Tips for Photographing Wildlife - A Beginner's Primer

These wildlife photo tips ought to prime you for getting successful shots of animals in the wild as well as in your backyard. Naturally, knowing where to go is important if you expect to get a portrait of an elk on your wall. I’ll list a few places with specific species near the end of this article.

Learn Animal Behavior

To have success in capturing animal photos knowing their behavior is one important facet in helping to get the shot. Ethical wildlife photographer’s make an effort to avoid stressing animals by not getting too close in the process of trying to get the photo. Getting too close can not only stress an animal, but it can in some cases be dangerous for the photographer.

Wildlife have three psychological zones: a comfort zone, flight zone, and fight zone. The size and shape of the zones is dependent on the species, sex, and individual nature of the animal. The comfort zone is where you want to be as a wildlife photographer and there are several ways to achieve that which I will discuss later.

The best way to become familiar with these zones is through observation and experience. I’m not saying that you should test these zones with dangerous animals like grizzly bears or lions. I’ll go over some general warning signs later so you will have some idea without jeopardizing yourself. Hey, the internet would be an excellent place to beef up on more specific warning signs for a given species in the safety of your home.

The animal might even notice you when you are within the comfort zone. Obviously if you get to their flight zone then you can kiss the photo goodbye or at least one that close. You also spoil it for any other photographer's nearby. If you enter the fight zone then that becomes dangerous for both you and the animal.

Generally the animal will let you know when you are too close and will either give warning signs or flee. Warning behavior often involves body posture. Some of the warning signs include: vocalizations like hissing or spitting, they stop feeding, stare at you, kick up dirt or vegetation, display defensive weapons, make facial gestures, or they have piloerection(that means their hair stands on end).

The flight and fight zones cover a larger area when the mother has babies to protect. Never get between a mother bear and her cubs for instance.

National Parks are places where you can often get closer to an animal simply because they are more accustomed to human presence. They still possess the 3 psychological zones however. In addition, park management has imposed restrictions on human proximity to the animals.

General and Practical Tips for Wildlife Photos

Animals(you know animate is derived from the noun) being what they are means you will be dealing with movement frequently. Often however they will be motionless. This is another place where knowing behavior can come in handy.

If you plan to shoot action like flying, jumping, running, darting for fish or the like then you will need to deal with fast shutter speeds. Your selection of speed will also be dependent on the focal length of the lens attached too your camera.

To stop the motion of the beat of a hummingbird wing so it is sufficiently sharp will require a shutter speed of about 1/4000th of a second. Generally to freeze people walking at a moderate pace will require 1/125th of a second with around 1/250th to freeze people at a moderate jog.

These numbers for people are just guidelines which you can adapt to nature, but they are also dependent on distance from your camera and whether they are walking away, toward you, or directly across your field of view. To capture wildlife in motion and to render the picture in sharp focus you will typically use no less than 1/250th of a second and probably require faster shutter speeds in most cases.

The rule of thumb for minimum shutter speeds(in fractions of a second) to use for a given lens when hand held is a ratio of 1 over the focal length of the lens in millimeters. For example if you have a telephoto lens of 500 mm then the least shutter speed you want to use to maintain a sharp picture is 1/500 second. This is a safe number, but holding techniques can improve on the number and your personal steadiness of course comes into account. Experiment!

Animals don’t tend to cooperate and wait around for you get your lens out and make your settings, so preparation is a definite asset to capturing a good wildlife photo.

Fleeting moments will be missed if you aren’t ready for them. So, have your lens mounted ready to shoot, pre-expose for the light, and if you have spotted your prey then pre-focus the lens while waiting for the right moment. Be sure to account for any breezes that may blur vegetation(not necessarily an issue) or blur hair like mane or fur.

You may have to compromise on blurring vegetation or hair if lighting conditions coupled with your lens of choice won’t permit a good exposure otherwise due to poor depth of field. In such situations with poor depth of field and you are going for a headshot be sure to have the creature's eye in tack sharp focus.

All the while be mindful of changing lighting conditions especially on a cloudy day where the clouds may intermittently block the sun and change your exposure while you are shooting or waiting for the shot. So, check your settings frequently under these conditions.

Your requirement for a fast shutter speed can be reduced by studying the animal as it goes about its routine. There may be moments when it will be still. Anticipate that moment and be prepared for the shot as stated above. Watch a heron wading in the shallows for instance and observe how it fishes. There will be moments where it will stop or slow considerably to survey for fish below the waters surface.

You may want to go for the action shot where it plunges its beak into the water for a fish creating ripples on the water. You can anticipate this action based on your previous observations of its fishing technique, so prepare accordingly with a good shutter speed.

Morning and evening are generally good times for viewing and photographing wildlife since this is when they usually feed. In warmer climes this is due to the fact that these times of day are cooler and the animals can conserve their energy by avoiding the heat.

When composing a photo and the animal is walking to the left or right in the frame of your picture it often looks best to leave more space in the direction the animal is pointed or headed rather than behind the animal. If the animal is too close to the edge of the photo and pointed to that edge it appears as if the creature will be walking out of the picture.

You also want the animal to appear naturally in your photos and as discussed previously this is why you want to keep yourself in the comfort zone of the creature to avoid pictures of a stressed looking or fleeing animal. Fleeing shots tend to get the backside of the critter which has less appeal.

Methods to Get Closer Wildlife Photos

You can get closer wildlife shots through the use of a telephoto lens or setting up a portable photo blind. Some wildlife refuges and preserves have photo blinds permanently constructed on site.

Blinds can be as simple as a camouflage material that you drape over your body or some look like tents and have small slits for viewing and openings for your lenses.

Peruse www.rue.com for some blinds and other photo accessories.

If you decide to setup a photo blind inquire of local officials as to any rules or restrictions regarding use.

The placement of blinds can be an issue when animals are present. The very nature of something different in the area can alarm certain animals and keep them away. It may take some patience to get them accustomed to the blind.

In addition, some animals have a limited ability to “count”. If they see two people enter a blind they may maintain their distance until they see two people leave. Tricks can be used to fool them however. For instance, some folks use a mannekin that can be carried away by a partner.

Animals can also be drawn closer by supplementing your camouflaged blind setup with the use of wildlife calls. Today there are wireless units with speakers and memory cards that can be utilized for getting animals closer for a good shot.

The memory cards can be changed and have different sounds on them for attracting wildlife to you. A typical one is the sound of a cottontail rabbit in distress which leads a predator to believe there is an easy meal in the area. Check on www.johnnystewart.com for available wildlife calling products.

Another method of attracting wildlife to get closer shots is to bait them. This could be as simple as setting up a bird feeder in your backyard. Preferably you would hang a feeder in a tree near a back window in your home. Your house would serve as your blind then.

Hunter’s often use baiting/feeder methods when they hunt. You could employ this method for your wildlife photography. Depending on the setup it can give less than a natural or wild look to the photo which may not be desirable as in the case of a “nectar” feeder used to attract hummingbirds.

Remote controlled devices for clicking your shutter also exist as well as electronics that emit beams of light which can be arranged to automatically click your shutter when the beam of light is broken by the presence of an animal. The beam arrangement does not require your presence. The remote device will require you to be within eyesight of your setup and within the range of your remote device’s sensitivity.

A Few Good Places to Shoot Wildlife Photos

There are many places including National Parks where finding wildlife to photograph can be relatively easy and some places are dependent on specific times of year. I’ll discuss a bit about each of the five I selected here.

Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado is an excellent place to photograph elk especially during the rut season in September (see my article entitled Elk Bugling in Rocky Mountain National Park).

The Brooks River Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska is great for grizzly bears during the salmon runs in the summer (see my article on grizzlies of Katmai NP).

Another good place within Alaska is the Chilkat River near Haines. Bald eagles may be viewed here, sometimes in the thousands, during the late “winter” months. Mid-November is generally peak for the gathering.

The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas can usually be depended on as a place for seeing several subjects. The refuge is a haven for the migrating whooping cranes which can be seen around early November to late March.

There is a 15 mile auto tour loop on the refuge. Other residents that are fairly common include the white tailed deer, alligators, collared peccaries, armadillo, and bobcat. Coyotes and mountain lions exist on the refuge, but are rarely seen.

Since nature can be unpredictable it is always best to check conditions before embarking on any trip to avoid possible disappointment.

Hopefully these tips for photographing wildlife will prime your photographic pump and get you started on your way to capturing great wildlife pictures. Now hoist that camera strap around your neck and get going. See you in the field!

authored by Lon Britton