able to identify if it looks agitated or if it is ready for you to leave it alone. It’s important to be respectful of the wildlife and not put them under duress by your want to take photographs.
Tip #8 - Be Prepared
Even if it looks like an animal has stopped, be ready. Wildlife can move very suddenly and unexpectedly. If you don’t have your hand on your camera or you are looking away from your subject you may miss the critical moment. Basically, don’t get lazy and complacent. Be ready for the animal to move or do something and you can get the shot!
One of the ways you can do this is by not putting your camera down or away. Keep it in your hand, raised and pointed at the animal.
And that’s it. 8 tips to help you get better photos of wildlife the next opportunity you have. I just need to reiterate how important it is that you be respectful of wildlife, their space, and not getting to close to them. Wildlife and human interactions tend not to end well for the wildlife and our want to get a photo of them does not supersede their lives.
If you are enjoying the podcast, please subscribe and rate it where you can. You can find more episodes of the podcast wherever you stream, including Spotify, Apple, and Google.
You can follow along with Robert’s adventures on Instagram as well @RobertMasseyPhotography.