This is something I used to fascinate about during my childhood. I was 14 when I got my first camera. It was a point and shoot camera but for me it was gold. I had a pet dog named Bruno. I always used to take Bruno out for a walk at afternoon and used to take its photos using my camera. I used to imagine that this was genuine wildlife photography as I didn’t know what actual wildlife photography is? I used to dress up Bruno as a lion and he used to sit on the grass of the lawn where I took its photos. Most of them used to be candids though. That was the time I decided to start my wildlife photography career.
Now I’m a full time wildlife photographer earning a descent six figure income. I also am a part time writer so that I can share my experience as a wildlife photographer with the passionate newbie like you. I know you must also have come to this article because you are also a bit scared and confused about starting your wildlife photography career. You don’t know how it will affect your life. You don’t know where to start from. You don’t know how much investment is needed. You don’t know which equipment to buy. So to answer all these ‘you don’t knows’ I have came up with this article of wildlife photography career which will help you to setup your career in wildlife photography with a smooth and fast pace. Therefore without further adieu, let’s start!
You can know about starting your photography career from here –
• Career in photography where to start
Here are the top tips for wildlife photography career
Wildlife photography best camera
When we talk about wildlife it is obvious that you’ll need a camera which can capture action faster and sharper. The animal you’ll be capturing photos of will not actually settle anywhere. They have a habit of moving randomly and that too quite frequently. This is why a fast camera which has a fast shutter speed and a good resolution is what you’ll need. Here is the best wildlife photography camera that comes in a mid range for you to start off your wildlife photography as a career –
• Canon EOS 80D
• NIKON D7200
• Sony A77II DSLR
• Pentax K-3 II
• NIKON 1 V3
Lenses for wildlife photography
So for a camera you’ll obviously need a lens. The question is what type of lens you need for capturing wildlife photography. When you will shoot photos of your wildlife animal you’ll surely have to keep a distance from them. They might attack you if seen or may even get scared and run away from the scene. So you should need a lens that can zoom well and has a long range too. As you are just starting your career you probably must have a mid range budget. Depending on that budget you can buy any of the following lenses for wildlife photography –
• NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm ƒ/5.6E ED VR
• CANON EF 200-400mm ƒ/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x
• SIGMA 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM
• PENTAX HD DA 560mm ƒ/5.6 ED AW
• NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 600mm ƒ/4E FL ED VR
Must have a passion
Passion is the thing that will always motivate you to work hard to achieve your goal every day. If you don’t have passion for your work then you really can’t improve in the sector you are focusing on. So if want to do a career in wildlife photography having a passion for it becomes necessary. I had this passion about being among wildlife creatures since childhood. This passion has helped me reach at this level as a successful wildlife photographer. If you also have this passion for wildlife then you can start your career.
Should have an idea about the animal
So when you want to do wildlife photography you should choose to capture the photo of such an animal about which you have proper idea. You should know the animal’s regular routine. You will need to make a note of the time they wake up, the time they roam around, the places they mainly go, etc. This way you can track them and can get to know their behavior. I used to capture bird photos at the beginning of my career. I was very fond of birds. I knew everything about them. I knew where I could find them and at what time they stay there the most. I knew what activities they’ll be doing. Using those ideas I used to capture wildlife photography. This is why you should have proper knowledge about the animal you are taking photos of before choosing wildlife photography as a career.
Must have patience
This is the most important part you need to keep in mind throughout your whole career as a wildlife photographer. You should always have patience. Animals are such a type of living being who can do any amazing unthinkable action suddenly. You really should have patience and wait for them to do such things. Like an eagle has a tendency of suddenly hunting a fish from the river. It flies down with a rapid speed and in seconds it catches the fish from water. This is a moment that comes suddenly. You have to keep an eye on the eagle for hours to do something like that. This is why patience is something always needed to capture such photos.
Need to do self promotion
Nowadays, it is very important to know one thing which is self promotion. Not anyone can pull yourself up but you, yourself can pull yourself up by doing wildlife photography and doing self promotion. You cannot be much known as a beginner. You have to do self marketing by letting people know that you do wildlife photography professionally. Social media sites are best working for promoting people. You just need to create your profile, put your photographs in the social media site. That will make your profile reach to the people and that is how you can promote yourself.
You can sell it too
People say that do not give something in free you are good at. If you can do wildlife photography professionally, you should sell your talent through photography. There are lots of photography sites that buy photographs for their website from the professional photographers. It will give your career a kick start if you manage to sell your wildlife photographs to the photo sharing sites such as Adobestock, Getty Images, Shutterstock, Alamy, Fotolia etc. You just need to reach them creating a strong portfolio. You can also sell your photos by creating your own website and putting your photos to your website so that the photos get sold. Selling your photos is also possible if you have the connection with the people who organizes exhibitions. Give your photos for exhibition and your photos may get sold.
Have to write blogs
Blogs work greatly in order to reach you to the people and get recognition. If you want to start your career with wildlife photography, you need to know how to write blogs. You can create a blog section in your website where you can share your wildlife photography tips. You can also write guest blog post in other’s websites which also may help you to reach to your website and get recognition. It will make people see your website, thus, you may get popularity out of it. Hence, you may get a good start for your wildlife photography career.
Need to Post process them
In every types of photography, photo editing or post processing of photos plays a very important part. Wildlife photography is not easy to do. You may have some flaws while doing wildlife photography. To fix all the flaws and to enhance the beauty of wildlife photos, photo editing or post processing works the most. Apply different post processing methods such as background removal, photo retouching, image masking, color correction, drop shadow etc. that will enhance the quality and the look of your wildlife photography. As a photographer, you may not be able to edit photo by your own, but there are many photo editing companies that may help you out by editing your photos and growing the conversion rate of your photos by post processing under their company. So do not forget to do post processing of your wildlife photos after photography.
Do workshops online
Workshops are very effective to learn or to let learn. If you are a professional wildlife photographer, there is a vast scope for you to grow your career more by organizing an online workshop. You can ask people to register for getting into the online workshop. Do ask for money before registration. Post your videos on various tips and tricks of wildlife photography. Teach them how you can learn wildlife photography or so. This will be very beneficial for both of you.
Conclusion
Making wildlife photography career is not easy. You have to walk through a path full of thrones to get succeeded. These 10 techniques may help you to reach your goal and establish your career in wildlife photography. But remember, you cannot step back. Just follow these 10 tips and make your way to success. I hope these will help you out and your wildlife photography career will get a kick start.
