Wildlife Photography is a very popular photography type. It is risky yet adventurous. If you are an adventurous photographer and fearless wildlife photography is for you. Going for wildlife photography, you have to be courageous. The main keys of wildlife photography are patience, courage and of course techniques. If you are a beginner, you may need some help of tips which will give you a proper knowledge of wildlife photography. Wildlife Photography requires certain qualities that might not be the most necessary for other types of photography. To conquer the world of the Wildlife Photography, you need to be attached to nature and the wildlife. You have to love for nature and animals which attracts you to go for wildlife photography. Here you go and see some essential wildlife photography tips which will make you pro.
1).Choose the Right Gears
The most and foremost advice I will give you for starting the wildlife photography is to choose the right gears and have the knowledge about your gears. Knowing the gear is unarguably the most common most important to know for starting Wildlife Photography. There some cameras which are highly being used for wildlife photography. Here is a list of most used cameras for wildlife photography given below.
• Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
• Canon EOS 7D Mark II
• Fujifilm X-H1
• Nikon D-5
• Nikon D850
• Nikon D500
These cameras are the best gears for wildlife photography because it has all the latest features and settings for which are required for delivering good wildlife photography. You also have to choose best wildlife photography lenses which complement the camera and create an impact on 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.
2). Safety First
Wildlife Photography is all about getting wild and dealing with the wildlife. Since you are going to capture the wildlife animals/creatures which can be and very dangerous. The reason behind that is those creatures are not human-friendly because they did not get the training to be like your pet. Their behavior towards everything would be very different and wild than your pet’s behavior. So you have to be very careful while photographing them. You have to have some wildlife photography safety gears before going on the shoots. The safety gears you must take along are Binoculars, Torch, Telephoto Lens, Beanbag, Tripod, Photo Blind, Camera Trap, Vehicle Support, Gimbal, Long Lens Rain Cover, Teleconverter etc. You need to use these safety gears to save yourself and your camera from the wild animals and clicking great wildlife photographs.
3). Lens Hood will Protect
You may have the question what is lens hood and why it is important? Well, a lens hood is a device which is used in the front of the lens to protect the lens from different types of lights and protect the lens. 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? Many Professional Wildlife Photographers use Lens Hood because it is really necessary for protecting the lens of the camera. Wildlife Photography does not mean sitting inside home or studio and click photographs. You have to go outdoors, in many uncomfortable spots which can have unfavorable weather and your lens may get affected. Then the lens hood protects your lens and works as a hero.
4). Use a Tripod
Tripod is one of the common equipment for every kind of photography. During wildlife photography, you need to wait for your subject to come since they do not follow your command. It is not possible to hold the heavy camera in the hand for such a long time waiting for them. So, set the camera on the tripod till the time your subject/wildlife animal comes. 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. Using tripods, you can also avoid having shaky photos which can be clicked without tripods.
5). Try in Different Angles
While shooting for wildlife photography, even if you are far away than the animal, click photos. The animals are not human models that they will listen to your command and pose for you. You have to click the natural poses of them. Click the photo of the wild animals from every angle. Take as many shots as you can. From many angle shots, you may get the best photo out of many. So I would suggest you to try clicking photos from different angles.
6). Observe Your Subject
Like humans, every animal is also different. Though they have similar behavior and habits, 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.
7). Go LOW
When you are clicking wildlife photographs, you have to know which angle can make your photo look more alive and realistic. My suggestion would be, click the photo from the lower angle. If you click the photo from a lower angle, the subject looks bigger, alive and realistic. Try to go as low as you can to get a much more focused picture. In wildlife photography technique, eye level is very important. If you can portray an animal’s point of view, it is like a cherry on top 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.
8). The Background
Wildlife photography is not about only clicking the photo of the wild animals. It can be done even at the zoo if there is no importance of the background. But clicking the photo of the background along with your wildlife animal is very important to make the photo looks rich and realistic. People have to see that the photo is actually taken at the main spot where the wild animals live. The main evidence is to prove that matter is covering the background. 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.
9). 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.
9). Post Processing
After you are done with your wildlife photography, you may feel some photos are not good enough. To fix the flaws, post-processing or photo editing is very important. There are different photo editing companies which are providing some amazing photo editing services. You can also do photo editing by yourself if you know Photoshop works. There are different photo editing tools which can give you some amazing photographs which are Background Removal, Photo Retouching, Photo Manipulation, Photo Masking, Color Correction etc.
Wildlife photography is a really interesting and difficult photography type. If you know the techniques of wildlife photography, you will be able to capture some spectacular moments which you will see and cherish forever. I personally salute the professional wildlife photographers for risking their life just to get some amazing photographs. You have to be very careful towards the animals too. If you think the suggestions I have given would help you then try and get into the field to experience the wildness of the wildlife photography.
References:
9 Tips From Wildlife Photographers
Gear For Wildlife Photography
